Image via Wikimedia Commons
I just stumbled upon a way to save big bucks on local transportation costs for our upcoming trip to Paris, France.
Oddly enough, I found a bunch of Paris Metro tickets for sale on Ebay. I snatched them up for half the going price.
The tickets are good for any Metro ride or bus trip within the city. It will be reassuring to have a few of these tickets in my pocket when we arrive in Paris.
This find piqued my curiosity.
Were Paris Metro tickets being sold on Craigslist? Sure enough!
Even more curious are the number of used Metro tickets up for auction on Ebay. And the used tickets cost more than the new tickets!
You can even find Paris Metro tickets for sale on Etsy, though only the used variety.
Check Ebay Before You Travel to Paris!
I was fortunate to also find a Paris Visite transit pass for sale on Ebay. These transportation passes are marketed to tourists who don’t want to deal with buying individual transit tickets. They are generally overpriced, relative to the Navigo transit passes sold to local residents, or even a standard carnet of ten Metro tickets.
On Ebay however, the Paris Visite passes were discounted by 65 percent! I paid just $48.50 for two of these transit passes.
The set of passes that I purchased are good for five days, and include travel on buses, light rail, Metro, trams, the funicular, and the monorail from Orly Airport (ORY) to the RER train station or the bus to the city. They can also be used to ride the train to Versailles!
Airport parking and ground transportation are two of the biggest hidden expenses of travel. Many Paris guidebooks recommend a taking a taxi to your hotel directly from the airport, just to avoid the hassle of transfers upon arrival. Public transit can get us to our destination just as fast, plus we are suckers for multi-modal mass transit.
There is an automated monorail — the Orlyval— that runs from the airport terminal at Orly Sud directly to the RER train station at Antony. From there, we can catch the train to Denfort-Rochereau , where we can transfer to the Metro. A monorail, light rail, and subway ride is a match made in heaven as far as my husband is concerned!
Airport parking and ground transportation are two of the hidden expenses of travel. Luckily, I discovered that unused transit passes are available on Ebay at a great discount.
The Paris Visite transit pass also provides discounts to some attractions like the Salvador Dali museum and the boat rides on the Seine.
There is a good article comparing the various transit pass options in Paris on Points and Pixie Dust.
You lucky dog!
I am indeed a lucky dog.