I was in London last year and bought their tourist metro pass. Best thing ever . . . gives unlimited travel in the entire network of trains and buses. Paris offers something similar. How good is it? They also have the Museum pass. Does anyone know is that is worth getting? Will be in Paris for 5 days. Thanks!
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There is much information on metro and museum passes if you look through posts on this site. Even if you don%26#39;t save money with the museum pass, you will save waiting in lines and your time can be very valuable.
We got a lot of value out of our metro pass. Some people prefer to walk almost everywhere, but we found with the walking in museums, shopping etc, the metro was very useful for saving our legs. You should know that many metro stations require using stairs and transfer points can often be quite a walk between lines. Metro passes are also good on busses. bus routes can be confusing, but if you have a convenient one from where you are staying you don%26#39;t have to walk up and down stairs and you can see sites along the way, as opposed to the metro which is underground.
Look thru the old posts on this site and you will find tons of discussions about the various options, web sites, etc.
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Paris has a variety of transportation pass option--CARTE ORANGE (if it%26#39;s weekly days of issue work for your itinerary, this will be the best deal) consecutive calendar-day PARIS VISITE (Most like the London pass) and singe calendar-day MOBILIS. There is also a CARTE MUSEE et MONUMENTS consecutive calendar-day museum pass. For details:
http://www.ratp.fr/
Select TITRES de TRANSPORT for transportation pass details and VISITER PARIS for museum pass details.
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I think Paris Visite is a poor deal. The Carte Orange is good for a working week, but not so much, say, if your stay is from Wednesday to Sunday. A Mobilis for zones 1 and 2 should cost 5.20 euro, and is good value, combined with a Museum Pass.
Interesting, too, that www.ratp.fr has information on all sorts of tickets and passes in the French language section, but mentions only the Paris Visite in the English part.
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%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;Interesting, too, that www.ratp.fr has information on all sorts of tickets and passes in the French language section, but mentions only the Paris Visite in the English part.%26lt;%26lt;%26lt;
Not so surprising. Some time ago someone e-mailed the RATP to find out whether the CARTE ORANGE was available onl to Parisians after tere had been a few reports of tourists being refused Carte Orange at a fe Metro ticket kiosks. The response from the RATP representative was that the CO was %26quot;..intended..%26#39; for Paris residents, there was not specific requirement of residency. So, since the 5-day Paris Visite Zone 1-3 at 26.65 Euro generates 11 Euro more than the weekly CARTE ORANGE Zone 1-2 at 15,40 Euro...with a lot less grief to the individual ticket sellers, they %26#39;..advertise..%26#39; the VISITE and keep the CO in the dim recesses of foreign language to most tourists.
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I do not believe it is clearly explained in the previous posts that the Carte Orange is only valid from Monday thru Sunday. You can purchase it thru Wednesday, but it will expire on Sunday.
So, yes the Carte Orange is much more economical, if your trip corresponds to the days it is sold an valid.
On my recent trip, arriving on Thursday and leaving on Tuesday, the Carte Orange was not an option. Because we used the metro a lot the Paris Visite was a good deal and very simple way to get around. It also provided much opportunity for spontaneity.
Others, who plan to walk as much as possible may find a simple carnet, or pack of 10 individual tickets, will be the best value.
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As far as the ZONES . . . one staying in central paris would only be in zones 1-3 right? Is there a need to get a pass that goes beyond that?
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%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;As far as the ZONES . . . one staying in central paris would only be in zones 1-3 right? Is there a need to get a pass that goes beyond that?%26lt;%26lt;%26lt;
ALL of the City of Paris (within the Peripherique and a bit beyond) is within Zones 1-2. If you are purchasing a CARTE ORANGE for your basic transportation requirements within Paris the a Zone 1-2 pass will suffice, if a PARIS VISITE pass than the Zone 1-3 pass will suffice. It is also worth noting that if you are using a CARNET of tickets one(1) ticket is sufficient for any single trip within Paris.
If you plan to use the RER B train as your mode of transfer from and back to CDG (Zone 5) or ORLY (Zone 4) airports and/or you plan sevral day-trips outside of Paris to VERSAILLES(Zone 4) or Disneyland Paris (Zone 5) then you MAY need a Zone 1-5 pass. But whether you do or not will depend pretty much on how many such trips you plan to take versus the individual RER fares.
For most visitors who will only be in Paris for a few days and only plan to use the Metro/buses within the City of Paris, the PARIS VISITE is usually a bad deal versus reduced price CARNETs of ten(10) individual tickets.
In any event, you should take the time to check the options and comparative prices at the RATP site-- http://www.ratp.fr/ %26gt;%26gt;TITRES de TRANSPORT. But, if you decide that you want a PARIS VISITE, the very WORST deal you can make is to pre-purchase one through any of the third-party agents who offer them. Almost every one sells the PARIS VISITE pass at at least a 25%-35% premium (fees %26amp; charges) above what you will pay for the exact same pass at ANY Paris Metro ticket kiosk never more than 500 meters from wherever you are in Paris).
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