We will be in Paris for 7 days-from a Tuesday to the following Monday. Any suggestions on the best transport pass to purchase? Also I have heard it is better to buy it when we arrive in Paris rather than before we leave?
Travelling are myself and my two teenage boys.

yes better to buy it here. depends on what you want to do in paris; a Paris Visit Passcard(5 days)can get you discount on museums ,etc: or buy a carnet of 10 passes for each(cheaper if buying for traveling alone and can use any day)

Much depends on whether you plan to take public transportation to and from the airport and whether you plan any short-range day trips out of Paris, to Versailles, for example.

If the answer to those two questions is no, then either a weeklong two-zone carte orange (16 euros per person) or "carnets" of Metro tickets, 10.90 euros for ten tickets, would probably be best. The carte orange, which you can purchase Tuesday, would be valid only through the next Sunday. Any public transportation on the following day, Monday, would be at additional cost.

As for the choice between carnets and the weekly carte orange, the break-even point is 15 metro or bus rides. Above that, the carte orange would be more economical.

Dave

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Kim,

I say just buy metro tickets as you need them. You buy them 10 at a time (a book of 10 tickets is called a carnet) and get a slight discount that way. Unless you plan to be on and off the metro or buses 10 times a day, there's not a big advantage to getting the Carte Orange or some other transit pass.

Compared to what you will spend on food and lodgings, the amount you're likely to spend on transit is minimal. In fact, one of the pleasures of being is Paris is walking as much as possible. Central Paris, especially, is very walkable.

I lean toward the weekly pass (carte orange) for visitors if it's a close call pricewise between that and carnets, in part because it eliminates any decisions about what to see based in any part on ticket costs, and in part because I like to roam far and wide in Paris. But it's true, some visitors are content mainly on foot. (For the five-day visit of the OP, however, the break-even point would be three Metro rides, or three bus rides without changes, which require and additional tickets, per day. That's not a lot).

Dave

I love to walk in Paris. If the weather is good, I know I wouldn't break even on a weekly pass. If the weather is rainy, maybe. So it's a gamble. My mentality: I'd rather spend a little more for something I need, like another carnet, than waste my money on something I end up not needing or using.

Of course you make a good point about people deciding not to see this or that museum or neighborhood because of transit costs when they are paying as they go.

Mainly, though, I think transit costs really are minimal compared the the amount you pay for lodgings and food, especially restaurants.

(Codger alert!) When I lived in Paris way back when, the coming of the Carte Orange was quite a big event. This was in about 1974. Suddenly I could jump on and off buses (which actually cost two metro tickets back then, not just one as now) and ride the metro even just one or two stops without worrying about the cost.

My budget was pretty limited, I admit (part-time teachers don't earn much, but hey, I was in Paris!). The Carte Orange was newfound freedom to explore the city. But now, as a tourist on short stays, a carnet serves my purposes just fine. I end up walking more, which is the best way to experience the city.

i agree on the carnet of 10 instead of the carte orange, for pure travel and of course, walking should be a requirement in Paris.
you feel so much the atmosphere.

when i am in Paris, very often;again tomorrow;with a bunch of Americans in Paris at the Great Canadian, quai des grands augustins (if anybody wants to show up 8pm) i make it a point to stop at a metro station ahead so i can walk to my final destination and enjoy the sites and people moving about.