My girlfriend and I will be in Paris for 8 days arriving on friday nov 7th and leaving on saturday the 15th. Anyway not sure if getting a carte orange pass, or carnet 10 pack or a mobilis pass would be best? Mainly traveling on the metro in the city (zone 1 & 2?) and a trip out to versailles. Just a bit confused on the whole thing. But I don't think the visite pass is a great deal at all????
Thanks for all the help,
Daniel
I fussed with this for awhile this past April and my adult son and I decided on each getting a carnet 10 pack. (FYI: I've been to Paris a dozen times.) We were staying in the Latin Quarter and frequently only took the metro one way (we love walking and soaking in the scenery). Versailles can be reached on the RER (train) and is a one time expenditure. Carte Orange is a good buy if you think you'll be using the metro at least twice a day (which you might in chilly November). All this said considering the price of airfare, hotels, food etc. this whole issue of metro costs pretty much fades into the background. Make up the cost eating street food - oh so yummy!
Actually I didn't mention that we were in paris last year for 4 days and used the metro extensivly and I plan to use it several times a day while we are there.
For your arrival and the first Saturday you will want to use a carnet. This is because the Carte Orange is only good Sunday to Saturday. Thus purchase your Carte Orange on Sunday for the remainder of the visit.
Versailles will be an extra ticket because it is outside the zone. I recommend for Versailles to purchase the Forfait Loisir- this includes the roundtrip rail ticket and entrance fee to the entire Versailles Palace and Gardens as well as the audio tour.
http://www.transilien.com/web/site/accueil/guide-du-voyageur/billets-abonnements/Versailles/lang/en
This is available at the SNCF station day of travel. (Although the website is only showing availability until November 1st.) However, you may want to consider the Paris Museum Pass - this will give you entrance, you will have to purchase rail tickets to Versailles Rive Gauche and the audio tour will be extra.
http://www.parismuseumpass.com/en/home.php
Enjoy !
The only way the pass is economical for you is if you plan to use it enough times. Estimate the number of trips you plan to take and determine the cost of each based on the cost of the pass.
Then research the cost of each trip using a ticket. That will determine whether you want the pass or you buy individual tickets for each trip.
The day we went out to Versailles we bought a special one day pass just for that trip because it covered so many zones.
Daniel,
Since you've been to Paris before, you are the one who can best judge how many rides you're likely to take in a day. Here are some factors to consider. First of all, the Carte Orange is valid MONDAY-SUNDAY, not Sunday-Saturday. The current price for a zone 1-2 CO is €16.80. If you can't find a station selling the paper CO (it's being phased out), you'll have to buy a passe Navigo Decouverte (€5) on which you can load a CO. If you buy a carnet (€11.40), each ride will cost €1.14. Using €1.14 as the basis for comparison, a paper CO will pay for itself after 15 rides and a CO loaded on a passe Navigo Decouverte will pay for itself after 19 rides. A zone 1-2 Mobilis pass (€5.80) will pay for itself after six rides. However, unless you're going to take at least six rides a day on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, buying carnets and sharing the tickets would be your best choice for those days. Three Mobilis passes (Friday, Saturday, Sunday) will cost less than a three-day zone 1-3 Paris Visite pass.
If you and your girlfriend are under 26, there is an even better deal for Saturday and Sunday. A zone 1-2 Ticket Jeunes costs only €3.20. It's a one-day pass good either Saturday or Sunday.
As Jona suggested, consider buying a Forfait Loisirs for Versailles.
