Are free days in Paris as crowded as free times at El Prado

It really depends n the time of year. and the specific museum you plan to visit
In the summer months at the more popular museums ( Louvre, D'Orsay etc) it will be very busy,

I guess I would say that it all depends on your feelings about lines and crowds and your level of patience when dealing with them. I was in Paris on the first Sunday in August, which is one of the least crowded high season months in Paris but still crowded with tourists, and I managed to see two of the more expensive museums on that day without too much hassle. The lines for both were long but I was in line for the d'Orsay when it opened so was in before the crowds were unbearable and enjoyed some relatively uncrowded sections and was able to see all I wanted to in about 3 hours. It wasn't so bad that the crowds were shoulder to shoulder, or anything like that, but there were a lot of people there, although I will say that I avoided the museum cafe because it was jam packed. After a 2 hour break for lunch and just strolling around I got in line for the Orangerie which was about 45 minutes of waiting but worth it, I was able to see the Monets without being jammed in too bad. At least the day I was there the other people were very polite and there was no shoving or pushing in line or to get closer to the art works, etc. So, all in all, my experience wasn't that bad. I did heed the advice I had read here and avoided the Louvre on that day so I can't speak to that but I'm sure it was pretty bad from all I've heard.

So many people have no patience with waiting in line or dealing with crowds but I guess it just doesn't bother me as much as most. I look at lines and crowds as just something I have to put up with in order to see the 'must see' places on my personal bucket list, especially because I need to skimp and do my traveling on a shoestring budget - it's just the way it is.

My view is that free days are the most expensive way to see major museums. Your time on an expensive trip like this is worth more than the cost of a ticket and the museums themselves are jammed making the experience less pleasant.

The Louvre usually does have ticket lines and crowds around famous works. I haven't gone on a free day. But compared to the Prado, it's a much larger museum, with more entrances, and a whole day free instead of a narrow time window.

I agree completely with Jane. You have to be pretty cheap (I am sorry, budget conscious) to stand in line an hour to same 15 Euro. I have never seen a free day that wasn't packed. The locals are not stupid.

If you're planning to visit the Louvre, "free Sundays" are only available from October through March.
Versailles is free on "first Sundays" from November through March.
The Musee Carnavalet will close for 3 years on October 2, for renovation.

And these museums do not participate in "free Sundays" at all:
Marmottan-Monet, Jacquemart-André, les Arts décoratifs, la Maison rouge, le Palais de Tokyo, les Fondations Cartier et Louis-Vuitton...

I agree that how crowded a museum is depends upon how popular it is in general. We have been to the Cluny museum on free Sundays and it was pretty empty. We later walked by the Louvre, Orsay, and L'Orangerie and the lines were very long. At the L'Orangerie, they were only letting people into the museum in shifts, as people left, others got to go in. If you are going to go to free Sunday and go to a popular museum, get in line very early, see what you really must see quickly, and they go to the less popular galleries.
In Barcelona, the Picasso museum was free on Sunday afternoons. However, the crowds were pretty bad according to the locals. We went first thing in the morning, paid for admission, and saw the museum with almost no one there since few people are willing to pay money for something that is free later that day. As Rick says, on vacation, sometimes your time saved is more valuable than the money saved.

Put in a different perspective, the Prado has free hours nearly every day of the year. The Louvre has 6 free Sundays a year (also the 3rd Sunday of September, when all the public museums are free).

Will you be in France on Sept 17-18, for the Journees du Patrimoine?

Nancy,

I think my general feeling is time saved is worth money. To a lesser extent avoiding crowds, where possible, is worth money too. I'd say my travel time is easily worth 50 euro an hour. If it's a choice between 12 euro admission and 1/2 hour in line (then crowds), I'd go with 12 euro.

Chani,

Yes I'll be in Paris that weekend. Is there anything particularly good I should be sure to see?

I was in Koln on the day their "treasures" are open to the public. It was interesting to see the old sculptures that are stored in a vault to protect them from the elements. Plus I was able to meet the oberBurgerMeister of the city, which was kind of interesting. He gave out autographed postcards and beer glasses with his picture and autograph on them. :-)

Brad, OMG are you lucky, as I was several years ago. Prepare yourselves to wait in line - it is completely worth it. All the government offices are open to the public for the Journees du Patrimoine (European Heritage Days). Doesn't sound like much, hunh? Think again. The National Assembly building is a palace. So is the home of the Senate (you've heard of the Luxembourg Palace?). The City Hall (Hotel de Ville) is another one. So is the residence of the president (I didn't get to that one). The 3rd weekend in September (Sat-Sun) are the only days of the year that the public are allowed in. These palaces rival Versailles for gilt, velvet and splendor. I also saw the Russian Embassy (many of the embassies and other government offices are in mansions), the building was beautiful and they had a special exhibit about the last of the Romanovs and Faberge jewelry and eggs.

I met Spencer Stone recently. He's the Air Force guy who was vacationing with a couple of friends and tackled the terrorist on the train into Paris. His military job is medic, so after he stopped the terrorist, he saved the life of a passenger who had been shot in the neck. He received the Legion of Merit from the President. One of the photos I saw was him and his two friends at the President's palace. I guess they gave them a suite to get cleaned up so the photo is of the three of them in robes drinking Champagne. Pretty cool for a kid in his early 20's.