tominrm

I am going to Paris in October for a week and need your recommendations on transport pass and museum pass. It appears there are several choices for each, and simply I don’t understand it all.
1. transport. : I will arrive at Orly and need to take Orly bus to Denver-Rochereau then take metro. Use transport (metro?) to Versailles. What kind weekly pass will do these trips without having to pay extra?
2. museum/attractions : Louvre,d’Orsay, Eiffel, Rodin,?
Any suggestions are welcome and appreciated.

Christina

It's hard to answer as you don't give enough info to really decide. Like day of the week you arrive, etc. Also, if you are just concerned about what is cheapest (not sure, I am not as I don't care if I spend a euro or two more for a pass versus separate tickets if I think having one pass is more convenient than keeping track of separate tickets). Also, I never know exactly how many trips I may take each day, so usually go with a pass so I don't have to care. Also, what else you intend to do, if anything, in the Ile de France area covered by some passes.

Basically, you can buy a Navigo Decouverte for zones 1-5 which covers all transportation EXCEPT Orlyval and costs 23 euro. But you have to have a passport-sized head shot to put on it, and make sure you put it together properly, signature etc. You have to buy that from a clerk, not a machine. But it ONLY runs Monday through the next Sunday. That's why I said your days matter. IF you arrived on a Friday, you can't buy it for that week anymore, either, as if you buy one it will be for the week starting the next Monday. The pass itself costs 2 euro, also.

So unless your week runs Mon through the next Sunday, it is highly unlikely you can cover everything with one pass, you may have to buy extra day pass tickets or whatever. YOu can buy a one-day pass for 7.5 euro for extra days and load it onto that card for extra days. LIke if you arrived Wed. and bought one but needed something for the next Mon only as you were leaving Tuesday.

Paris Visite was made for tourists, it is very expensive relatively but can make sense in some situations, and also can work for kids as it has reduced child fares. But in generally it costs 66 euro for 5 days for zones 1-5, so you see it is a lot more expensive than one Navigo. It does cover Orlyval, though, which costs about 9 euro itself. It is only 38 euro for zones 1-3 for 5 days, but even that is a little bit more than the one-day pass for 7.5 euro (which is only for zones 1-2, though, but no one hardly ever needs zone 3).

Versailles is in zone 4.

As for attractions, just buy tickets to each separately, I'd say. The Eiffel tower doesn't belong to the government, and isn't included on any museum pass. You'll have to decide if the museum pass makes sense for you depending on how many places on it you intend to go and what the tickets costs.
https://www.parismuseumpass.fr/t-en/tarif

Obviously if you only want to go to the Louvre, Orsay and Rodin aside from the ET, it wouldn't make sense.
Louvre 15 euro plus Orsay plus Rodin joint ticket is 24 euro so 39 euro total (you may pay a bit if you buy online in advance. And you have to do a time reservation some places no matter how you get your ticket (even if you have a pass). Unless you just buy it at the door, of course. The cheapest Museum pass is 52 euro for two days, and you have to do those on two consecutive days.

Easiest thing is just don't buy a museum pass, I've never bought one but I also never want to go to more than one major museum of the same type in a single day. I've been to Paris a lot, also, so don't usually go to a lot of the main things.

AS for transport, just make a decision based on what I wrote above. And don't sweat it that much, people on boards like this and TA obsess over Paris transport costs more than about anything worrying about a euro here or there. In the cost of your vacation, it doesn't matter all that much.

tominrm

Thank you, Christina, very much. You answered all my questions well.
Based on what you wrote, I will probably buy a Navigo Decouverte because I arrive on a Monday for a week, and buy museum tickets separately.

Seamus

Another transport pass option that does not require a photo is the Navigo Easy card which functions as a stored value card much like an Oyster card in London. We used this last couple trips and it was great.

Agree that most of the museum pass offers are not worth it. Do consider advance online booking a timed admission at popular venues like Louvre and Orsay.

tominrm

Thank you for your reply. I will look into Navigo Easy Card.

tominrm

will Either Navigo card work on Orly bus to Denfert-Rochereau?

Seamus

The Navigo Decouverte does not include airport buses to either Orly or CDG/Roissy. You can load an Orlybus fare onto the Navigo Easy card. Scroll down the page I linked above and you'll see photo instructions on how to do so. I have not been through Orly in a while, not certain but believe you can purchase your Navigo Easy at the Orlybus station there. If you get a nice ticket agent they may even load it onto your card when you purchase it if you request that. You can also ask that it be loaded with a carnet ("kar-nay") of ten metro tickets at the time of purchase.

Sarastro

Correct, the Navigo Découverte is just a blank card, it does not include transportation to anywhere. However, if the card is loaded with an appropriate fare, such as the zone 1-5 weekly pass at 22.80€ or one of the other appropriate pass options, it will take you anywhere within the Île-de-France, including buses to CDG or ORY.

You are probably thinking of the OrlyVal which requires separate ticketing when using a pass.