Transportation and museum passes in Paris

Gloria, it looks like your predictive text or spell checker has had your lunch. I think that you may be asking about the carnets of Métro tickets? If so the 10 loose tickets are valid on RATP transport - the Métro, RATP Paris city buses, and zone 1 of the RER trains. They are not valid, as far as I know, on river craft or private buses such as the tour buses. We don't use museum passes as we only do 1 or 2 each trip - if that's your question - so I can't contribute there.

Thank you--and as you say, my spelling--really my typing--is odious! I appreciate your reply inn spite of that-- and it does help!

There is a 2-day Paris Museum Pass but in order to know if it's a good deal for you, you'll have to add up the entry cost of each museum and compare that to the cost of the pass.

Thank you--I was thinking that, as I had heard, passes even for few museums, eliminated waiting in lines--and that may be a benefit to us....I had considered the Paris pass but now believe it is more than we need...

Lines for tickets are only a problem at a few places (Versailles is the major one). Lines for security can be a major problem at sights (particularly Ste. Chappelle), but the museum pass does not let you bypass these. I know Rick says that only foolish travelers don't get the Museum Pass, but I don't agree. Of my three most recent trips: for one trip I used almost twice its value, for another I had to run around to make it break even, and for the third I didn't even buy it, because I was mostly seeing things that it did not cover. As Sarah said, you need to add up the cost of what you are seeing, and compare it to the cost of the pass (which comes in 2, 4, and 6 day versions). Here's the official link to the pass page, showing what's covered: http://en.parismuseumpass.com/rub-museums-monuments-by-name-5.htm
If it's close, I'd get the pass for convenience, and because you can just "pop in" to places you wouldn't pay full price for (or, just to use their bathroom). Yes, the pricier Paris Pass is a ripoff. It lures you in with the long list of covered attractions and how it covers transport for all zones. What they don't tell you is that you cannot possibly see enough in a 24 hour day to make it pay off, and that outside of the airports and Versailles, all the attractions are in zones 1-2. So, you're buying more coverage than you can possibly use.

Well I went to the D'Orsay in April and just walked right in. Friends of mine visited it in May, without a pass, and waited in line for 2 1/2 hours. The museum pass is not just about cost saving, it is about skipping the line to buy tickets which can be huge in high tourist season.
I also know people who get the pass and are determined to see 2-3 museums a day to get their full money's worth which can be too much. You have to figure out what your time is worth (as well as your money), and being in Paris for 3-4 days, I think you probably do not want to spend a lot of time waiting in lines. I also suggest buying a carnet of tickets at a metro station. You can buy them at a window, from a person but only one that says "Vendre" not all stations have these. Or you can buy them from a machine. You may need to use cash as a US credit card may not work in them. I've only used cash. These are good for the metro, bus, RER. Other transportation you have to deal with separately.

We walked past the Orsay Museum today and the line for people with tickets was at least an hour long. Those without tickets had a few hours to wait. Soooo there are ways to get around this type of problem without a Museum Pass. Get a combo ticket to the Orangerie/Orsay at the Orangerie, which happens to be a terrific museum filled with paintings from the same beloved period. Or get your Orsay ticket the day before. Then go early on a weekday or go to the late Thursday hours. One other reason a MP might not pay is if you plan to use it on the day most of the museums close, Mondays and Tuesdays.

Such a lot of help and experiencethank you. The picture is clearing. A couple of more specific questionsthough we will be in Paris a few more days it turns out only Saturday Sunday are days we will see sightsand at most I think 2 "sights" a day. So in light of wanting the Louvre, Notre Dame, and possibly Versailles on one of the daysis a museum pass any help at all? It seems from what I am readingthat Versailles looks like a wait no matter whatIs that SO? (and one of my party may not be walking well) .....
Also what is RER???