Finding the right museum pass

That would be the Paris Museum Pass. Not to be confused with the Paris Pass. Read the requirements and restrictions before buying once in Paris. The Museum Pass is not always a value, depending on your particular situation. Note that the Pass only allows a single entrance at each Museum.

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Don't forget to make the reservations you need for the museums that require them, and schedule your times to give you enough time at each place.
Have fun!

There is another pass that is good for museums and Monuments that are run by the Centre des Monuments Nationaux. It does NOT include the Louvre.

Passion Monuments Subscription

This pass is good for unlimited entry for 1 year from date of purchase. Although it includes monuments throughout France, here is the list just for Paris:

• Sainte-Chapelle
• Conciergerie
• The Towers of Notre Dame
• Arc de Triomphe
• The Pantheon and Panorama
• Hotel de la Marine

It also includes other benefits like priority security line, book shop discounts and substantial savings on some concerts at Sainte-Chapelle.

You would need to decide what museums you are interested in to determine which pass is appropriate for your situation.

I’m in Paris now for a one month stay. The Paris Museum Pass is no longer attractive to me because you only get one entry per museum instead of as many times as you want during the time your pass is valid. Because of the length of our stay I joined the Friends of the Louvre and got a Passions Monument pass that includes many places in Paris and outside of Paris and throughout France. I will be getting a Carte Blanche membership that will cover the Musee D’Orsay and the Orangerie. That will require a photo, but if you don’t have one there are photo booths in many metro stations. You don’t say how long you will be in Paris but if you want to go to one of these museums more than once the memberships may pay for themselves. Another bonus is you don’t have to reserve a time. I hope you enjoy your visit!

There is only one museum pass the PMP -- if anyone is selling some fancy pass that claims museum admission, they are just tossing a standard PMP into the bag along with other things including usually the most expensive transport pass the Visite.

The only other museum pass like product is the Monuments Pass which does not admit you to most Paris museums but is useful for some and for others around France.

The PMP has no value above just reserving a ticket unless you have calculated that you will do some many museums in a short time that is will actually save money. You get no priority entry, you can only go to a museum once -- so the things that made it a bargain 10 years ago no longer exist. (note also the Louvre limits the slots available for the pass so you might find no availability when those buying tickets can still do so.)

The Friends of the Louvre membership is money well spent for longer visits. I love being able to pop in whenever I want and through a dedicated entrance for members.

We have an Amis card right now and its big value is no lines to get in. The Carte Blanche is also worth is if you make several visits to the Musee d'Orsay. A friend of ours has a double pass and so takes each of us when we are in town. My patience for lines has grown to zero and lines have grown and since COVID the old tricks for line avoidance don't work anymore -- so expensive passes it is.

The fact is that for many visitors the right museum pass is no museum pass at all. As others have said, it depends on what places you want to visit and how often.

Travel guides used to be pretty pro-pass but those days seem to have passed. Make a realistic list of museums you'll actually be visiting and add up the admission fees, it doesn't seem to pencil out much anymore.

Much like the legendary Eurailpass ...

If you intend to visit the Orsay twice, the Carte Blanche pays for itself. Pass holders have their own entrance and also get discounts on restaurant meals and gift shop purchases.

I suggest you avoid passes, purchase tickets online for the locations you want to visit. Stay longer in the museums you really like and skip the temptation to simply visit as many places as you can just because you can.

Many of us don't want to spend 6 hours in a museum to get our value from the ticket; this is where the museum pass that would allow you to spend say 2 hours a day in the Louvre, three days running was a treat. But those days are gone and the pass really has to value -- not for lines and not for multiple visits.