Paris_ City Guide (Lonely Planet, 7th Edition) - Lonely Planet [293]
TRAVEL PASSES
If you’re staying a week or more, the cheapest and easiest way to use public transport in Paris is to get a combined travel pass that allows unlimited travel on the metro, RER and buses for a week, a month or a year. You can get passes for travel in two to eight urban and suburban zones but, unless you’ll be using the suburban commuter lines extensively, the basic ticket valid for zones 1 and 2 should be sufficient.
The Navigo system (www.navigo.fr, in French), like London’s Oyster or Hong Kong’s Octopus cards, provides you with a refillable weekly, monthly or yearly unlimited pass that you can recharge at Navigo machines in most metro stations; swipe the card across the electronic panel as you go through the turnstiles. Standard Navigo passes, available to anyone with an address in Paris, are free but take up to three weeks to be issued; ask at the ticket counter for a form. Otherwise pay €5 for a Nagivo Découverte, issued on the spot but – unlike the Navigo pass – not replaceable if lost or stolen. Both passes require a passport photo and can be recharged for periods of one week or more.
A weekly ticket (coupon hebdomadaire) pass costs €16.30 for zones 1 and 2 and is valid from Monday to Sunday. It can be purchased from the previous Thursday until Wednesday; from Thursday weekly tickets are available for the following week only. Even if you’re in Paris for three or four days, it may work out cheaper than buying carnets and will certainly cost less than buying a daily Mobilis or Paris Visite pass (see below). The monthly ticket (coupon mensuel; €53.50 for zones 1 and 2) begins on the first day of each calendar month; you can buy one from the 20th of the preceding month. Both are sold in metro and RER stations from 6.30am to 10pm and at some bus terminals.
TOURIST PASSES
The Mobilis and Paris Visite passes are valid on the metro, RER, SNCF’s suburban lines (opposite), buses, night buses, trams and Montmartre funicular railway. No photo is needed, but write your card number on the ticket. Passes are sold at larger metro and RER stations, SNCF offices in Paris, and the airports.
The Mobilis card coupon allows unlimited travel for one day in two/three/four/five/six zones and costs €5.60/7.50/9.30/12.50/15.90. Buy it at any metro, RER or SNCF station in the Paris region. Depending on how many times you plan to hop on/off the metro in a day, a carnet might work out cheaper.
Paris Visite allows unlimited travel (including to/from airports) as well as discounted entry to certain museums and other discounts and bonuses. Passes are valid for either three, five or eight zones. The zone 1 to 3 pass costs €8.50/14/19/27.50 for one/two/three/five days. Children aged four to 11 years pay €4.25/7/9.50/13.75.
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TAXI
The prise en charge (flagfall) is €2.10. Within the city limits, it costs €0.82 per kilometre for travel between 10am and 5pm Monday to Saturday (Tarif A; white light on meter). At night (5pm to 10am), on Sunday from 7am to midnight, and in the inner suburbs the rate is €1.10 per km (Tarif B; orange light on meter). Travel in the outer suburbs is at Tarif C, €1.33 per kilometre. There’s a €2.75 surcharge for taking a fourth passenger, but drivers often refuse for insurance reasons. The first piece of baggage is free; additional pieces over 5kg cost €1 extra. When tipping, round up to the nearest €1.
Flagging down one of Paris’ 15,500-odd licensed taxis can be hard, particularly after 1am. Some ‘freelance’ (illegal) taxis nip around town but are not organised (like minicabs are in London) and offer no guarantee on price or safety.
To order a taxi, call Paris’ central taxi switchboard ( 01 45 30 30 30, passengers with reduced mobility 01 47 39 00 91; 24hrs) or reserve online with Alpha Taxis ( 01 45 85 85 85; www.alphataxis.com), Taxis Bleus ( 01 49 36 29 48, 08 91 70 10 10; www.taxis-bleus.com) or Taxis G7 ( 01 47 39 47 39; www.taxisg7.fr, in French).
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TRAIN
Suburban