Paris Metro zones, RER and the Visite pass

On Sun, 23 Mar 2008 10:11:36 +0100, Runge11 wroteÂ*:

No, nothing against you why ask such a question ? Almost never see a
north american tourist in Belleville, Daumesnil, Paris 13, puces de
Montreuil...
Always see them at the Louvre, Champs Elysées, Boul'Mich, Paris 16...
That's the way it is and that's all.


It is easier to see first the "must see" places. And tourists have very
little time to spend in more remote places unless they have some special
interest, favorite painter, musician, kind of architecture, or hobby. The
more fulfilling travels are those where you follow you very personal
themes and discover a different way of being through them.

"Martin Theodor Ludwig" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 22 Mar 2008 20:52:09 +0100, "tim \(not at home\)"
wrote:

but if you buy a ticket from X3 to Z4 before you leave Paris you
will have a valid ticket.

The problem is that (officially) you can buy that ticket only at the
place (or at least zone) of origin - and not earlier.

Are you really sure about this?

In every country that I have tried to do this, it is possible. I have used
extension tickets to a zonal period pass, issued before starting the
journey, in the UK, Germany, Austria and Sweden. There is obviously a need
for this type of ticket, these countries can't just have decided to offer
this possibility because a few PT nuts might want it. ISTM that there must
be a steady flow of "normal" pax wanting to do this for the possibility to
exist in so many countries. I find it hard to believe that the operators of
the Paris network have a set of passengers that accept not being able to do
so.

tim

"JuanElorza" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 22 Mar 2008 10:24:21 +0100, tim \(not at home\) wrote :

"JuanElorza" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 21 Mar 2008 17:00:24 -0600, Steve Cain wrote :

do we then pay an
additional fee when we get off the RER train in Versailles (zone 4)?
Anyway of learning how this works?

Merci beaucoup!

So you may get on the RER trains with your pass but not pass back out
through the turnstiles at Versailles.
The solution is to buy the ticket or supplement to Versailles before
getting on the train at the RER station in Paris. Not a big deal...s

As stated by the other posters, the day you go to Versailles, you must
buy a return ticket from Paris to Versailles and you pass is of no use.

This can't be right.

It may appear unfair and nearly stupid but it is current rule. To be
valid, your ticket must be validated at the begining of your journey. You
cannot validate a Zone 3 - Zone 4 ticket in a Zone 1 station, and you
cannot pass through the exit turnstile with an unvalidated ticket.
So better buy a valid ticket.

as has already been stated, the possibility of getting off ALWAYS exists, so
your statement that the pass is useless for this journey, IS completely
untrue.

tim

I agree, as I said that's just the way it is.
Now if you just want to get a peep at our japanese guests all waiting in
line rue Ste Anne to get their sushis...
The little time they have could allow them to sit at a bistro with o waiting
lines, but cultural differences + the language...


"JuanElorza" a écrit dans le message de
...
On Sun, 23 Mar 2008 10:11:36 +0100, Runge11 wrote :

No, nothing against you why ask such a question ? Almost never see a
north american tourist in Belleville, Daumesnil, Paris 13, puces de
Montreuil...
Always see them at the Louvre, Champs Elysées, Boul'Mich, Paris 16...
That's the way it is and that's all.


It is easier to see first the "must see" places. And tourists have very
little time to spend in more remote places unless they have some special
interest, favorite painter, musician, kind of architecture, or hobby. The
more fulfilling travels are those where you follow you very personal
themes and discover a different way of being through them.

They never check the trains and are mostly where the tourists
are...Chatelet, Anvers for example.
They cannot check alone, it's too dangerous nowadays...If you ride the RER
or metro out of tourist spots, you never see them !


"Martin Theodor Ludwig" a écrit dans le message de
...
On Sat, 22 Mar 2008 21:44:30 +0100, "tim \(not at home\)"
wrote:

... Unless, I presume, you are caught by the authorities in Zone 3
... without a Zone 3 ticket. Does the RER have roving patrols like
... the Berlin U-Bahn?

Oh, yes. They hunt in packs, too. Seriously.

So also on the Berlin U-Bahn.

I imagine this is the rule everywhere. One person on their own doesn't
get
to check many tickets before all the black riders jump off at the next
stop.

Oh, they don't necessarily check the trains, but instead (where I saw
them recently) are waiting for you in the walking tunnels you have to
pass through between 2 connecting lines.

Regards,
Martin

On Sun, 23 Mar 2008 14:59:56 +0100, tim \(not at home\) wroteÂ*:


as has already been stated, the possibility of getting off ALWAYS
exists, so your statement that the pass is useless for this journey, IS
completely untrue.

tim
Getting off at the last station, buying a ticket, waiting for the next
train in a gloomy suburb train station is not worth the few cents, and at
some hours no direct train will stop from where you had to buy your
ticket to Versailles. So you will have to repeat the process.
My advice is : don't even try.

"Martin Theodor Ludwig" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 23 Mar 2008 14:59:56 +0100, "tim \(not at home\)"
wrote:

It may appear unfair and nearly stupid but it is current rule. To be
valid, your ticket must be validated at the begining of your journey.
You
cannot validate a Zone 3 - Zone 4 ticket in a Zone 1 station, and you
cannot pass through the exit turnstile with an unvalidated ticket.
So better buy a valid ticket.

as has already been stated, the possibility of getting off ALWAYS exists,

ALWAYS? Definitely no!

For the required trip to Versailles.

tim

"JuanElorza" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 23 Mar 2008 14:59:56 +0100, tim \(not at home\) wrote :


as has already been stated, the possibility of getting off ALWAYS
exists, so your statement that the pass is useless for this journey, IS
completely untrue.

tim
Getting off at the last station, buying a ticket, waiting for the next
train in a gloomy suburb train station is not worth the few cents, and at
some hours no direct train will stop from where you had to buy your
ticket to Versailles. So you will have to repeat the process.
My advice is : don't even try.

This is rubbish.

The point at which you have to get off and buy the ticket is an interchange
station.

Of course the trains are going to stop there.

And the savings going to be at least 3 Euro, this is hardly a "few cents"

tim

"Martin Theodor Ludwig" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 23 Mar 2008 14:57:58 +0100, "tim \(not at home\)"
wrote:

but if you buy a ticket from X3 to Z4 before you leave Paris you
will have a valid ticket.

The problem is that (officially) you can buy that ticket only at the
place (or at least zone) of origin - and not earlier.

Are you really sure about this?

I did not try it myself, but that's how a clerk at a metro counter
explained it to me (late in the evening and somewhat in the outskirts
when we both had plenty of time to talk).

In every country that I have tried to do this, it is possible.

Did you try it in Paris (or elsewhere in France except SNCF)?

I haven't been to Paris since before it had a metro outside of what is now
Zone 1 :-(

tim

On Sun, 23 Mar 2008 17:40:08 +0100, tim \(not at home\) wroteÂ*:

"JuanElorza" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 23 Mar 2008 14:59:56 +0100, tim \(not at home\) wrote :


as has already been stated, the possibility of getting off ALWAYS
exists, so your statement that the pass is useless for this journey,
IS completely untrue.

tim
Getting off at the last station, buying a ticket, waiting for the next
train in a gloomy suburb train station is not worth the few cents, and
at some hours no direct train will stop from where you had to buy your
ticket to Versailles. So you will have to repeat the process. My advice
is : don't even try.

This is rubbish.

The point at which you have to get off and buy the ticket is an
interchange station.

Of course the trains are going to stop there.

And the savings going to be at least 3 Euro, this is hardly a "few
cents"

tim
You can download the RER map here
http://www.ratp.info/ounter/rer.php

The last station in the second zone is Issy les Moulineaux, not an
interchange station.
So suppose you climbed on the train at Musee d'Orsay and you want to go
to Chateau de Versailles, you just take a first train to Issy les
Moulineaux. There you can buy a Issy les Moulineaux - Versailles ticket.
It is not available at Musee d'Orsay, but suppose you already bought one,
you will have to validate it in the Issy les Moulineaux station if you
want it to be valid at your arrival in Versailles and open the turnstiles.
So you take a first train at Issy les Moulineaux, get out of the train,
pass the turnstiles, buy your ticket.

If you left musee d'orsay at 09:23 you reach Issy at 09:40 the train will
reach Versailles at 9:57. You buy your second leg ticket and wait until
10:11 the next train to Chateau de Versailles where you arrive at 10:27.
So you waste 1/2 hour in the Issy les Moulineaux 19th century train
station. The building is not ugly, but not really worth the visit, and
the waiting time will be really boring.

Although there are some tourists attractions in Issy les Moulineaux, they
are not next to the station, and any way you do not want to waste your
day trip to Versailles.

A whole day is just enough to visit the castle, the gardens, the
Trianons.


Musee d'Orsay Versailles fare 2.80 euros.
Issy Les Moulineaux - Versailles faire 1.45 euros.
Your gain is 1.35 euro (2.70 return). Not only cents, I agree.

My advice : don't stop there unless you want to visit The tour aux
figures or the playing card Museum.

http://www.issytourisme.com/en/discover/