Does it save time to buy the Oyster card for London or Paris Visite card here in the States through the Rail Europe site? Any insight would be appreciated. Thank you.
Posted by
Seattle
544 posts
It's super easy to buy Oyster cards at Underground stations and many convenience stores in London. No need to buy ahead of time. Then you can get any leftover amount and the £5 deposit refunded as you're leaving town. If the refund doesn't work at a ticket machine, go to a manned ticket window or a "Visit London Tourist Information Centre:" http://www.visitlondon.com/tag/tourist-information-centre?ref=cat-pt
For Paris I bought a 10-pack of metro tickets from the cafe car on Eurostar thanks to advice from someone on this forum. It's a really good option because they're cheaper than individual tickets and you can split the tickets between different people. They're also sold at the metro stations and tabacco shops.
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
33837 posts
Make sure that Paris Visite goes where you want to go when you want to go at a reasonable price.
Generally it is considered to be overpriced and unnecessary. A carnet for a few days, or a Mobilis if you are really using the Métro, should do for the transportation, and add a Paris Museum Pass - all for much less than a Paris Visite.
If you will arrive on Sunday in Paris and want to really crank the Métro for 4 days consider the Navigo Decouverte.
I'm biased but I consider London to be one of the real quintessential romantic cities. I think that it is actually more romantic than Rome or Paris - and I love both of those cities and visit frequently. But for romantic it has to be Venice. And Venice is more, so much more, than a gondola ride. I go there every year and have done for many years, and I've never been on a gondola. And my wife and I love the place. Completely unique, and it is soooo easy to get away from the masses of tourists.
Posted by
OP
San Francisco
2 posts
Thank you, both. I am in Paris for Thanksgiving week, and I thought I would just take the Eurostar to London for a day trip. I assume it'd be easy to pick up the Oyster card at the St. Pancras station to get around London for the day.
My last visit to Paris was in 2001 and London in 1998, so I am so looking forward to returning.
Posted by
Truro, NS, Canada
3941 posts
My husband thought the guy at the tube station told him you had to have the oyster for 48hrs before you could get the £5 deposit back. Maybe he misunderstood? Can anyone confirm/deny? We were only in London about 40 hrs so we kept the card...we know we will be back so it will be nice to have the card ready to get and a few gbp on it.