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Paris

The spring of 2020 will be in Paris for the first time for 2 weeks. Is the Paris pass a good buy since we will be wanting to see a lot of the sites.

Posted by
8166 posts

nope. I've never bought one. It depends on what you want to see.
and do not buy a pass until you get to Paris

Posted by
1097 posts

Outside of transportation passes and (up until recently) the Museum Pass most people don't consider the passes generally worth the money. Usually they include so much that you only end up using a small part of it, but if it seems like it makes sense to you then it might be right for you. Try to figure what you realistically expect to use it for the cost it offsets against the price.

Sometimes the convenience and time saved on vacation is worth the extra money and most people don't have the luxury of a whole two weeks in Paris.

My US$.02, have a great trip!
=Tod

Posted by
7304 posts

Regarding Transportation passes, read up about the "Navigo Découverte" weekly pass (Mon-Sun), it is a very good deal and it is likely to work out very well for a longer stay like yours.

Posted by
15788 posts

There's the Paris Museum Pass (PMP) and then there's the Paris Pass. The PMP is usually worth it, you get your choice of 2, 4 or 6 consecutive days, free entry to most of the top sights and many others, not just museums and some are outside the city. You can buy it easily in any number of places when you get there. The Paris Pass is a rip-off. Browse the PMP website to see all the sights that are included.

For transportation, you should get the Navigo balso recommended.

I've used the PMP on several visits and found it well worthwhile. I recommended it to my orthopedist, along with the Navigo. He was with his wife and kids for a week in Paris in July, got the 6-day pass and the Navigo, and was very pleased he had.

Edit: The official website has migrated here: https://booking.parisinfo.com/il4-offer_i148-paris-museum-pass.aspx This tripadvisor thread has updated info, the terms of the pass were changed this month, probably because of the floods of visitors this summer.

Posted by
211 posts

Every time I go to Paris I make my plan, then add up the admission costs of the sights I wish to see that are covered by the Paris Museum Pass. I then compare to the cost of the pass, also taking into consideration if I can comfortably fit in all things in the number of consecutive days of the pass. If I can, and the pass is either less or only a few euro more than the total cost of what I want to see, I would purchase it. If it is a only a few more euro, the cost is worth skipping the ticket lines as well as having the option to pop into other museums/sights I might not have if I had to pay.

However, be aware that changes to the Paris Museum Pass just recently limit to one entry to each location (used to have unlimited entries). So if you were hoping to buy the pass and go to the Louvre 3 days in a row, that no longer is an option.

Also, you have probably read that the Louvre is now requiring compulsory timed entry tickets that you must purchase from their website. If you have a Paris Museum Pass, you can reserve a slot without paying, BUT you must have the registration number on the pass. So, if you wait until you get to Paris to buy the pass, you could possibly be out of luck reserving a timed ticket on such short notice. Buying the pass online adds quite a bit of shipping costs, so to me, it negates the cost-effectiveness.

At this point, I would choose to purchase individual (downloadable/printable) sight tickets online, which still allows you to skip the ticket line (but not the security line). Most are good for up to a year and do not require you to choose a date/time (with the exception of the Louvre as mentioned).

Forget the Paris Pass. As mentioned, it is a rip off.

Posted by
8556 posts

The Paris Pass is very poor value. You don't want a Paris Visite travel pass which is what comes with the Paris Pass as it is already very expensive. For two weeks, -- if they are two calendar weeks, you will want the Navigo Decouverte for travel. 22.80 for a week for all of the Ile de France

The Museum Pass is increasingly poor value because you need timed tickets for the Louvre and Versailles and now the Pompidou. You might be better off just booking timed tickets for each on line.

With two weeks there you also don't want to jam everything into a 5 day pass.

Posted by
14741 posts

For a first time visitor, the Paris Museum Pass may still be a good deal. With 2 weeks you could get 2 4-day passes or 2 6-day passes. It really depends on which sights you want to see.

I'm returning this September for my 2nd visit this year (7th since 2014). I'm planning to start with a 6-day pass (understanding completely about the newly-instituted rules regarding the Louvre admission) and will see how it goes. At 74E that breaks down to 12.33 E per day. I can generally see enough in a day that the pass works out for me to at least break even and then I can avoid the ticket line, if there is one. I'm on to seeing smaller museums now although I will go to d'Orsay one day and can use the Museum Pass to go in Entrance C and the security line there.

I agree with the other recommendations that you should add up the numbers to see if the Museum Pass is worthwhile for you.

Also keep up with what is going on with Louvre admissions in relation to the Museum Pass. The museum badly bungled the admission process over the summer and who knows what the situation will be in a few months. I've already bought a timed ticket for the special exhibition of Leonardo da Vinci for October but will wait until I'm there to decide if I want to try and get in another time.

Posted by
12313 posts

I'd suggest the Museum Pass for at least part of your stay. The Paris Pass didn't seem like a good deal when I checked it out. I'd be surprised if it would be better than a Museum Pass.

Posted by
15788 posts

One of the benefits of the museum pass is that you don't waste time debating considering whether the entrance fee to a sight is worth it. There are sights I only visited because I was walking by and they were included in the pass. Maybe there's one exhibit that interests you - not enough to warrant buying tickets. Or if you don't particularly like a sight, you don't feel cheated out of the entrance fee if you don't stay long. I've been to the Arc de Triomphe twice to watch the sunset, wouldn't have bothered without the pass. So I don't do the math, I figure even if it's a few €'s more, it's worth the convenience and flexibility.

Posted by
1175 posts

We always get both Navigo and the Paris Museum Pass on our annual visits. Both are great bargains and we use the PMP to enter the lesser known museums we wouldn't normally visit. Most if not all are nearly empty and have a snack bar and the all-important toilets. We've done Versailles and always go once to d'Orsay and the Louvre plus one of our many favorites, the Pantheon. Works for us and has for years. Who knows, by spring of 2020 the restriction of one visit and timed entry might be rescinded. Good luck. BTW, with two weeks in Paris an overnight trip or longer to London via the Eurostar is very easy. Eurostar tickets go on sale 6 months prior to your travel date and get much more expensive if you wait very long to purchase them. We always work in both London and Paris on annual visits.