Museum and Metro Multi-Day Passes

You're paying WHAT?? For how many people? No, it doesn't make any sense at all.
Just do a 6 day Museum Pass, you'll get museumed out and there are some days you'll do something else.
Way better options for transport passes at way less money.

How many people are you buying passes for?

A two day museum pass is 42 euro, approx. $48
A six day museum pass is 69 euro, approx. $77

As far as I know, there are no 3 day and 5 day passes for the metro.

You need to give us some details.

There are Visites for 3 and 5 day. Not especially good deal, especially back-to-back.

The Paris Visite transport pass is a tourist rip off -- You would be much better off buying a Navigo Decouverte for the period from Wednesday through Sunday which will cost about 21 per person plus 5 for the card itself. It is probably not cost effective to charge it for the second week of 3 days but at that point you can decide if a carnet of ordinary tickets for 14.10 or another charge of the card makes sense.

You could easily buy the 6 day museum pass on arrival and then buy another two day if you think you will want it the last two days. The 6 day pass is generally a good deal given that it costs much less per day with the long pass. Even if you don't save money, it is convenient and you get line priority some places -- notably at the Orangerie and the Orsay you get to use shorter security lines. At the Louvre you can use the Richelieu entrance (although the Louvre is generally not a line problem) and there are other museums that you may get line priority. Ste Chapelle and the Notre Dame Tower are two spots where having the pass gets you in but no line assistance.

Oh, yeah, I forgot about the Paris Visite passes. They are a total rip-off. I don't know who Delta Vacations are but do not deal with them again!

I believe they are the tour division of Delta Airlines.

Patrickreid44,
You should have asked about your options prior to going through Delta Vacations.
An example, through The City Case website, http://www.thecitycase.com/paris-passes.html, you could have gotten a better deal.

3-Day Metro Pass: $85, 5-Day Metro Pass: $105 = $190
6-Day Museum Pass: $90, 2-Day Museum Pass: $50 = 140
Total: $330 and this is all 5-Zones, less if you did not need all 5 Zones

Or

With the City Case/Combo deal:
6-Day Museum Pass, 6 Day Metro: $270
2-Day Museum Pass, 2-Day Metro: $140
= $410, plus you would have gotten 2 free Seine River Cruise tickets out of the two purchases and again this covers all 5 Zones.

@brushtim,

These are "rip off" prices as well.

3-Day Metro Pass: $85, 5-Day Metro Pass: $105 = $190
6-Day Museum Pass: $90, 2-Day Museum Pass: $50 = 140
Total: $330 and this is all 5-Zones, less if you did not need all 5 Zones

from RATP (Paris Metro Operator) and Museum Pass site
3-day 5 zone Visite Pass: 55.10 euro (~$60), 5-day 5 zone Visite Pass: 67.4 euro (~$74) = $134
6-day Museum Pass: 69 euro (~$75), 2-day Museum Pass: 42 euro (~$45) = $120
Total: $254

And you just buy them when you get there with your credit card.
Edit- and has already been pointed out, there are better deals than the Visite.

Thanks for the feedback. If I use the City Case option, how will I actually get my passes? Also, where in Paris can I buy a museum pass or a metro pass?

Thanks for kicking me in the but. I appreciate the honesty and information.

Museum Pass at the Paris tourism desk as you leave the luggage pick up area. Can't miss it.
Transport tickets at the airport train station.

They mail your packet to you. I purchased the City Case 3 months before departure and it was mailed to my home address. Included the Metro & Museum Passes, free Seine River Cruise ticket, instructions on when to put your name & date on the passes and general information. For me it was a benefit because I was planning to hit sites throughout Paris each day so having the 5-Zones worked out fine. For my trip in May 2016, I will be using the Passe Navigo Decouverte, since my timeframe there will be Sunday - Sunday and I am more comfortable with the Metro system.

Thanks Sam,

What about when I'm in the city?

There are many places to pick up Museum Passes in the city. The first museum you want to enter is a start. All the museums covered by the pass also sell them. There is also the main tourist office at 25 rue des Pyrimides and the Paris Tourism desk at Gare du Nord.
Transport tickets at any Metro station.

Is City Case a good company to book a tour through? Viator seems too busy when I called them today. They wouldn't even book Opera Garnier (September 28th) or the Eiffel Tower (September 29th). They told me to call back later.

Patrick,

You seem determined to use middlemen. You can visit the Opera Garnier most any day:
http://visitepalaisgarnier.fr/en/useful-information

If you are looking for a skip-the-line Eiffel Tower tour, there are lots of options. People here like Fat Tire Tours:
http://paris.fattirebiketours.com/tours/skip-the-line-eiffel-tower-tour
59 euro.

Patrick, since you said in an earlier post that you are using Rick's Paris guidebook (I assume the full-size, rather than the pocket), then see pages 26 and 48 for his advice on Metro and Museum passes, similar to what the more seasoned commenters here have said. The book also lists direct web, email, and phone contact info for most tours, museums, and services, since we do recommend booking directly with them whenever possible. This can save money as well as be part of the "getting to know France" experience.

Patrick - as already stated, you don't need a "booking" for Opera Garnier; we walked in on a day it was open and bought tickets. Tickets for the Eiffel can be purchased on the Eiffel's website.

Buy your Paris Museum Pass when you get to Paris: you can do that at any of the attractions it covers. Just pick one that's less rather than more popular so you can pop right in. And I would reconsider buying a second, 2-day pass. I don't know your schedule but I'm guessing day 1 of your 8 is an arrival day, and you may not have a lot of time before a lot of things close up. Go get your 6-day pass and just spend the day getting acclimated in the city. Validate your pass on day 2, and spend day 8 doing things the pass doesn't cover or which are free: not everything in Paris has an entry fee! You could also do your day 8 itinerary on day 2, and validate your pass on Day 3.

We've never used transport passes at all: carnets of individual tickets have worked really well for central Paris.

The prices you were looking at paying are insane: much, much less expensive ways of skinning the cat.

Following up as I've just run across your itinerary buried in another post…
Unless you've revised it, it looks as if you have 7 full days? I see things on your list which can easily fill the days you might otherwise waste a pass on. For instance:

Day 7: Marais Walk, Au Bourguignon du Marais for lunch, Sebastian Gaudard Patisserie, Carnavalet tour

You don't need a pass for any of this, and I might add that a tour of the Carnavalet - which is free - is unnecessary as well; rent the inexpensive audioguide

Day 6: Montmartre Walk, Chez Dumonet for lunch, Eiffel Tower tour
Day 5: Historic Paris Walk, Ma Salle a Manger for lunch, Opera Garnier tour

Nope, no passes needed on these days either.

Scattered about your itinerary I see Pere Lachaise Cemetery, Rue Cler walk, Left Bank walk, Champs-Elysees Walk, and Historic Paris Walk. None of these require a pass, and I'm guessing they are not tours you've booked?

I also see Maison de Victor Hugo, Musee Marmottan Monet and Musee Picasso on your list but unless I'm missing something, these three are not included on the Paris Museum Pass.

So you see my concern about buying on a 2-day pass you don't really need? I'm actually a little concerned that you have enough on your proposed itinerary to even make the 6-day pass worth the price.

If you are doing a Montmartre walk on day 6 why would you go clear across town for lunch at Chez Dumonet, Josephine. I'd suggest lunch at Cottage Marcadet right there in Montmartre or else organizing this and other days so you zone your walks and sites rather than bouncing back and forth -- Montmartre to Chez Dumonet to Eiffel Tower has you bouncing back and forth across the city. Make one day Opera and Montmartre and another zoned elsewhere -- which cuts the need for a metro pass and makes things less harried and scattered.

The Opera or Palais Garnier, http://visitepalaisgarnier.fr/en, offers English tours on Sundays and Wednesdays @ 11:30 & 14:30 for 14 Euros. You can purchase them at the location as stated earlier.

Sorry for one more post here but I hope we can rescue you before it's too late!
In your initial post you seemed to imply that you had already purchased the museum passes:

"I made these purchases because I want to use each pass at will on each day I'm in Paris."

But later in the thread this statement implies that you hadn't done so:

"If I use the City Case option, how will I actually get my passes? Also, where in Paris can I buy a museum pass or a metro pass?"

Which is it?

So with a cross of fingers that you have NOT yet bought the Paris Museum Pass and heed the advice to purchase it in Paris, please do reference the important info on how it works; specifically not to DATE the thing until the first time you use it.

http://en.parismuseumpass.com/rub-t-how-to-use-it-19.htm

The long and short of it - and I'm using that itinerary of yours referenced in my earlier post - is NOT to start using it later on your first day. Arrange your sightseeing to the full advantage of the thing by grouping ALL the attractions it covers within the 2, 4 or 6-day life of pass. And yes, as another poster mentioned, grouping your attractions by AREA is helpful as well; saves a lot of time and shoe leather. You also want to keep that itinerary flexible regarding weather; some of your scheduled walks may not be all that pleasant if it's pouring rain so a day at the Louvre or d'Orsay, etc. may be a better choice.

BTW, we used the pass 3 times during the same a week for Louvre. It's a very large collection that's impossible to do in one day so being able to pop by on the evenings when it was open late was a bonus.

Hi Everyone,

I cancelled my museum and metro passes. I will use the advice you have all generously given my on this topic to redo my itinerary. Those who noticed that I am not a seasoned Paris traveler are certainly correct, but I am learning quickly, thanks to you.

Patrick

Well done!!!! You just saved yourself a bundle!

We'll hope for sunny days during your week but should the weather refuse to cooperate, take a look at the other things included on the pass? You could do quite a lot more with it if you want to. Here are a couple of things I see missing from your itinerary that are covered, and which we enjoyed:

Arc de Triomphe: very nice rooftop views of Paris, and can be done both during the day and at night

Musee Cluny-Moyan Age: a marvelous museum of Medieval treasures which too many visitors pass by

Sainte Chapelle: a jewelbox of a chapel with gorgeous windows

Conciergerie: a very old piece of Paris' history, this imposing structure served as a palace and prison

Thanks, Kathy. I'm starting to learn. I just turned 70 and don't know if I will ever get back to Paris.

Patrick

You'll have a wonderful time, and can eat more macarons and drink more champagne with the $$ you just saved. :O)