Transportation Tips |
RATP's Navigo 'ticket' transport in Paris and the Ile de France
January 2008 By Linda Thalman
For Parisians there is a new transport 'ticket' called Navigo.
And, according to the web site, "Pour tous, utilisable immédiatement" you can use
the Navigo Découverte... for 5 euros.
If I understand the web site and information in the press, this is a more technically
sophisticated 'ticket' - with an electronic chip integrated into it -
than the 'carte orange'. You pay for the zones you need either weekly or monthly rates
and it can also be used for the velib bikes in Paris.
To be explored a bit more. Readers: your feedback on using the Navigo?
Walking around Paris is a 'must', but you really will need and want to use public transport
some of the time. In Paris, it is just a way of life to hop on a metro.
Until into my twenties I'd never used any public transport but school buses. Riding the rails
around Europe even in the early 1970s was a serious eye-opener. How wonderful not to need a car!
French - and European - public transport systems are, for the most part, excellent, be it
metros, trains, trams or buses.
If you have not used a metro, underground or subway, it can be a bit daunting at first.
Armed with a Paris metro map, you'll soon see that you need to know the end station names and the
line number also helps to determine just which metro or RER to get on.
Don't hesitate to ask at the ticket booths or the information desks if you need help.
The RATP [Regie Autonome des Transports Parisiens] sent me a nice set of brochures with information
on their Paris and Ile de France regional services. So now I'm passing along some travel tips to you.
I do suggest you visit the RATP web site and look at the options for the following:
The RAPT also has combined tickets for the Louvre and RATP travel, museum and monuments card,
passport for Paris Disneyland Resort and Paris Open Tour (by bus).
http://www.ratp.fr/
Having a car and cruising around France is a wonderful way to visit the country.
If you have your own car or a rental, I've a few tips for driving in Paris and France.
Parking above ground in Paris is not all that easy - my preference is to find an underground parking lot
in Paris.
For above ground parking in Paris in many places you'll need a special Paris city card that can be
bought in 'tabacs' starting at 10 euros - which is good for only about 3 hours of parking.
Otherwise, have change for the meters that are along the street - but not at each parking space -
and be sure to put the ticket in your car window.
When taking the autoroute you can pay by cash or credit card. Look carefully as you
arrive at the toll booths and head for the those that take cash (or credit cards).
There are booths just for CB, i.e. credit cards that are processed automatically: put
in your ticket, then your credit card and punch the button for your receipt (reçu).
If you do not have a credit card issued from a French bank, I'm not 100% sure it will work in
the automatic booths, so be forewarned. Head for a booth with a real person in it to pay the toll.
The speed limit on French motorways/freeways is 130 kilometers per hour and 110 kph when raining.
It's best to not exceed the speed limit too much.
There are lots of fixed radars now around France and the police still do radar traps -
frequently on national roads.
Drive carefully.
The price of a 'carnet' of ten RATP tickets is now 10.50 euros.
Ask for a 'carnet' – pronounced like [car-nay]. Or just show ten fingers to the clerk to get
your 10 tickets.
The RATP's Web site is the official site for the Paris Metro.
A single ticket for either the Métro or a bus, costs 1.30€.
Ask for a 'carnet' and get 10 tickets for 10€, and you save 3€. For a lot of unlimited stop–go travelling on the Métro and buses,
there is a 'Mobilis' ticket for 5.20€ per day, for use in Paris' inner zones 1 and 2.
This ticket is also available for a variety of transit zones, such as 1–3, up to 1–8.
This ticket can also be used on the SNCF's suburban train lines. The justly famous 'Carte Orange' ticket requires a photo, but is good for unlimited travel for a
week or a month. The minimum zone combination is 1–2, and this costs 14.50€ for
week or 48.60€ for a month. Be sure to write the card number on the ticket, or it will not be valid. A 'Paris Visite' ticket allowing unlimited travel on either Métro or buses, for use
within Paris' inner zones 1–3, costs 8.35€ for one day and 18.25€ for three days. The 'Museums & Monuments' ticket, good for unlimited travel and entry to museums,
costs 18.00€ for a day and 36.00€ for three days. Some of the tickets above also
entitle users to various discounts – on the Seine's BatoBus, for example. The yellow open top double–decker 'OpenTour' buses, which have several routes, that stop
and pickup at all the major sites, have unlimited tickets costing 24.00€ for one day, and 27.00€
for two days. The airport at Charles-Gaulle is served by the Roissybus making round-trips
to and from the Opéra. One way costs 8.20€. Orly's airport is equally served by the Orlybus,
which makes its round-trips from and to the RER station at Denfert– Rochereau.
One way costs 5.70€.
I decided to take a virtual trip -
From Boullay les Troux to Cahors.
It is 544 km in 4 hours 52 minutes
(with 507 km on the autoroute in 4 hours 13 minutes)
and using the UK site you get the same result in miles - 338 miles in 4 hours 52 minutes.
Both Michelin sites have email newsletters and from the French site I even got a
general map of the area showing my little village of Boullay les Troux.
You can get results for Michelin's recommended route, the quickest or shortest route,
taking the autoroute with the cost of the toll roads calculated or a touristic route
for any given date. There's a link to the weather and traffic reports as well.
If you are planning on driving around France or Europe, this is a wonderful resource.
And, of course, there are hotels and restaurants from Le Guide Rouge online.
Take a Bus - Tour Buses in Paris
There are two double-decker open-top tour buses. The 'Cars Rouge' - the Red Buses - have one route that takes about two hours and 15 minutes to complete. A ticket costs 125 francs, but is good for getting on and off the bus over a period of two days. The 'Cars Rouges' have commentaries in several languages. The other open-top bus is called 'OpenTour' and it has three distinct circuits, which also allow getting on and off at any of the bus's 40 stops. Commentaries are in French and English, via headphones. One day of touring costs 150 francs and two consecutive days are 165 francs. If you have an Orange Card, the one-day adult price is 125 francs. Kids from four to 11 are charged 75 francs. 'Batobus' tickets also get reductions on OpenTour buses and vice versa. Cars Rouges, 33. Quai des Grands Augustins, Paris 6. Métro: Saint-Michel. InfoTel.: 08 20 34 37 62. Daily from 7:00 to 21:30. OpenTour, boutique at 13 Rue Auber, near the Opéra. Tickets can be purchased on the buses. Daily from 10:00 to 20:00. Final complete round-trips begin earlier; at about 18:00. Fares for all RATP buses and métro lines will most likely be boosted on Monday, 2. July. The tariffs for the OpenTour buses are valid until the end of the year.
Transportation Tips and Thrills
I still find the most practical transport solution is the 'carnet' of
10 tickets. At 58 FF this is the best overall deal, bringing the cost
of a ride on the metro or bus from A to B to just 5.80 francs. Purchasing
one ticket is 8 FF, so you've already saved 22 francs when buying 10 tickets at one go.
Remember, Paris is a city where you will want to walk
a lot to see, feel, breathe, live the city. Taking a taxi back to your
hotel after pounding the pavement along with all your shopping is a
good idea. If you really want a transporation thrill, have the taxi
detour around the Etoile/Arc de Triomphe and up or down the Champs Elysees...
it will be memorable and the faint-hearted should abstain!
Mobilis Ticket
The 'Mobilis' ticket is basically a daily ticket,
good for unlimited travel. The Ile-de-France and Paris comprise eight
tariff zones, with the centre of Paris being zones one and two. The
furthest-out zone is eight. Many métro lines run beyond the city, out
to zone three. La Défense is in this zone as is the Saint-Denis station
on the métro line 13.
The 'Mobilis' ticket's advantage is that it is for
unlimited travel on any form of transport with wheels. For Paris' two
zones it costs 32 francs; for three zones, 44 francs. For a one-day
lightning tour of the city, this is a real bargain.
The Good Old Orange Card
The hard-core Parisian commuter's weekly or monthly
ticket also has rates based on the zone-system. Any combination of zones
can be chosen - just zones eight to three, or the more usual zones one
to three for example. Although the most common ticket used by commuters,
the Orange Card also has the advantage of allowing unlimited travel.
If you only do a straight point-to-point commute, you begin to save
money with this card on the fourth day, on a weekly basis. For making
a lot of trips over a period of ten days or two weeks, this card is
the winner.
The most useful carte orange for tourist visits is
probably zones one to two at a good value price of just 85 francs.
Paris By Boat, the 'Batobus' This Seine shuttle service which runs from April to October, has just
added a handy new stop - right beside the Pont Alexandre III. This will
give passengers easy access to the trio of 'palaces' there, the Petit, the
Grand and the Palais de la Découverte.
This new landing stage adds to the six existing ones. A daily fare of 65
francs is good from 10:00 to 21:00 and allows getting on and off as often
as you like. The same fare for children is 35 francs, and the two-day
ticket is 80 francs for adults, and 40 for kids under 12.
The name of the new stop is Champs-Elysées, even if it is about 350
metres away from the avenue. The fares above are reduced if you
already have some other form of transit ticket like a Carte d'Orange, so
don't forget to mention it. Simple single tickets are a bit pricey.
New RER line in Paris + Travel Tips
Now running is the Eole line (line E) from Hausmann-Saint Lazare
in central Paris to Chelles-Gournay in the eastern area of the
Seine-et-Marne department.Scheduled for 30 August is a second
stop at Villiers-sur-Marne. The RER, Paris' regional rail commuter
network has special tarifs.
Don't miss reading "Public Transport Maze Explained" And "Who's Afraid of the RER?"
Email – Linda@wfi.fr
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Copyright since 1995 by Linda Thalman - all rights reserved.
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