Exciting Updates to my Paris Trip

While I'm not the target for it (I live here...), the consensus on the Paris Museum Pass is that it's really hard to make it pay off. At 90€, you'd need 5-6 visits in 4 days just to make it pay off: it's a lot of museums to take in!

I am not familiar at all with the Paris City Pass.

Based on your prior posts about this trip and what you feel you will be able to manage, I would say a flat no to either the Paris Museum Pass or the "Paris Pass" from the Visitor Bureau.

The Paris Pass has never been a good deal. It includes a Paris Museum Pass plus sightseeing buses and maybe a cruise. ALL of those you are better off buying individually based on how much energy you wind up with each day.

The Paris Museum Pass is a product I used to get. It lost its value to me in 2019 when they changed from being able to do multiple visits to each museum to one visit each. It also is really only money saving if you are going to have a museum heavy visit and go to 2-3 museums per day on the days you have the pass.

On one of your other threads I thought you might have narrowed things down to seeing the Orsay Museum, perhaps the Cluny which is near your hotel and perhaps the Orangerie. The Paris Museum Pass will not be useful or a money saver for 3 museums. It will be better to just buy a timed entry ticket for the Orsay and the Orangerie if you decide on those 2. The Cluny is not busy and you do not need to purchase ahead for this one. You can just go over on a day they are open and buy a ticket at the desk.

Editing to add: "Given the cost of admissions, it will probably benefit me to buy a pass or card.". I guess I should have started with asking what sites you thought you might visit that would make buying a Paris Museum Pass for 90E a good deal for your trip?

Musee d'Orsay - 16E
Musee Orangerie - 12.50E
Musee de Cluny - 12 E

Phil, we used Paris Museum Pass some years back when there was no limit on how many times you could use it on any of the museums it covered during the life of the pass (we had a 6-day.) You also didn't have to make advance reservations at any of them; with rare exceptions, there were separate entry/security lines for pass holders so wait times were minimal.

Not the case anymore.

I'll recommend that you spend some quality time with the various sections of the website (https://www.parismuseumpass.fr/en) so you understand how to use it and its limitations. For instance, you will need to make advance reservations at certain of the attractions to ensure entry. Examples? The Louvre, Saint-Chapelle, L'Orangerie and Versailles.

https://www.parismuseumpass.fr/en/musees/musee-du-louvre
https://www.parismuseumpass.fr/en/musees/sainte-chapelle
https://www.parismuseumpass.fr/en/musees/musee-orangerie
https://www.parismuseumpass.fr/en/musees/chateau-de-versailles-et-de-trianon

Realistically - and especially so in your case - you can only handle so many attractions in a day so it can be more economical to make the list of what you CAN physically manage with the time that you have, and then price the cost of the pass against the sum of individual entry fees for your chosen attractions.

I don't think I've ever seen anyone recommend the Paris Pass (which is the Museum Pass + some extras) as it's largely considered to be very overpriced.

Thank you everyone.

I do not have the time right now to read your responses thoroughly and respond back but I will be returning.

Just skimming what has been written, it sounds like "No" to the pass or the card. That is among the reasons that I asked. I was wondering.

balso, this is a link to the card that the Visitor's Bureau offers:

https://parisjetaime.com/eng/tickets/paris-passlib-m9001081

Pam

Thank you for posting the cost of entries to some of the museums that I am very interested in.

I had been assuming 19 euros up for each and every museum I was interested in. Glad to find out that my assumptions are wrong and admissions are somewhat less.

I have since looked up a few admissions as well and all are less and sometimes much less than 20 or so euros.

Kate

I will be checking out all your links soon. And will get back with you. Thank you for posting.

Make sure you are on the official websites for each venue as well. You may have seen some threads recently by people who have been hoodwinked by a company called Walker Tours. I, myself, accidentally got on the Orsay Museum website that was NOT the real one. I noticed because the ticket cost was 45E as opposed to 16E which I knew was the price. I was just looking for info and was shocked that I wound up there instead of the regular website which I am on literally once a week.

I forgot you also mentioned Sainte-Chapelle for the stained glass which is another 19E...still under the 90E for the Paris Museum Pass.

Make sure you are on the official websites for each venue as well. You
may have seen some threads recently by people who have been hoodwinked
by a company called Walker Tours.

Ooh yes, good reminder, Pam!

Keep in mind that the pass through the Paris Visitors Bureau is only “available on an app to download from a smartphone or tablet.” From your past posts here, I understand that you are hesitant to use apps.

Hi,

Keep in mind that not only 8 May is a holiday but also 1 May when store closures will take place, if these two dates apply to your Paris trip. I'll be arriving there the last week in May and staying on to June.

Thank you Pam

Below is an example of a warning on one of the sites.

If I buy any tickets on line, I only go to the site itself before I purchase.

"WARNING
A growing number of malicious websites are imitating ticketing systems at cultural sites,
for the purpose of selling fake tickets.
Some platforms also offer excessively high prices.
We recommend that you always order your tickets on official websites."

Do you recall that I got bilked out of $759 when I tried to rebook my flight to Tokyo on American last trip.

Hi Fred

Well I will be arriving Paris after the 1st but will be there May 8th. It is a Friday.

From my research, not much will close. But I think that I am going to walk down The Champs-Élysées to the Arc de Triomphe sometime during the day. I have read that there will be ceremonies in the morning but i am not a morning person.

I am not going to be buying anything from the upscale shops on The Champs-Elysees if they are closed. but window shopping is free. So is people watching.

I have no interest in climbing up the stairs of the Arc de Triomphe. I probably could not even if I wanted to.

I like holidays and hope that there might be some festivities on May 8th.

Hi Mary

I saw something about apps somewhere and while I hesitate to use apps, I do if I must. While I have gotten better with apps, now there is the more dreaded QR codes.

I am not alone. I have a friend who is in my age group, retired and has a masters degree, She, like me, has problems with apps on her phone and QR codes.

I am better with apps on my iPad than my phone but not all apps have been built for the iPad.

However I also read that i could buy a hard card at the airport. I do not know which one but I think that I have decided against the museum pass or the Paris card after reading the comments on Forum.

Hi,

I went up to the top of the Arc de Triomphe once (July 1995) to see that fantastic view but do not recall having taken the stairs. Check if an elevator is available.

I believe I read on this forum that there is an elevator at the Arc de Triomphe. Also, if memory serves me right, the walk from the Place de la Concorde to the Arc is uphill....not steep, but long. You might want to reroute this walk from the Arc down the Champs Elysees toward the Place de la Concorde. I may be wrong.

I think that an elevator is available for Arc de Triomphe but I think that it is closed on May 8th anyway.

Will have to check about any uphills from Point A to Point B. What are we talking about when we say uphill because I can walk sometimes uphill. Depends on the hill and the "up" . If it appears to be too much for me, I do not attempt it. Everything is tentative.

There is definitely a lift (elevator) at the Arc du Triomphe.

We've climbed the stairs a few times on previous trips, but last time I injured my hip and leg and when we arrived they immediately offered me lift access. The only problem was it stopped with about ten or twelve steps to go. There was a second lift but it was out of action that day.

That wasn't too much of an issue for me, but of course it depends on your situation.

To us, the view from the Arc is the best in Paris, hence why we've been so often. I wouldn't miss it.

it is definitely up hill from the fountains at Avenue Franklin Delano Roosevelt to the Arc de Triomphe on the Champs-Élysées. Not the Alps, but a steady climb.

I saw something about apps somewhere and while I hesitate to use apps, I do if I must. While I have gotten better with apps, now there is the more dreaded QR codes.

Phyllis, the more I read your posts, the more I really think that you should really consider a tour. I know you've discounted it but I would urge you to think about it again. Digital travel is here to stay and more and more, paper and cards are being eliminated in favor of digital cards. It is very difficult to travel without using apps and QR codes. I'm not sure why you dread QR codes, but honestly you really need to be able to use these in order to travel effectively.

There's nothing wrong with feeling uncomfortable about using them but if you are uncomfortable, why not join a tour where they can take care of all those digital details for you? It will be a much better experience for you in my opinion. And I can't believe that a tour would be more expensive than a cruise. Plus you could still stay a couple of days at the end and take your trip to Versailles or see some other things that you wanted to see. By that point you will have become more familiar with the city thanks to the tour you've been on and it will be much easier for you.

I would really encourage you to think about this more, and ask yourself how it's going to be for you traversing an unfamiliar and very busy city and dealing with bus tickets, and train tickets, and metro tickets, and museum tickets— all of which are digital.

Phyllis, the more I read your posts, the more I really think that you should really consider a tour.

Not just a tour, but a tour with transportation included, preferably from/to your hotel. Could be a series of day or half-day tours. Could be using taxis or Uber to get around. Yes, use the Metro, but there are physical challenges in using Metro, including stairs and long walk underground passages, between stations. No matter how much vehicular transport you arrange, you still will be walking a lot, more than I think Phil understands is involved.

Paris, like most large cities, is best seen, explored, and enjoyed on foot. I am going to Paris next week, and I will walk on average 5 miles a day. I will also use Metro to reposition, but walking is essential.

JoJo Rabbit

I think that I have given persons the wrong impression when it comes to my walking. I can sometimes walk quite a bit, slowly but quite a bit. I do not have number of steps or miles but in a given full day, I could probably walk a few miles with breaks and stops.

And I love walking.

When I was younger and pre mobility challenged, I walked about 10 miles a day.

ADDED But I walk daily and can walk quite.a bit. Like I said, I feel that I have given people the wrong impression when I discuss my mobility issues.

When I go to certain doctors, I have to walk 7 long blocks to get the bus some of it uphill. When I come home. I have tp walk over a mile to get from the bus stop to my home.

I hope that you will do a T R after your trip to Paris.

However I do not know when I will have what is known as flare ups. I might do a lot of walking one day and that night, my leg begins to cramp. And the next day, I am dealing with pain.

I am scheduled to have an ultra sound on my leg or legs late January.

Hi Mardee

I would have loved the Road Scholar Easy Paris 8 nights but I found $7000 to $8000 and maybe more just a bit too steep for me.

My hotel is booked with free cancellation but my air is also booked and I have paid for the air. I feel confident that I am going to do ok on this upcoming trip but ... one never knows.

I have a new printer so can print out some needed things instead of digital. I often use both. I print out my flight documents but also have them downloaded on my iPad.

I was able to reach my QR Code last trip when I filled out the Visit Japan Web page. Was able to do it a few years earlier when I had to fill out Arrive Can.

But there are real problems with pointing my camera .....

Hey digital is not always reliable. Persons have said something about also printing out a doc just in case the internet is not working.

DebH and Nigel

I think the Arc du Triomphe. is going to be closed on the 8th so I will not be going to the top no matter what.

Might need to consider my walk to the Arc du Triomphe if it is not quite the alps but .... Maybe will need to take. the bus or the hoho.

Hi Phil, It sounds like you know this already, but for tickets that you purchase ahead of time, you can just print out the QR codes at home and bring with you. I’m one who prefers to use a paper copy when I can.

I hope you’re not discouraged by the naysayers. I’m confident that you can do this trip on your own. Sure, there might be some bumps along the way, but that’s life and shouldn’t stop anyone from getting out there and experiencing new things.

Thank you Carrie

I am very excited about this trip and feel that I can manage it. You will hear about it in T R.

And yes, there will be glitches and bumps along the road. Some of it is due to just going somewhere new for the very first time.

I wish that I could go back to some places a second time but there is not the biological time. I would prefer to move forward and go to a brand new place that I have not been to rather thn go back to a place I have been to before.

The biological clock ticks away.

So do the savings that I travel on.