I am still so terribly confused about the Carte Orange. Can someone answer the following specifics:
I know my husband will not get it together enough to get his picture taken before we leave next week for CDG. We also will not be able to buy the cards from a vending machine because our credit cards and bank cards do not have the chip required.
So, is it possible to buy the passes at the airport through a human being who can swipe our credit cards and where there is a photo booth nearby?
If not, am I correct in saying that the major stations (Gare Nord, Est, etc.) will have the photo booths and manned ticket booths?
We will be staying in the 6th, and the closest subway will be Odeon. Can anyone confirm if I can buy the Carte Orange at that Metro stop?
Many thanks for bearing with my confusion. To be honest, we don%26#39;t have a day by day itinerary planned so if the difficulty of getting a Carte Orange surpasses the benefits, it might be better for us to get the Paris Visite passes or daily passes instead, depending on what we decide to do any given day or days.
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The Carte Orange is a lifesaver IMO. We are big walkers, and enjoy walking, but the freedom you have to walk or not walk with Carte Orange in your pocket is well worth the modest price they ask for it.
You don%26#39;t have to %26quot;have your picture taken.%26quot; Just take a headshot of your husband and print it out on photo paper on your home computer/printer. We did that and it works fine. You just need a 1x1 (ish) picture. The card itself has a sticky area on which you stick the photo.
As to purchasing it, we did it at the local train station. We bought a carnet to hold us over (we arrived on Friday and the CO is good Mon-Sun) and also bought our CO at the same place. Simple and easy.
One tip - be sure to keep the ID and the ticket together at all times. They sometimes ask to see your ID card and if you don%26#39;t have it there%26#39;s a hefty fine (from what I understand). We only saw them ID-checking once during the week we were there, but it does happen.
Beyond that, the CO is a cakewalk. Don%26#39;t let it intimidate you. I think you%26#39;ll find it well worth having!
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Monty,
Don%26#39;t worry about sitting to get your photo taken - you have it already.
Simply make a photocopy of your passport (you should do this whether you get the CO or not). Snip out the picture and voila! You have a photo for your Carte Orange.
When you get the Carte Orange, they first give you a plastic holder. You fill out the required info and then you affix your photo. You hand it back to the clerk with your 16 euro payment. They give you back the plastic holder but this time with the ticket.
It is a GREAT value if it applies to your travel situation, that is that you are going to use it for a week starting on a Monday.
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...and how many days do you plan on staying in Paris?
the weekly Carte Orange, good from Monday to Sunday of the same week- so even if you start using it on Wednesday, it will be good til the following Sunday only and beware that at most manned metro stations Wednesday is the last day to buy the carte orange for that specific week- cost about 16 Euros.
There is a one day pass called Mobilis which costs 5 Euros 50, but requires no pictures.
Yes, there are pictures booth in major metro stations, and yes you can buy the Carte orange at the main ticket window of Metro Odeon
You can also buy a two day pass to use one of those buses that you can take to go around Paris major sights and can get on and oof as often as you wish for two days.
Hope this helps.
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And the super-easiest way is to buy a %26quot;carnet%26quot; with 10 tickets. When you have used them - buy another carnet. Valid for both metro and busses. Yes, they are a little more expensive than the Carte Orange - and so what ? You are on vacation and will be throwing euros all over the place anyway.
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Thanks to all! I have no idea why I was stressing so much about the picture; didn%26#39;t realize it didn%26#39;t have to be fine photo quality (lol). We arrive on Tuesday mid-morning so we would get close to the full weekly benefit. But yes, you%26#39;re right, a carnet would be equally easy, and the difference will only be a few Euros if we end up walking as much as we think we will.
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%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;So, is it possible to buy the passes at the airport through a human being who can swipe our credit cards and where there is a photo booth nearby?
If not, am I correct in saying that the major stations (Gare Nord, Est, etc.) will have the photo booths and manned ticket booths?
We will be staying in the 6th, and the closest subway will be Odeon. Can anyone confirm if I can buy the Carte Orange at that Metro stop?%26lt;%26lt;%26lt;
As noted the pass is issued for a fixed weekly period--from Firt Train on Monday AM until Last Train on Sunday PM. Coarte Orange passes valid for the %26#39;..current..%26#39; week will only be on sale thorugh WEDNESDAY of the %26#39;..current..%26#39; week. So..DETAILS MATTER.... specifically, which day of the week will you arrive in Paris...and which day of the week will you depart ?? This will determine IF you can evn purchase the pass upon arrival...or if you should.
As for photo machines at RER or Metro stations there MAY be ones at larger stations (Chatelet, Saint Michel, etc...but even if they are available, it would be a MISTAKE to rely on any of them being in working order when you need %26#39;em. Even if they were in working order, you might have to hunt all over to find them. With this in mind it is most prudent to bring your own properly-sized (approx 1 14%26quot; x 1 1/4%26quot;) %26#39;..head-shot..%26#39; photos with you from home. These may be from ANY source--an extra passport photo that%26#39;s been cropped, digital camera, printed on your home computer on recycled paper, a b%26amp;w photocopy of your driver%26#39;s licence or employee ID photo. It doesn%26#39;t matter....so long as it is a properly sized %26#39;head-shot%26#39; of you.
The only places at CDG where you may purchase the CARTE ORANGE PASS will be at ticket booths at either of the two(2) RER stations within CDG. Unless you plan to use the RER %26#39;B%26#39; ligne--ROISSYRAIL--train as you mode of transfer from CDG to central Paris, these stations may be too inconvenient for your plans...and you will be better served by waiting until you arrive in Paris. Then the CARTE ORANGE may be purchased at at a ticket booth at ANY RER or Metro station in the city (ODÉON being as good as any).
*** IF *** you arrive on a day when the CARTE ORANGE may be purchased for the %26#39;..current..%26#39; week...then it will almost always be the better deal than the PARIS VISITE pass. If you arrive on a day when the CO is not available to you, then you need to compare the PV to other ticket and pass options before you decide. DETAILS MATTER
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Thank you. That has narrowed it down since we will be taking a taxi, most likely, and not the RER into the city. As mentioned, we arrive on Tuesday midday, so we will plan to go to a Metro station once we get situated in our apartment and buy our Carte Orange.
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....what nobody ever mentions about using the carte is a psychological factor. Each time you pull your pass holder out of your pocket and put that little orange card in the automatic machine and then pull it out again to put back into your pass holder......you feel just a little like a true Parisian! (As opposed to those tourists with their grubby little paper cards.........) A baseless fantasy, true....but aren%26#39;t holidays supposed to fulfill one fantasy or another......
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Just remember NOT to stick that little orange coupon in the machines on the buses or you will invalidate it. Just show the card to the driver.
Incidentally, sorry to burst your bubble but I suspect tourists must be pretty much the only people using the CO these days. Locals will be using the electronic Navigo pass that replaced the CO for residents some time ago. I wonder how much longer the CO will be around...
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%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;Incidentally, sorry to burst your bubble but I suspect tourists must be pretty much the only people using the CO these days. Locals will be using the electronic Navigo pass that replaced the CO for residents some time ago%26lt;%26lt;%26lt;
This may not be so. When the NAVIGO system was first introduced there was a burst of initial enthusiasm for the new system with a higher than anticipated number of applications...since then that initial surge has diminished and the rate of new applications have fallen below expectations. This may---or may not---prove to be good news for the %26#39;..tourist loophole..%26#39; in that it may delay final phase-out of the old CARTE ORANGE %26#39;..carte / coupon..%26#39; format. It%26#39;s also possible that toward the anticipated phase-out date (originally estimated for July,2007), STIF may simply put on another %26#39;blitz%26#39;...with an %26#39;..apply NOW or forever hold your peace..%26#39; warning...and go ahead as planned.
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