I will be in Paris for a few weeks with my children this June and July. Rick highly recommends the museum pass as well as the Carte Orange for metro and bus travel within the city. Is there a way to purchase these tickets from the States? I would like to have them before we go to eliminate possible difficulties when I first get there. Also, the Carte Orange is tariffed according to "zones". Is purchasing for zones 1 and 2 sufficient?
Thanks for any help you can provide
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
I don't think that you can buy a Carte Orange in advance, especially now that you will also have to buy a passe Navigo Decouverte card on which to load a Carte Orange Hebdomadaire. Yes, a zone 1-2 CO will cover all of Paris out to the suburbs. It won't get you to Versailles (zone 4).
The Paris Visite pass is overpriced for adults, but it can be a good deal for children since there is no children's Carte Orange.
The best one-day pass for children is the Ticket Jeunes which is good on either Saturday or Sunday.
There are also half-price ten-ticket carnets for children.
For a page listing all your ticket and pass choices with links to detailed explanations of each one, go here.
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Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
(continued)
You can buy the Paris Museum Pass in advance, but there is no real advantage to doing so. And it will cost you more. Buy it at any participating museum or at the sales points listed on the pass site.
Posted by
OP
Shaker Heights, OH, USA
3 posts
Thanks so much for the info!!
Posted by
Danville, VT
12040 posts
Some of the more convenient places to buy the Museum Pass are the smaller museums with no lines (like the Conciergerie or the Archaelogic Crypt Museum, both close to Notre Dame), or the Orsay, which has a seperate entrance for purchasing the pass. This way, you never have to wait in a single line.
Posted by
OP
Shaker Heights, OH, USA
3 posts
Thanks again. Great idea!