Paris bargain

I really liked Richard Berner’s story “Apartment in Paris” (May ’08, pg. 6). Ironically, when I read it we had just returned from a week in Paris, where we, too, had rented an apartment.

One point needs correction. Berner mentions that a Carte Orange transit pass is one of “Paris’ best bargains.” True, but it is a bargain that is in the process of being changed.

By the end of 2008, the Paris regional transit system will complete its phaseout of the magnetic Carte Orange card that could be obtained at any Métro station if you had a passport-sized photo. The Carte Orange tarif (fare) will continue, but the orange-colored cards it is named after will no longer be valid.

The new cards are Le Passe Navigo and Le Passe Navigo Découverte.

Le Passe Navigo is free but available only to those who live or work in the Paris area.

(The holder of a Navigo card has an account with Paris’ public transit system, the RATP. The card is scanned by an electronic card reader when used, and then fares are billed to the resident’s account.)

Le Passe Navigo Découverte is available to anyone. It can be purchased in Métro stations and from some tabacs (tobacconists’ shops) and costs €5. The card is then loaded at the Métro station.

(The €5 is only for the card itself; to go anywhere, you must “load” it with money, which is deducted from the card when you use it. Le Passe gets you on the same transport as the Carte Orange: buses, Métro, SNCF trains and Vélib rental bicycles. The card requires a photo; although there are photo machines in some Métro stations, you can supply your own stamp-size photo, which does not have to be a passport-quality photo.)

The Carte Orange fares/rates will still be available to people with one of the new cards and, if you can take advantage of the Monday-to-Sunday fare period, will remain much cheaper than the other single-ride and multiple-ride day fares available.

(Carte Orange fares are based on the zones through which the passenger travels. For travel within the city of Paris, a one-week Carte Orange fare is €16.30 [near $26] and is good for travel on RATP [local buses and Métro], SNCF [within the applicable zones] and Vélib.)

If you arrive later in the week, the ParisVisite pass is probably cheaper, as it can be bought for any one-, 2-, 3- or 5-day period.

(A one-day ParisVisite pass costs €8.50 and a 5-day pass, €27.50. Visite passes are good for discounts at museums and other attractions as well as on transit. They can be purchased at Métro stations, at airports, at RER and SCNF stations, at 150 hotels or online at www.ratp.info/informer/anglais/paris_visite.php.)

MICHAEL MARCUS

Cabin John, MD