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Paris Carnets

Contrary to what you may have read in outdated articles and guidebooks, the traditional carnet--a discounted packet of 10 cardboard Métro, bus, or tram tickets--is no more. But an electronic version is still available for use with stored-value fare cards.

ABOVE: Notices in a Paris Metro station warn that carnets of T+ cardboard tickets are gone for good.

By Durant Imboden

For more than 120 years, the carnet--a packet of 10 cardboard tickets--was a staple of the Paris transit network. It offered a modest discount over the cost of individually purchased tickets, and you could buy a carnet from any Métro ticket booth.

Not anymore.

Over the last several years, RATP--the Paris public transit agency--has been making it harder to buy and use carnets of T+ cardboard tickets.

Now the traditional carnet is gone altogether, and that may be a blessing in disguise: All too often, cardboard tickets become demagnetized by keys, coins, or other metal objects in a passenger's pocket or purse, and they don't work when inserted in a turnstile.

"But wait!" you may object. "What about that carnet discount?" Not to worry: Although the carnet of cardboard tickets is gone for good, you can still purchase 10- or 20-ride electronic carnets for use with the Navigo Easy stored-value card.

Or you can use other money-saving options such as the RATP's Navigo Liberté card and the RATP's smartphone apps. For more information on these, click here and scroll down on the RATP page.

Please note:

• Individual T+ cardboard tickets are still available for single journeys on Métro and RER trains, buses, trams, and funiculars, although they may disappear in the next few years. (They're less convenient than electronic fares, since they require one of the shrinking number of turnstiles that accept cardboard tickets.)

• If you're traveling with children from ages 4-9, you'll definitely want to buy an electronic carnet. (The price of a children's carnet is 50 percent of the adult price, which in turn is a significant discount from the single-ticket price. There is no children's discount for single T+ cardboard tickets.)

For more on Paris transit tickets and prices, see our articles about Paris Metro Tickets & Fares and the Navigo Easy stored-value card.

BELOW: "The carnet of cardboard T+ tickets is finished." (This sign was painted on the floor of a Paris Métro station.)

About the author:

Durant Imboden is a professional travel writer, book author, and editor who focuses on European cities and transportation.

After 4-1/2 years of covering European travel topics for About.com, Durant and Cheryl Imboden co-founded Europe for Visitors (including Paris for Visitors) in 2001. The site has earned "Best of the Web" honors from Forbes and The Washington Post.

For more information, see About our site, press clippings, and reader testimonials.

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