What is the best deal for train or metro transportation for a 7-day stay in France?

Question

I will take Eurostar to go to Paris from London on weekday. First I will stay 3 days in Paris, then take a train to Aquitaine on weekend and stay there for 3 days/ 2 nites. Train back to Paris. Then to Versailles. Then next day back to home using the De Gaulle Airport.

I checked and there are many different types of offers on discount or package ticket. Can anyone pls tell me what I should buy in order to get most value? thanks

Answer 1

For Paris, Versailles and CDG...don't get a tourist pass. They are super expensive compared to a normal weekly pass. Ask for a 7-day carte orange (Carte orange hebdomadaire) According to the RATP website a tourist visit pass is 46,60Euros for 5 days (zones 1-6) and a weekly orange card is 36,10Euros for the same zones and three more days. Versailles is in zone 4 and CDG is in zone 5...so your best bet is to get a weekly orange card for zones 1-5 which costs 32,10Euros and you can use that to go anywhere in Paris on the Metro, RER, busses, etc. You can also leave Paris up to zone 5, which includes the places you want to go. As for the train, if you can't get a discount there is really no way to get cheap tickets.

Hope this helps!

Answer 2

Are you under 25? If so, you are entitled to a 25% reduction on all train tickets. As for the metro, how much do you expect to use it? Touristic Paris is very compact and you can easily see most things on foot. If you organise your time in Paris by area (like Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Champs Elysees etc) you will really only need to use the Metro twice a day and that is much cheaper than any of the passes.

For over-25s there isn't a discount on the train that is practical for tourists, unless you are a senior citizen. The only way to save money that I know of is to buy the train tickets 2 weeks in advance or more, as prices are a little lower then. You can do this online at www.sncf.fr and pick up your tickets from any train station when you arrive in France. You will just need to have the credit card with you.

Answer 3

For the first part of your stay, you can buy a 3-day "paris visite" pass. When you come back, get a 2-day "paris visite" pass.

Note: Zones 1-3 are enough for getting around Paris. To go to Versailles, you'll need to either buy a zone 1-6 pass or just buy an separate ticket for the trip.

Answer 4

I was there recently and used the Paris Visite card which you can buy at any Metro, RER or Airport You can buy it for 1,2,3 or 5 days and it covers trips out to versailles and to and from the airport CDG. If you are staying right in the centre of paris you will be able to walk a lot. Also use the Batobus on the seine. The views are great!! Have a good time