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A Powerful Network
Parisians are proud of their subway system.
With almost a century of history, the system is vast, effective, and well-managed. If you can imagine that 6 million passengers are transported by the subway system every day, you can understand what a powerful network it is. It is said that from any location in downtown Paris there is a subway station not farther than 500 meters from you.
Traveling like Parisian
Using the subway as a means of transit is the Parisian way of life. When discussing a location, Parisians always mention the name of the nearest METRO
station.
If you are invited by a company to visit their office, you shouldn't be surprised if they do not arrange to pick you up from your hotel, but instead give you directions from the subway. The subway is more convenient, and avoids traffic jams. It is the easiest way around, even if you are new to Paris.
Two Systems
What we have been referring to as the "subway" is, in fact, two systems in one.
The Metro (short for Metropolitan) has 14 lines (numbered 1 through 14), and runs in downtown Paris. The RER (Reseaux Express Reginale) has 5 lines (lettered A through E), and runs through both downtown and the suburbs.
Tickets
There are several ticketing options available for those using public transit: individual tickets, the "Paris Visite" pass, the "Carte
Orange" pass, or the "Mobilis" pass. Each of these is described in some detail below. Of all these kinds of tickets, you will be interested in Carte Orange and Mobilis most likely.
Individual tickets for the downtown area are valid within zones 1 and 2.
Each can be used for a single trip on the Metro, RER, bus, or tram. The price is 1.30 euros for one ticket or 9.60 for 10 tickets (called a Carnet). Children from 4 to 11 years old can have half price discount for a Carnet, say 4.80 euros for 10 children tickets.
Individual tickets to Paris suburbs are priced based on the distance traveled. For example, from downtown Paris to the GIS hotel Paris (station NEUILLY PLAISANCE, Zone 3) is 2.3 euros one way, 19 euros for
10 tickets; from the GIS hotel Paris to Disneyland Paris is 4euros one way; from Charles de Gaulle airport to downtown Paris is 10.05 euros one way, to GIS hotel Paris is the same.
The Mobilis is a one-day
ticket that allows unlimited travel on the Metro, RER, bus, RATP, ADATRIF, APTR, and SNCF suburban network. It excludes the Orlybus, Orlyval, Roissybus, Roissyrail and Orlyrail.
Price is based on area of coverage, for Zone 1 - 3, it is 6.7 euros.
The Paris Visite pass a bit more expensive than the Mobilis. It allows you to discover Paris and its surroundings.
With it, you enjoy unlimited travel on all public transit systems, including: the Metro, RER, buses, tram, Montmartre funiculaire, Montmartobus, Noctambus, suburban trains, and private buses from ADATRIF and APTR. According to the zones you choose (1-3 to 1-8), you can travel as far as Disneyland Paris, Versailles, or the airports. Passes can be valid for 1, 2, 3, or 5 days, beginning any day of the week. They are half price for children between 4 and 11 years old. Travel on the RER and SNCF suburban trains is in first class cabins. The pass also allows you to receive discounted entry into 30 of Paris' museums, not including many of the more popular ones, such as the Louvre. No photograph is required to obtain this pass.
The Carte Orange pass is probably your best choice
if you are visiting Paris for more than three days and your visit starts towards the beginning of the week. For example, the weekly ticket covering
zones 1 to 3 is 18.35 euros, see Price list, whereas the 3-day Paris Visite pass for the same zones is 18.25 euros. GIS hotel Paris is in Zone 3.
The Carte Orange pass requires a photo and paper work to prevent sharing of passes. (It is easy: just put your whatever photo on the card, fill your name in the card and fill the number of the card in the coupon)
The Carte Orange weekly pass is valid from Monday through Sunday. Between Monday and Wednesday, you may purchase a ticket for the current
week. Between Friday and Sunday, you may purchase a ticket for the coming week.
The monthly pass is valid from the first to the last day of each month.
Tickets are available at all stations of the Metro and RER lines A and B as well as locations displaying the RATP poster (such as many tobacconists).
Some tips for buying tickets
Tourists are often surprised how difficult it is to communicate with Metro attendants. The following are French phrases to assist you in purchasing
your tickets. If you cannot pronounce them properly, you may wish to write down the appropriate phrase and show it to the Metro attendant.
In each of these examples X, Y, and Z should be replaced by the
appropriate number.
X billets (X tickets)
X billets pour Neuilly Plaisance (X tickets to Neuilly Plaisance, that is for GIS hotel Paris)
un carnet (one packet of 10 tickets for the downtown area)
X carnets pour Neuilly Plaisance (X packets of 10 tickets for Neuilly Plaisance)
X billets Carte Orange pour zone X a Y (X Carte Orange tickets for zones X through Y)
X mobilis pour zone X a Y (X mobilis tickets for zones X through Y)
X Paris Vistes pour zone X a Y, Z jours (X Paris Visite passes for zones X through Y, valid for Z days)
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