Museum Pass and Reservations

You have to make the reservations, there is no service through PMP

Some museums require booking several days in advance. This fall and spring we found for example that the Louvre was often booked up for several days and we had to arrange it 3 or 4 days out.

You don't pay to reserve.

I think you can just use random numbers when they ask for the pass number o you don't have to have it ahead but haven't tried it myself (have heard here that it works)

Pass holders do not get a special line ahead of other ticket holders; you go to the security line for those with reservations. Before COVID pass and ticket holders often had little or no wait in the security line for pass/ticket holders and so could almost walk right in. Now everyone has a reservation in many places and so these lines are longer. We waited about half an hour in line at the Orsay with ticket this spring.

I have read that you don't preticket at the Arc du Triomph but that pass holders have a different and longer line than ticket holders. That would be different from most places which combine the two.

Thank you so much, that helps clarify.

We just got back from Saint Chapelle so I will add how it worked for us there: I made a time reservation a while ago for us under the “I have a ticket” (free) option, using just blank zeros for the PMP number. This essentially got us to the security area- there were lines for people on the hour (:00) and half hour (:30) and those who needed to buy. They checked we had the right time when we walked up to security. Through that, at the entrance to the actual chapel, they just scanned our 3 museum passes for the adults without asking about our time reservation.

Thanks for the clear info