Paris Visite Overview
A Paris Visite Pass card / ticket is valid for 1, 2, 3 or 5 days on Paris Metro, RER trains, buses and Ile-de-France (Transilien) trains & trams (not TGV).
Paris Visite is a multiple-use paper coupon ticket that looks like the following:
On the front of the ticket on the left hand side you’ll see how many days the Paris Visite is valid (5 jours = 5 days in this example):
The Paris Visite ticket will also show the number of zones covered. In the Paris Visite ticket example image below it is valid for 3-zones, but you can buy a 1-5 zone ticket if you want coverage to include CDG Airport, Orly Airport, Disneyland Paris, Versailles, Fontainebleau, Stade de France. Zones 1-3 is basically only good for central Paris.
Take note of the multiple blank spaces on the Paris Visite coupon ticket. These blanks spaces are meant to be filled in by you using a pen/ink with the following information:
- NOM: your last name
- Prénom: your first name
- du: dd/mm of first day using the ticket
- au: dd/mm to the last day of the ticket validity period
You’re asked to filled in these personal details so the Paris Visite pass isn’t shared between multiple people at different times during its validity period. A single Paris Visite can’t be used back-to-back for entry past the same set of turnstiles and fare gates, so it would be very inconvenient to try to share this pass in any case.
The Paris Visite pass is valid for Paris Airport travel from both CDG airport to Paris on RER B train and for Orly airport to Paris on OrlyVal train to/from Orly Airport to Paris (both require a 5 zone Paris Visite).
Paris Visite Prices
Price of Paris Visite ranges from 12€ to 65.80€ depending on zones covered (1-3 or 1-5) and duration (1 to 5 days). Coverage of Central Paris (not including airports) for 5 days would be 38.35€ adults, 19.15€ for children 9 and under. (Prices current as of January 1, 2019.)
Paris Visite pass counts days from day of first use, not 24 hour periods. If you arrive at night and use the pass before midnight, that will be counted as one day.
Details
The Paris Visite Pass is a 1, 2, 3 or 5 day pass good for either Zones 1 to 3 or 1 to 5 around Paris. If you’re staying just within Paris itself and not venturing out to Chateau Versailles, Chateau Fontainebleau nor Disneyland® Paris (all of which are in zones 4 & 5), stick with the Zone 1 to 3 card, which will cover all of “central” Paris. See the Paris Fare Zones Map for more information.
Courtesy of RATP.fr
The key difference between the Paris Visite Pass and the Navigo Découverte Pass is the timing. Navigo passes are valid strictly from Monday 00:00 to Sunday 23:59:59, regardless of when you buy it. If you land at CDG Roissy-Charles de Gaulle Airport on Thursday and buy a week long Navigo Découverte pass, it will work only up until Sunday midnight. Starting from Friday, you will not even be able to purchase Navigo pass for use in the same week.
Paris Visite pass is good from the day of first use (not time of first use) up until midnight of its last day of validity, starting from any day of the week. This means that if you arrive on Friday evening at 8pm, buy and use a 3 day Paris Visite pass, by midnight that night (four hours later), the card will have “used” an entire day and in two days (Sunday) at midnight the Paris Visite will have expired. So to maximize the value of the Paris Visite Card, start using a Paris Visite pass during the morning. If you’ve arrived in the evening at one of the Paris airports, simply buy a single-use RER ticket from a ticket window that will get you into Paris (see prices for CDG to Paris 10.30€ from CDG, vs. 1 day Paris Visite 5 Zone ticket listed above). You can purchase a Paris Visite at the same time and begin using it at any time in the future. The 3 or 5 day validity period of Paris Visite does not begin until you first validate the ticket in a turnstile / fare-gate in a station or on a bus/tram.
In summary, if you’re arriving in Paris on Friday and want to have an unlimited Paris transit pass for 3 or 5 days, this is the least expensive pass (Mobilis pass may be cheaper for 1 or 2 days depending on number of zones). In addition, there are discounts for various tourist attractions and services for Paris Visite pass holders, such as 25% off boat tours on the Seine, 20-40% off admission to the Arc de Triomphe, the Opera house, the Pantheon, and other sights and services. Paris Visite pass discounts change often so use the discount list below as an example of discounts you may get when purchasing a Paris Visite pass (a booklet detailing all of the discounts available to you will be provided upon purchase of the pass).
Paris Visite Card Discounts
These discounts change often so this list of Paris Visite discount offers is only meant as an example of savings.
- Arc de Triomphe: 25% off
- Conciergerie: 20% off entrance
- Picasso Museum: 2.50€ off entrance
- Army Museum/Invalides: 20% off entrance to permanent collection
- Bateaux Parisiens: 25% off cruise of Seine river
- Open Tours: 25€ instead of 29€
- Chateau de Versailles: 7€ (vs. 10€) for guided tours of private apartments
- Chateau de Fontainebleau: 2€ off entrance
- Disneyland Resort Paris:
20% off– Discount No Longer Available - France Miniature: 30% off entrance
- Grevin museum: 30% off entrance
- Provins: 7,50€ entry instead of 11,40€ on adult price to visit 4 monuments around the UNESCO world heritage site medieval city
- Tour Montparnasse: 30% off entrance
- Shopping at Galeries Lafayette: 10% off + 1 free bag with minimum 40€ purchas