A week in Paris, Eurostar from London & back. The trip is mainly London, w/ the limited time in Paris.
The question is, given recent events & likely security, is the Paris Museum Pass still the "time on line" saver it has been?
We know it might not be a financial (individual ticket prices) advantage, but time IS money on this trip and we're willing to invest in the Museum Pass if it saves adequate time on lines.
Recent experiences, pls. We are in Paris late Sept.
Terry
Jazz, no one can skip security lines so it doesn't matter if you have pre-paid tickets or a pass. Those queues move pretty quickly, though, and it's loooong ticket lines that a pass/pre-paid tickets will help you avoid. Most tickets lines are before the security checks: Sainte-Chappelle is an exception (unless that has changed) and the Towers of Notre Dame has no priority line-skipping of any sort but those are the only two I can think of where the Museum Pass won't get you in as quickly as possible.
If you have a week and want to see enough of what the Museum Pass offers, you shouldn't have any problem breaking even on it. We went to the Louvre 3 separate times on our 6-day pass - the place is huge - so that alone would have been worth 45 euros apiece if we'd bought individual tickets.
Last October it was. There was a monstrous security line outside of the Pompidou. There'd been no such line two years prior. Pass holders could go to a separate security line to the left of the entrance. It took no more than two minutes. At the Orangerie, we waited about 5 minutes and they let pass holders in to the security line. At the Orsay, the pass line is to the right of the entrance. Again, about 2 minutes.
We bought ours at the Picasso museum. Had we bought it at a slower one, we would have saved time there as well.
Security is before tickets purchase everywhere I can think of. I am sure there is a ticket first somewhere, but not the Orangerie, Louvre, Versailles, Pompidou, Orsay. Most places have designated security lines for pass/ticket holders, so for example at the Louvre Pyramid, there is a line for everyone for security and a second line for pass holders/ticket holders. At the Orangerie and Orsay there are separate security lines. This has been this way for a very long time and having tickets ahead usually saves time ONe place that does not have a separate security is Versailles. Another is Ste. Chapelle.
So the pass does save time almost anywhere and more so now that security is tighter.
I don't know where you got the idea that the pass is not a financial advantage, for it is, especially if you plan for a fair amount of museums and intend purchasing the 6 day pass.
If you enter the Louvre by the Carrousel du Louvre (an underground shopping mall on rue de Rivoli), the security lines (last September) were very short, and you can buy your museum pass in the mall.
Thanks to all of you
Happy Travels !
Terry
@ monty, where can you buy the Museum pass in the mall? Is there a mall near the Louvre? We are having trouble with figuring out where to buy the pass ahead of time and we did check the Paris Museum Pass sites. We want to buy the pass on a Monday where we will be in the Eiffel Tower area, Tuesday early morning we head out to the Notre Dame so would like to purchase tickets on Monday before heading out to Notre Dame.
We were just in Paris this past 2 weeks. We bought the 6 day Museum pass, Navigo for transportation and also added the King's Apartment tour at Versailles. I would recommend all three to save time and money, however the Navigo pass is money saving for longer stays. The Museum Pass is great. It especially saved us time entering at the Louvre, the Orsay and Arc de Triomphe (ticket lines) . In addition, we added the King's Apartment Tour at Versailles ( entry to the palace itself is free with the Museum pass) . This saved us a huge amount of time because it avoids the security line. We arrived at 8:45 a.m., and there was a huge line. Have a great trip!
Thanks - exactly the type of information we were looking for !
Yes, skipping the ticket line will save time. Certain seasons, days and times of day have longer lines than others, so the time you save might be hours or just a few minutes at each sight. To the extent people carry less to sights, security can move quickly or slowly (when people have multiple bags/items to inspect).
Long line at Phone-tane-blow,
LMAO. Did you mean the Chateau de Fontainebleau?
Haven't been there, but most of the places we've been to have had the audio guide desks after the entrance, somewhere in the lobby/entrance hall.
