Does Convenience Justify Museum Pass?

I usually opt for the museum pass because it's free admission to almost all the museums in the city. If I am exploring and stumble upon a museum I did not know existed, I can pop in for 5 minutes or an hour at no cost. If I were buying museum tickets as I went, I might not spring for the extra 10 euro to see what's in this mystery museum I never heard of. In short, the pass promotes spontaneity.

Yes, the museum pass is usually a good idea but in this situation, don't forget that a 48 hour visit by old ladies (84 and 69) is under discussion. With all the museums being visited, what are they seeing of the rest of Paris?
Too, this is a holiday weekend.

You may have an inflated view of the 'skipping the line' part as you will be standing in a lot of security lines this time of year. The one for pass holders at the pyramid is not exactly short; we have generally used the Carrousel entrance even with tickets ahead because the Pyramid ticketed line was so long.

But if you come close to breaking even it is a convenience and allows you the flexibility to change your mind. This sort of thing is a nickel dime decision; if you are close just get it and be done with it.

I say yes, just for the Arc ...it's €12 for each entry, but with the pass you can go up in the morning and take a picture, go in the afternoon and take a picture, go when the weather breaks and take a sunnier picture, go at night and take a picture...

If you do go to the d’Orsay with your “ladies” may I suggest you have lunch in the restaurant there. We did, a few years ago and it was such a pleasant experience. The maître d’ placed us at a big window table so we had a view of Paris to go with lunch, which was good, by the way. A special museum visit.

Hi Sarah, yes, the Museum Pass is definitely worth it. I just returned from Paris yesterday and we saved many hours by having the Pass.

At the Arc du Triomphe there was a line of approximately 200 people waiting in line to buy tickets. We walked past all of them and went to the second window where we were first in line. The woman was very nice and asked my friend and I and the 2 people behind us (also with Museum Passes) if we'd like to use the elevator. It saved us a ton of time and steps.

Sainte Chapelle - long line of folks waiting to buy tickets, we showed our pass to the guard and he let us right in.

Get the 4 days pass and spread things out so you don't stress out yourself or your travel partners. Use the pass to pop in to museums that you might not visit otherwise. Also, use it if you need a rest room or a break for a cup of coffee.

Consider adding the Rodin (beautiful garden) and Napoleon's Tomb to your list if you have time.

"Second" the recommendation for lunch at the Orsay. I had a terrific Chicken Caesar Salad there the other night. Good food, nice atmosphere.

And DO take advantage of the lift at Arc de Triomphe -- reserved for seniors (and their companions) and those with mobility issues. But to get to the observation area there are still 30-40(?) internal steps with a good handrail.

Thanks for the replies, everyone. While I've traveled extensively with my grandmother (who is in VERY good shape for her age and energetic to boot and assures me her cousin is as well) I know this is going to be a tough trip with the cousin having a sense of FOMO for her first trip to Europe and wanting to do everything and my grandma going along with her wishes. I would plan a very different itinerary for them if I had my druthers, but I'm pretty well acquainted with Paris (this will be my 7th or 8th trip?) so at least I know how to get us around efficiently.

This is coming at the very end of a pretty packed trip for them so I'll gauge their energy level upon arrival at Gare Est and decide on either getting the 2 day pass or 4 day pass then, but at least either one allows us to play things a little more "by ear" than reserving individually for the Louvre and St. Chapelle. Good advice, thanks!

75020 in particular: I KNOW. I would much prefer a relaxed visit, when writing them emails about what they wanted to see/do, I cautioned with 2 1/2 days, we should only do one big museum...they asked to do 3. My mistake was in giving them the option, honestly.

I had a pretty disastrous visit to Paris with my inlaws when we were new to Europe because they wanted to do too much, and it was a heat wave, and they had overly high expectations. Oh, and it was June. Let's just saw nobody was happy. I don't want to repeat that. But I also don't want to appear to be some dictator telling them what is and isn't allowed to do on THEIR trip. (I should add, Grandma is subsidizing my travels largely, since I'm playing tour guide).

My hope is, after our visit to Amsterdam a few days prior, they may be more inclined to chill and less inclined to try to take the city by storm. But my Grandma has visited me every year, and I know she's not a cafe person, she's not a garden person, she's more of a double-decker-tourist-bus-kind-of-person or she'd rather be in her hotel reading a book. She likes to "see" things but in more of an offhand way, strange little differences will delight her but she doesn't really care about history, or food, or....we just have very different travel styles so I'm really trying to make a nice trip for them. It may be the last time my Grandma comes to Europe (she says every trip is her "last trip") and it is my cousin's first and possibly last trip, so I don't want them to go home saying, "But I never got to see big thing I wanted to see here, y'know?

OK I'm stressing just a little bit.

I understand completely . . .let's hope. I sympathize with your stress and am having a giggle about your dilemmas. You are absolutely wonderful to do this for the ladies!

"'they may be more inclined to chill and less inclined to try to take th"e city by storm"

You've been here before and know that Paris is seldom taken by storm . . .even Proust said that.

Good luck and please report back. .