Paris Public Transport tickets - can anyone explain?

[QuantumWeatherButterfly]

Does anyone have current knowledge of how you pay for journeys on the Metro/RER in Paris, or will be able to at Easter next year?

I've only ever bought/used carnets when I have visited before, but I understand they are being (already have been?) withdrawn.

I've been trying to find out about alternatives, but going round in circles. I know we can't have a standard Navigo pass. I don't want to faff about with a Navigo Decouverte pass (we are only there a couple of days, I don't want to be messing about getting photos taken). I don't think we will get good value from a Paris Visite pass.

It looks like a Navigo Easy pass might be the answer, but is there any way to buy it in advance? If not, can I buy it at CDG?

Paris Metro website has all details, Paris Visite pass I had when I went in July.

Carnets were still available last Easter even though I'd read they had finished. Was very easy to buy from the ticket machine with a credit card.

Forgot to add, Navigo means buying a photo card, as far as I could see. It wasnt worth it for a short trip.

We went in July and also bought the carnet using a machine at any Metro station.

I was still able to buy a carnet when I went to Paris last month. However, you can buy a Navigo Easy for €2 and then a carnet of 10 e-tickets for it is €14.90. A carnet of 10 paper tickets is €16.90 so the card pays for itself in its first set of 10 - which is what I did. However, you have to have one card per person, as you each have to have a Navigo Easy to swipe through the barriers, so if you're only planning a couple of journeys per person you would be better off with a paper carnet.

I sympathise. We went over summer and I couldn’t get my head around the different options . We were fortunate that we could buy the paper tickets, which were phased out in the past couple of weeks. If you plan to go to Versailles or Monet’d garden, make sure you have the correct tickets for those lines.

@shitfather Thanks - and yes, I did think it was September that paper carnets were being withdrawn.

What I can't work out is whether paper tickets are available at all, even singly.

A Paris Visite pass that includes airport travel will cost us around 53 euros, but I don't think we will spend more than 30 - something, so that just isn't economic.

Navigo Easy passes don't require a photo (that's the standard Navigo and Navigo Decouverte passes), but also don't seem to be available outside of France - which is fine, I just wanted to get this sorted before we went if possible, as we're not there for long so the less time spent queuing in Metro stations, the better.

I speak good French, but even so, the RATP site is not very clear on any of this - or not to me anyway!

I thought the carnets were valid until about 2024? Was extremely gratified to be able to use one that had been in the back of a drawer for at least 15 years when we went to Paris this summer!

Well, they may be valid, crack, but I don't have any, and I don't think you can buy them any more - at least not in the traditional books of 10. Not sure whether even the single ones are available, which is what I was hoping someone could tell me.

I was able to buy a book of ten less than a month ago, from a ticket office with a window. In the end I switched and bought a Navigo Easy as explained above. I was at Gare du Lyon métro.

Oh, right! 🙄
Well, I was able to buy a single one from.a machine in April.
You're welcome.

@QuantumWeatherButterfly Thank you for posting this.

I have been looking (and looking and looking) for somewhere to buy the paper tickets too as the packets of them I had have finished. I had always purchased them in advance so I could just go from the Eurostar to wherever I needed to be.

I cannot find any information about remote purchase and the company I used to buy from is no longer online. The only information I can find about advance purchase of paper tickets is for the one, two, three or five-day passes and I don't think they would be economic either.

Sorry - I don't think that helps at all but you are not the only one who cannot find them to buy remotely.

@StockholmHearts I've been able to confirm that if you have a Navigo Easy card, you can load them up with a virtual carnet, so it would function exactly as having a book of paper ones does. You can also (I think!) top this up by a mobile phone app. The cards cost 2€ to buy, then ticket prices are the same on top.

However, from what I've read and what others have said on this thread, I think the only way to buy a card is in person at a station or an authorised retailer, no online options. The good news for you is that I've just found a reference that the buffet car on the Eurostar is one such retailer, but since we're flying I don't think we can avoid at least some gaffing about at a station.

@QuantumWeatherButterfly Thank you. You are right. Now that you’ve said I remember the announcements on the train.

For the Easy Card I think there is also the option of having the card on a smartphone but that doesn’t help as I do not have one.

Thank you for posting about the Eurostar. Think I might chance it.