Museum Pass and Skip the line tickets questions

Most places just having a ticket gives you access to a better security line. This is not true of Verailles or St. Chapelle. At Versailles buy a timed entry ticket to assure skipping the long security line -- a MP or regular ticket won't do that. For the Catacombs get a timed ticket -- costs twice as much but the lines are ridiculous. for the Orsay, just having a ticket means you use a different entrance and save time; same for Monet's gardens. At Notre Dame you must have a reservation to climb the Tower and those are booked the morning you wish to climb at a machine on site starting from 7:30 am or by an ap that can be used near the Tower. You book Eiffel Tower tickets on line for a specific time.

Third party vendors do not have access to special 'skip the line' tickets that are different from what you can just get yourself. If you are going to lots of places included in the Museum Pass, it is worth getting.

Mont St. Michel is far from Paris and not really worth doing with only 4 days -- it is a two day trip or a very very long tour from Paris.

I believe Brent has 12 days in France; four days is just the amount of time for concentrated museum-going in Paris.

Mont-St.-Michel is better visited with at least one night away from Paris. Otherwise, you'll be there during prime day-tripping hours along with all the other tourists. Everyone says it's much nicer late in the afternoon, after the buses depart, or early in the morning. There are other interesting places to see in northern France as well, if you're up for spending part of your time outside Paris.

Thanks for the great responses so far! I really appreciate the detailed information. Forgive the confusion. We will be there 12 days and 2 of them will be Normandy/MSM (a quick trip I know). Hope that helps. Please keep the tips coming.

Check the website for the Paris Museum Pass so you know what is and is not covered -- Notre Dame itself is free, lines may be long but they move quickly; Louvre and Musee d'Orsay have lines, but look for the MUCH shorter lines for Museum Pass holders; check out the Orangerie for the unforgettable Monet waterlilies rooms (very close to Orsay); Giverny and Mont St Michel are both at least day trips out of Paris.

look for the MUCH shorter lines for Museum Pass holders;

Anyone who purchases tickets in advance may use the ¨shorter lines¨, not just Museum Pass holders. With 12 days in Paris and given the locations on brenthamman´s itinerary, a Museum Pass might be totally unnecessary and a complete waste of money.

Tocard, I'm confused about why it would be a waste of money. Are you saying that the short lines end up being pretty long due to people purchasing in advance? Thanks.

It’s a waste because you have several days to spread out your museum visiting. You’ll do just as well buying your tickets individually on line, picking them up at a FNAC store and going at your own pace. You can still use the ticket holder line. The pass makes you squeeze everything into a few days and then it expires.

I agree that with 12 days I would not buy a pass. It is easy to acquire tickets for museums. The Musee d'Orsay is a must for tickets ahead but they are easy to buy. The Louvre, we never bother; in dozens of visits we have rarely faced serious lines (but we don't go first thing in the morning when lines are longest.). Only once at the Louvre have we had a half hour line for security at the Carrousel entrance. The ticketed line is shorter at the Orangerie for security; the Museum Pass is zero advantage at Versailles. There you need a timed ticket. with a longer stay you can also make an on spot call -- if the line is extra line, go another time or day.

And I'll be the odd poster out: the Paris Museum Pass might be a good buy if you plan your sightseeing to its advantage. To do that. you'd need to add more attractions that it covers - or visit some of them more than once - to your list to have it pay off. For instance, we had a 6-day pass for our week in Paris and broke the Louvre into 3 individual visits, including one at night, versus one very long and exhausting one: the pass allows you as many visits to the attractions it covers as you wish to make. Anyway, those three entries added up to a significant chunk of the pass' value.

The other attractions we used it for:
Musée d'Orsay
Arc de Triomphe (you could do this one once during the day and again some night)
Conciergerie
Sainte-Chapelle
Dôme des InvalidesÉglise Saint-Sulpice
Musée de Cluny - Musée National du Moyen Âge (this is a good one!)
Musée Rodin
Panthéon
Musée Delacroix
Tour de Notre Dame

Additionally we did Jardin du Luxembourg, Sacré-Cœur, Montmartre Cemetery, Palais Garnier, (not covered by the pass), Église Saint-Sulpice, Église Saint-Séverin, a walk of Champ de Mars and around the Eiffel and the Eiffel at night from the Trocadero, and a good 1/2 day at Pere Lachaise. We did this all with only a few jumps on the metro and didn't feel rushed at all, and we took no organized tours.

You get the idea? You can probably fit more than you have listed into a 4-day pass, and you've listed some the pass doesn't cover. Also, group your sightseeing by area to save steps, and save free attractions or those not covered by the pass for however many days you have left after the pass runs out. We skipped Versailles as we'd little interest in being overrun by the mob there and found plenty to do in Paris besides. Also, the pass doesn't save you from a looooong line into the chateau. With 12 days, you do have more time for a couple of jaunts further afield. though. I'd agree that Mont St Michel is best done as an overnight.

Yes, a big advantage of the Paris Museum Pass is that you can make several visits to the Louvre instead of a single stressed one.