Paris Metro - Best fare options

[ACL]

Next month I will be in Paris for 3 days with a group of people (my first time in Paris). What is the best fare option for using the metro? I see that a ticket costs Euro 1.70, and that you can purchase a pack of 10 for Euro 12.70. Are there any other options, such as an all day pass?

Thanks.

 

[Oscar]

Single tickets
1 ticket t+: 1.70€
10 tickets t+: 13.30€
These tickets are valid for one trip on the metro and the RER within zone 1 or one trip on buses in a trams with a time limit of 1 hour 30 minutes travelling in the same direction with no break of journey to catch a bus or tram on the same line. Single tickets for the RER outside of zone 1 are issued from an origin to a destination.

Day Tickets
Mobilis Zones 1-2: 6.60€
(under 26s at weekend can buy Ticket Jeunes Week-end Zones 1-3 for 3.65€)

Paris Visite

Paris Visite (travel and discount on attractions)
1 day: 10.55€
2 days: 17.55€
3 days: 23.40€

Navigo

Pass Navigo Découverte (on smartcard)
1 week zones 1-2: 19.80€

 

[dlj83]

The ticket that I use when in Paris is the Navigo Decouverte which is cheaper than the Paris Pass, however just like in the uk the staff don't like selling it to you as its a cheaper ticket

 

[radamfi]

It might be worth noting that the t+ tickets allow bus to bus transfers and metro/RER to metro/RER transfers, but not between bus and metro. This is unusual in Europe except for UK and Ireland.

Also, some tourist places, such as Versailles, are not in zones 1-2 so aren't valid on the t+ ticket. If you download the RER map

http://www.transilien.com/contents/fr/Docs---PDF/Plans/Carte_transilien_metro_fusion.pdf

it shows the boundary for the t+ ticket as a wiggly line. In a few places, you can use the t+ ticket on Metro but not on the RER. A Mobilis ticket for more zones may be more appropriate if you are going longer distances on RER trains a few times. Last time I used the Mobilis, you had to write your name on it.

 

[k-c-p]

I always use a Mobilis day pass. For about 7 Euro you can move around the city as much as you like.
It is hidden a bit at the vending machines, you have scroll to an option named "other STIF tickets" or something like that.
You can buy several day passes at once. They are equipped with a magnetic strip on that. The counter will start when you use a ticket fo the first time.

Bon voyage
Charly

 

[ACL]

Thanks everyone, that is helpful information. I will probably be leading 8 - 10 people around (usually the transportation is my specialty). Some will be with me more than others (who will be suffering from jet lag), so it looks like a combination of Moblis day passes for those of us who will be going to the late hours and the 10 ticket purchases to pass out to those who will be turning in early.

The Paris metro looks like a wonderful system. I think I will enjoy riding it.

 

[lemonic]

Thanks everyone, that is helpful information. I will probably be leading 8 - 10 people around (usually the transportation is my specialty). Some will be with me more than others (who will be suffering from jet lag), so it looks like a combination of Moblis day passes for those of us who will be going to the late hours and the 10 ticket purchases to pass out to those who will be turning in early.

The Paris metro looks like a wonderful system. I think I will enjoy riding it.

That sounds like a good plan. I was in Paris last month with a large group of people and some of us got Mobilis day passes if we were making many journeys in a day, whereas others shared carnets if they were only making, say, 2 journeys in a day.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

ACL, be aware - Lines 1 and 14 are like the DLR in that you have an unobstructed see out front view from the trains.

 

[ACL]

ACL, be aware - Lines 1 and 14 are like the DLR in that you have an unobstructed see out front view from the trains.

That's great. If I get on one of those lines, I'll be sure to get in the front car.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

That sounds like a good plan. I was in Paris last month with a large group of people and some of us got Mobilis day passes if we were making many journeys in a day, whereas others shared carnets if they were only making, say, 2 journeys in a day.

Thanks.

Our part of the group from the Washington DC area get into Charles de Gaulle airport at 6:00 AM. The other part of the group from the New York City area get in around 8:30 AM. That will give me some time to go down to the train station and get a couple of carnets and some Mobilis. Save time later.

 

[Ze Random One]

I should note that with both the Mobilis and Paris Visite passes you must write the user's surname (nom), forename (prénom) and validity date(s) on the front of the pass in pen. This applies irrespective of any date applied by the validators - you must also write it.

Remember the accepted date format is dd/mm/yy or dd/mm (note this is the other way around from the american date format, so expect some confusion)

For reference, times are always written as HHhMM in the 24-hour clock (i.e., 14h30), and it is normal to abbreviate the hour to just HHh (i.e., 16h), so if a shop wanted to say "closed until 3pm", you'd usually see a sign saying "Fermé jusqu'à 15h". The 24 hour clock really confuses many americans (bizarrely, even many military americans, who use the 24hr clock for operational purposes), so be sure to translate any particularly important times for them.

RER B (Paris to CdG Airport) is not a 24hr service, so be aware that the first arrival at CdG is around 0530 (0453 from Paris Nord), and the last departure from CdG-2 is at 2356 (arriving into Paris Nord at 0026). Noctilien (Night bus) services pick up after that, both N140 and N143 go to CdG, but N143 is faster and more frequent.

Outside the rush hours, express RER trains run non-stop between CdG and Paris Nord, and there are also stopping services. In the rush, they're all Semi-Fast. Every RER train has a code (a "Mission"), and the non-stop ones from Paris to the Airport are EKLI EKIL and EEVI, whereas the non-stop ones from CdG to Paris are KROL KRIN and JIBY, however since no trains are overtaken on RER B, the only benefit is not having to spend your journey accompanied by the residents of the sink estates from the Parisian suburbs, so you can just get on any train with the correct destination. Any RER B train code starting with an E goes to CdG, AFAIR. There are boards at platform level detailing the stopping points for the next train in, but the summary of departures screens on concourses usually just show the Mission code.

The RER B line is undergoing a substantial upgrade to improve the signalling and station infrastructure, so keep an eye out for notices of Travaux. In particular there are rail replacement bus services on most weeknights after 2300. See http://www.ratp.fr/informer/trafic/travaux_ratp.php

Finally Mobilis is not valid on Roissybus, Orlybus, Orlyval or the RER at CdG airport, so if you're not getting Paris Visite or using a taxi for those from the airport, you'll need to buy origine-destination tickets for them.

 

[radamfi]

Finally Mobilis is not valid on Roissybus, Orlybus, Orlyval or the RER at CdG airport, so if you're not getting Paris Visite or using a taxi for those from the airport, you'll need to buy origine-destination tickets for them.

Are Mobilis tickets valid to those airports by local bus to another station? That might be a sneaky way of getting to the airport without paying the airport premium.

 

[CC 72100]

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ligne_B_du_RER_d'Île-de-France#Noms_des_missions

Wikipedia article (in French) of the 'mission codes'

 

[Ze Random One]

Are Mobilis tickets valid to those airports by local bus to another station? That might be a sneaky way of getting to the airport without paying the airport premium.

They are, but local buses aren't that numerous in the areas of the airports:

For Orly
Valid on Buses 183 and 285

183 Porte de Choisy Metro (Line 7) - Orly South Terminal
every 30-40 minutes, no late evening service (last journeys around 2030/2130 dependent upon direction). Check the destination, as there are short journeys on this route, particularly on Sundays.
The journey takes an hour from Porte de Choisy, and adding on the 15 minute metro journey from Châtelet means I cannot recommend this route.

285 Villejuif-Louis Aragon Metro (Line 7) - Orly South Terminal - Juvisy RER (Lines C & D)
every 7 - 15 minutes daytimes, every 20 - 40 minutes evenings and Sundays. Service runs 0500 to 0100 approx. Journey time 20 minutes from Villejuif-Louis Aragon. Villejuif-Louis Aragon is 20 minutes from Châtelet by Metro 7. Alternatively, journey time 15 minutes from Juvisy. Juvisy is about 20 minutes from Notre Dame or Châtelet depending on route, by RER. This makes the total journey time from central Paris a little under 1 hour.

For Charles de Gaulle
Valid on Buses 350 and 351

350 Gare de L'Est - Gare du Nord - CdG Terminals - Roissypole (one way loop in Airport)
every 15 - 20 minutes daytimes, every 25 - 30 minutes evenings and Sundays. No late evening service (first journey around 0530, last full-route journeys around 2130)
Note that this route takes a one-way loop around the airport, and there are variations between the daytime and rush-hour route. Journey Time around 1hr.

351 Nation (Metro & RER) - Galliéni (Metro Line 3) - CdG Terminals - Roissypole (one way loop in Airport)
every 25 - 35 minutes, 7 days. No late evening service (first journey around 0530 from Nation, 0700 from CdG; last journeys 2020 from Nation, 2130 from CdG)
This takes a different one-way loop around the airport, and there are rush hour variations as well. During rush hours, short journeys operate on the southern section, so check your destination at Nation. Journey time over 1hr from Nation, 15-20 minutes less from Galliéni. It's about a 15-20 minute journey from central Paris to Galliéni on Metro 3. Nation is a major Metro interchange in eastern Paris.

As these are day routes, there is no overnight service on them, but night service is available on Noctilien routes N140 and N143 to CdG (N143 is the faster and more frequent service), and N31 and N131 to Orly (N131 is substantially faster)

 

[radamfi]

Thanks for the detailed info on local buses. I don't mind taking a very long route in order to save money! I have used the policy of getting a bus to the airport in a number of places and the bus routes are often quite interesting. For example, there is a local bus from New York JFK to subway stations with free transfer which saves a lot of money compared to using the A-Train. Similarly at Newark Airport, you can get a cheap local bus to Newark town centre station which is much cheaper than that A-Train. And of course there are the bus links to Heathrow at Feltham and Hayes & Harlington.

Are Mobilis tickets valid on the night buses to those airports?

 

[Oscar]

Yes, Mobilis is valid on night buses after the day of validity (until 05:30). A Mobilis for the day itself is not valid though (validity starts at 05:30).

 

[ACL]

Thanks everyone. Lot's of great information. Greatly appreciated.

 

[martino]

Are Mobilis tickets valid to those airports by local bus to another station? That might be a sneaky way of getting to the airport without paying the airport premium.

Note that you need Mobilis out to zone 5 to get local buses at CDG, not just zones 1-2.

If you are using t+ tickets on the 350 or 351 then you need 3 tickets for the journey Paris-CDG. These lines are special cases - normally you only need one ticket for a day bus journey, regardless of zones. I do not know of anywhere where this is documented in English.

On the Noctilien you will need 4 t+ tickets (number of zones crossed - 1).

 

[ACL]

Our guide will get us from CDG to our hotel, probably by a private bus. Once we get checked in we will have the whole first day free, plus portions of the next couple of days. That's when I'll need the moblis and the carnets of tickets.

Again, I greatly appreciate all of the wonderful advice.