So far I've seen two Museum Pass companies:
https://parisjetaime.com/eng/tickets/paris-passlib-m9001081
https://www.parismuseumpass.fr/t-en
Once purchased, how do I get the physical card/ticket ?
Also, do I need to book a "timed slot", and when and where do I do that?
Your 2nd link is the official Museum Pass. You don’t need to buy the pass until you get to Paris although there is an e-pass available that you download.
There are a couple of museums where you need to book a timed entry which youcan do without having the pass in hand. One is the Louvre but they also restrict the number of passholders who can enter each day. Some on the forum have found there were no timed entry slots available on the days they could visit after they purchased the pass so wound up having to go ahead and purchase a timed entry anyway. Here is the link to the Louvre ticketing website.
https://www.ticketlouvre.fr/louvre/b2c/index.cfm
The Orangerie is the other museum where a timed entry is needed. Go to the museum’s official website.
When are you traveling?
Have you run the numbers to see if you are planning enough museums that it would pay you to get a pass? Many of us feel the pass has lost it’s value since you can only visit each museum once.
Thanks for your reply, Pam!
Here's my Itin.
9/21/2023
Thurs: Drop Bags - Learn the Metro - Photos of Metro Signs (think Feet of Paris) - Marais Vintage Clothing Shops
Fri: Museum day - George Pompidou Center - d'Orsay - Louvre (already have a tour with Walks tour co.)
Sat: Rive Gauche Day; Coffee in Luxembourg Gardens - Stroll Latin Qtr - Pantheon - Notre Dame - Eglise St Germain des Pres - Pont Neuf
Sun: Garnier Opera - Père Lachaise Cemetery - Ikea La Madeleine
Mon: Morning in Montmartre - Sacré Coeur - Moulin Rouge - Arc De Triomphe - Champs Elysées - Pont Alexandre III
Tues: Versailles
Wed: Eiffel Tower - Napoleon's Tomb - River Cruise
Thur: Decompression Day - TBD
Friday: Au revoir
Ok, good to know your thoughts!
First - the Museum Pass covers consecutive days only, so you'd need to bunch your Museum Pass sights over maybe 4 days.
The sites where the Paris Museum Pass can be used that are currently on your itinerary are:
Pompidou
the Orsay
Louvre
Pantheon
Arc de Triomphe
Versailles
Napoleon's Tomb/Les Invalides/Musee de l'Armee
Here are my thoughts:
Thursday: Looks fine
Friday: To me your Friday is WAY too much. I'd never be able to do 3 major museums in one day. I'd suggest you move the Orsay to another day. They are closed on Monday.
Saturday: You could move the Orsay to this day. Go to the Luxembourg Gardens for lunch, perhaps. I like La Terrasse du Madame if the weather is nice as they have a wonderful outdoor area. Put the Pantheon after the gardens as they are literally 3 blocks down a main street and you can see the front of the Pantheon from there. Are you Midnight in Paris fans? I'm not a big Woody Allen or Owen Wilson fan but I love this movie! The time-traveling taxi picks Gil up from the steps of the Saint-Etienne-du-Mont which is just off to the left behind the Pantheon. There is also a very cool double helix rood screen in the church as well as a reliquary of Saint-Genevieve, the patron saint of Paris.
Sunday: Maybe you could move Versailles to today? Although SUnday can be really busy if it's a day the fountains are turned on. The things you have slated for today will work together any day. TBH, I'd wait until the last minute to decide on Pere Lachaise as it works better if it's a sunny day. Be sure to download Rick's audio app on your phones and have your ear buds with you.
Monday: Your Monday activities can also be moved around as none of them have closure days. You could move your Eiffel Tower and Napoleon's Tomb day to today as they are open every day.
Tuesday: Your grouped sights for Sat, Sun, Monday or Tuesday can work today as none currently are closed on Tuesdays.
Wed: Again, any of the combos can work today.
Thursday: You'll have so much today that you still want to see, lol!! Maybe a Paris Walks tour today? Or a food tour?
So...I would reconfigure things if you decide the Museum Pass will work for you after adding up the admission prices of the places you want to see. I'd bunch your Museum Pass sights over Fri/Sat/Sun/Mon. While many museums are closed on Mondays, the main one you want to see that has a Monday closure is the Orsay.
Wow, I'm pretty bossy this morning, lolol...AND I've not even had coffee yet!
There is only one museum pass and various companies package it and mark up the price and sell it to you with a bunch of other stuff. Do not buy 'Paris Pass' type products. They are not a pass that allows you to do X and Y -- they are a collection of products like the Paris visite (the most expensive travel pass) and Museum Pass and other coupons.
And think twice about buying a museum pass; they have pretty much no added value now that you can only use them once per museum and you have to have reserved time slots at many places. The Louvre has limited time slots for pass holders so whlie other people are merrily buying reserved tickets, you may find it is sold out for you.
Before COVID they had minor use as they put you in a different security line than those buying tickets on site, but even then anyone who just bought a ticket ahead on line had the same benefit.
Unless you are doing a museum marathon and have calculated that it will actually save you. a lot of money, just reserve ticket to the things you want to see on line and be done with it. If you decide you want one, you can pick it up at the airport on arrival.
Pam and Janet are giving you very good advice. I especially agree about your Friday museum day. Those are all very intense sensory experiences. I would spread these museums out over a few days. Or at the least limit the day to two museums with a nice activity palate cleanser in between.
The Centre Pompidou is open late until 9:00 pm each night (11:00 pm on Fridays, closed Tuesdays). I usually take advantage of the evening opening, tacking that on at the end of a less museum-heavy day. I enjoy going just before sunset as the Pompidou has some of my favorite views of Paris from inside and outside on the terrace.
We are big museum goers who used to swear by the Paris Museum Pass. On our last two visits, we crunched the numbers and found that the pass wasn’t an advantage. We did however book timed entry tickets online whenever possible. Don’t wait to book until the last minute though, especially for the Louvre and Orsay (although it looks as if you’ve booked a tour at the Louvre already?) Check each of the other museum/monument you want to visit for their current ticketing /entry policy so that you’re not caught off guard.
I thought the museum pass allowed you to “skip the line”.
Skip the ticket line, not the security line.
