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Fast Passes

Posted by on

Hello Travelers,

I apologize if this topic has already been addressed--I searched the archive but there are so many postings...what is the best route for purchasing the fast passes for Paris? Can we do this once we get there (with our hotel concierge)? I purchased a day excursion to Mont St Michel through an online tour site Viator, but am wondering about their fast pass options. They are actually called 'skip the line' tickets--Louvre, Eiffel Tower, Orsay, Notre Dame, etc. Is this reliable, OR is the best route to just arrive as early as possible?

Thanks in advance!
Kelly/Texas

Posted by
16894 posts
  • Most hotels don't have concierges and, anyway, I would not rely on them.
  • Do you have a guidebook with info about each destination? Rick Steves Paris has all the details on these issues.
  • Any ticket that you want to buy in advance is available online through the operator, such as for the Eiffel Tower, which you should reserve well ahead if you're committed to making the ascent. Of course, going early or walking up the stairs are also options without a reservation, especially outside of high season.
  • Most Paris museums open at 9:00 or 9:30 and a Paris Museum Pass can also be a good value for seeing several. That pass also allows you to skip the ticket-buying line. Nothing allows you to skip the security line. The Louvre entrance through the shopping mall is also less busy and has ticket machines.
  • Entrance to Notre Dame is neither ticketed nor reserved, though the Paris Museum Pass does cover the option to climb the tower (no line skipping).
Posted by
15848 posts

Another vote for the Paris Museum Pass (NOT the ridiculously expensive Paris Pass). If you have the time and interest to see enough of what it covers to make good on it - or come close to that - it's probably the best we've ever purchased...and I'm not usually a fan of passes. You will skip long ticket lines at the majority of attractions (the Towers at Notre Dame being the exception) but not security queues, which everyone must go through with tickets or passes. That is only a negative at Sainte-Chapelle where the security queue precedes the split of line into those needing tickets and those with passes.

Posted by
8095 posts

There is no such thing as a fast pass or skip the line ticket in Paris. If you buy a ticket or have a Museum Pass then you can use a designated security line that is likely to be shorter than the line for people who don't have tickets, but there is no 'fast pass'. That is a marketing scheme to get people to buy marked up ordinary products. Some museums like the Louvre or attractions like the Catacombs have timed entrances and when you buy those you can be admitted at that time. The Eiffel Tower has timed entrance tickets bought on line 90 days out; these give access to a different elevator and reduce line waiting to little until you get to the elevator line for the top on the second floor where everyone is equal.

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