Is the museum pass worth it in Paris.

Hi Dana, I think the Paris Museum Pass is a great deal. Disclaimer - I'm a planner and don't mind very long days.

With only two days in Paris, you'll be on the run to see all these sites. If you're up to it, I think you could probably save "standing in line time" (you skip the lines but still need to go through Security) and money on admission tickets with the Pass.

Map out exactly what you want to see, check out the opening and closing times, and figure out the cost of individual tickets. That way you'll be able to figure out if this is the best choice for you.

Versailles will take the better part of one day. The museums are open late some evenings, hopefully, you'll be able to take advantage. Check the website for the Pass and links to the individual museums.

Hope you have a great time in Paris!

If you have only two days, think carefully about spending one of them outside of Paris at Versailles.. You get line priority for security lines at the Louvre and Orsay -- big deal for the Orsay. so if the costs just break even you are still ahead.

You really need 3 days if you wish to include Versailles, Louvre and Musee d'Orsay. Unless one of your two days is a Thursday, and you can return from Versailles to the Musee d'Orsay, which is open til 9.45pm.

Yes it will be a full 2 days. We will see the Lourve on Wednesday (stays open late) and d'Orsay on Thursday. My husband and I have been to all of them before, so we don't mind abbreviated visits this time. We are taking 4 teenagers so we will only spend a couple of hours at each museum and Versailles is very high on my daughters must see list. I am a planner too and I think we pack most of what we want to see in then crash on the plane home. Paris is our last stop before flying out. We are just seeing the highlights of several European cities to broaden their horizons and hopefully whet their appetites to go back and explore their favorites in more detail later in their lives.

I thought it was worth it for the line-skipping at Versailles, d'Orsay (especially here), and the Louvre alone.

Yes, i think it would be worth it, only 2 days , bad planning. Most folks who find paris stressful are the ones that try to cram too much into too little time.

We thought the Paris Museum Pass was a good deal because we stopped in for a few minutes at some museums we might have skipped otherwise. We enjoyed the Napoleon and Orangerie and Rodin museums besides the ones you mentioned. The shorter line will be important for you since you just have 2 days.

Aside from covering entry to various sights, one of the biggest advantages of the Paris Museum Pass is that it allows visitors to avoid the queues for tickets, which can be HUGE in some cases. Waiting in a queue for two hours to spend two hours in a particular sight is not exactly an "efficient" method of travel.

In the case of Versailles even those having a Pass may have to wait in a long queue, due to the number of visitors to that sight. On my last visit there, I had a Pass and waited about 90 minutes to get into the Chateau (point to note - DON'T visit Versailles on a Tuesday). If you also want to visit the gardens at Versailles, there may be a small additional charge if the fountains are operating.

Other PMP sights that you may care to consider close to Louvre...
St Chapelle
Cluny
Pantheon

Other PMP sights that you may care to consider close to Orsay...
Orangerie
Rodin
Invalides

YES!! The museum pass is worth it for the line skipping alone. Also, you may be passing by something and want to pop in for 10 minutes. Not worth paying amission, but if its on the pass you can get in and see the highlights. Also, you can go to the same museum a few times - 10 minutes here, an hour or more later in the day. Good for groups with kids or others with shorter attention spans!

I never add up admission costs - when in Paris I buy the pass. Some trips it isn't strictly dollar-for-dollar worth it (usually it is, but not always). But for planning, line skipping, and flexibility it is priceless.

the Museum Pass does not allow you to skip the very long line at Versailles. Everyone has to stand in that security line. Once in of course you don't then have to continue to queue for tickets. To avoid a long line at Versailles book the King's apartment tour with the Versaille website. It costs extra (7 Euro a head, I think) and kids are not free for that tour, but you go to a special door and avoid the long line. Otherwise get to the chateau at least half an hour before it opens to minimize the wait in the line. If your daughter wants Versailles, chances are she will want to see the estate and Hameau as well and that is a long walk and a long day.

With a bunch of kids 17 and under I'd definitely get the Museum Pass for the adults as the kids can just walk in with you most places and just missing the security line at the Orsay for the special security entrance for pass holders is worth the money it costs.

We always get one and find that it's nice to have - we'll wander into anything we happen to pass by since it's already "paid" for. In addition, the pass helped us bypass lines at these places two weeks ago: St Chapelle (long line - maybe 45 minutes), Orsay (line about 25 minutes). Lines at the Louvre were extremely long and the pass would have been helpful there too but we didn't go in. And this was in early April - it's only getting busier there as the weather gets better, I would think.

If you choose not to do the Kings Apartment tour at Versailles, my advice is to be in line around 0800 before the doors open at 0900. The meeting point/line for going through security at Versailles is in the center of the courtyard near the gate, just to the Right of the large white tunnel/corridor which is the security line. Usually there are banners or the metal tubing barriers that form a passage way to the entrance. You may see people standing in a line to the far Left of the courtyard, that is for purchasing an entrance ticket and those to the far Right are waiting to enter as a "Tour" group. Once you get through security, you can begin your tour with a minimal amount of people, because it does get crowded as the time progresses. What I did was follow the signs to the Hall of Mirrors, in French but you will understand it, took many pictures with only 1 other person in there and admired the work then headed back towards the entrance and begin my walk through. By time I got back to the Hall of Mirrors it was filling up with folks.
Enjoy.

Another advantage to the Museum Pass, especially with taking 4 kids, is that it can be used as a bathroom pass. It can be difficult to find a bathroom in Paris, but with a Museum Pass, all you have to do is drop in to a museum and use their facilities. The bathrooms will be clean and free.

Thanks for the input! I will definitely buy the museum pass and I am going to look at the Versailles website and decide about the apartments tour. I don't think I toured this part the previous time I was there. I'm hoping that we will have time for a couple of smaller museums too and it will be a big plus that they are free ( I would hate to pay admission and only spend 20 mins in there). I also love the idea of using the toilets!

A Paris Museum Pass question: if you start using a 2-day museum pass on, say, Thursday afternoon, is it good for 48 hours or just on Thursday and Friday?

It goes by the day not by a 48 hr time frame so in your example it would be good only Thursday and Friday.

http://en.parismuseumpass.com/rub-faq-16.htm

Valerie, is the line at St Chapelle now separate for those with the Museum Pass? Both times I've been there, everyone had to queue up in the same line. Planning to be in Paris again this year and would definitely stop in again to see the beautiful stained glass windows if I knew the MP would allow us to skip the long line.