We will be arriving at CDG. Friends recommended we take the Roissy bus. Now I am debating what type of transportation pass I should purchase. Can anyone tell me the price of a Carte Orange? Can it be purchased at the airport and used on the bus, or is it for more in the city?
Is it good for just certain zones? Or what about the other transportation passes available? If anyone has suggestions and pricing, I would love some suggestions!
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
For a page listing all your ticket and pass choices with links to detailed information about each choice, go here. A fare increase went into effect on 1 July. The fares are up to date on most of those links except for the Carte Orange. The new price of a CO is €16.80 for zones 1-2 and €33.00 for zones 1-5 (includes CDG).
You can buy a CO for any combination of zones at CDG. It will be good on the Roissybus if it includes zones 1-5. Be sure you note the fact that the pass is good Monday-Sunday, not any seven-day period and that you will have to load the CO on a passe Navigo Decouverte card (one-time cost of €5.00). An individual Roissybus ticket costs €8.90.
Posted by
OP
Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA
20 posts
Tim,
Thanks for the info. I have been on so many web sites trying to get transportation info and the link you sent had it all! Now after looking at the options, and since we arrive on a Sunday, I might opt for the Paris Visite pass. Also, could you tell me which zone Montmartre is located in??? I can't seem to find it on the zone maps
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
You arrive on Sunday. What day will you leave? Even if you won't get a full seven days use of a Carte Orange, it can be a better deal than a Paris Visite.
A single ticket on the RER from CDG to Paris costs €8.40 and includes transfers to the Metro and/or other RER lines until you exit the system. That single ticket will get you to within a few blocks of any hotel in Paris. (If you take the Roissybus to Opera, you'll still have to either take the Metro or a taxi from there to your hotel--in Montmartre, right?) Montmartre is in zone 1--as is all of Paris out to the edge of the suburbs.
See this zoomable map of the Metro and RER systems.
Posted by
OP
Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA
20 posts
We leave on Thursday morning (by train) for Nice. On the website it lists Paris Visite for Zones 1 to 3 for 3 days E19.00. The Carte Orange is E16.80 for Zones 1 to 2 or E21.60 (old price) for 1 to 3 plus that Navigo (??) that I would have to purchase. Am I missing something? We will not be returning to Paris. From NIce we go on to Italy and will leave from there. Please advise.
Posted by
OP
Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA
20 posts
Oh, and our hotel is actually on Avenue Raymond..near the Victor Hugo metro station I believe.
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
No. you're not missing anything. You would need to have at least one more full day in Paris for the Carte Orange to be the best deal. So what would be best? Assuming you are traveling with your husband, you would need two three-day, zone 1-3 Paris Visite passes for Monday-Wednesday. That's €38. You'll still need to get from CDG to your hotel, you'll probably take a couple of rides in central Paris later in the day on Sunday, and you'll need to get to the train station on Thursday. Central Paris is compact and you may walk a lot more and ride less than you thought you would. If you buy two ten-ticket carnets for €11.40 each and share the tickets with your husband, those 20 tickets may very well cover all your rides in central Paris on Sunday afternoon through Thursday morning. Even if you take a lot of rides and need to buy a third carnet, you'll still pay less than what you'd have to spend for two Paris Visite passes.
Posted by
OP
Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA
20 posts
Thanks for all of your help. Really appreciate it. It's been 10 years since I was last in Paris. Actually I am going with my 24 year old daughter, but I don't think there is anything like a student or youth fare, so it would be 2 adults. I will rake your advise.
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
You're welcome! Actually there is a pass your daughter could use on Sunday. The Ticket Jeunes is a one-day pass for either Saturday or Sunday that is good for people under the age of 26. A zone 1-3 Ticket Jeunes costs €3.20. Each ticket from a carnet costs the equivalent of €1.14. So if you take three or more rides on Sunday afternoon and evening, a Ticket Jeunes would be a better deal for your daughter than sharing tickets from a carnet.
Note: The airports are excluded from the Ticket Jeunes so do not buy a zone 1-5 TJ, thinking that it will cover your daughter's ride from CDG to Paris. It won't.
Have a great trip!
Posted by
Calgary, AB, Canada
27 posts
Wow, Tim you sure know a lot about the transportation for Paris. I thank you for your explanations cause it will help me as well.
Posted by
Anaheim, CA, USA
1455 posts
Linda, I agree with Tim.
I was there a few weeks ago and opted NOT to get the Carte Orange because we felt we wouldn't get the most of it. The Carnet 10 pack was perfect.
We did a lot of walking and got to places faster than if we waited for the bus. If we needed to get to a farther destination, the metro came in handy (and 1 carnet).
For the 10 days we where there, the 3 of us used 1, 10 pack per person... saving us a lot of money.
Once you get to CDG there is a TI kiosk there to help you with transportation. Make sure to get the little metro map and you'll see its easy to get around the city.
Bon Chance!