Hi there,
I will be in Paris for 4 days in a couple weeks, is the pass worth it for museum visits? Do you still have to queue at most places? It says you don't have to wait for cash register line but most places would still have a line to get in no? I like the flexibility of getting a pass and deciding on a whim when to visit but not if it means a queue at every stop.
Thanks,
Sarah
Just to be perfectly clear, are you talking about the Paris Pass, or the Museum Pass? Two separate products offered by different outfits at different prices. The Paris Pass includes the Museum pass in it and is grossly overpriced. The Museum Pass can be a good value, especially if you plan on hitting lots of the big museums (Louvre, Orsay, Versailles, etc). Queues are inevitable because security checks.
I have used the pass and it is a time saver. Many places have a separate entrance for people with the pass. Yes it does save time. The line for Versailles for one is well worth skipping. Security is a different thing, Louve has second entrance with smaller line. But that is a nice place to visit in the evening when it's not as busy. Never been there this time of year so not sure if the lines are going to be that bad.
Paris Pass - no , not worth it
Museum Pass- yes, can be worth it..
They are two different things so you must be clear on which you mean.
The MP does let you skip lines in most places( notable exception is the Tower of Notre Dame,, pass is accepted for admission but no line skipping, go first thing before it opens!) .. and is useful for places like Orsay, Louvre, and Versailles.. it is also good because you can pop in to a few museums you may be on the fence about spending full admission on.. plus its useful for bathroom break pop ins( museum bathrooms are clean ( usually) and free. )
Paris pass is not a pass,, but a collection of vouchers.. most of which you won't have time to get the use of .. and the price is considerably higher then Museum pass and just buying some of the other stuff separately. For a 4 day visit you can usually get away with buying just a carnet of tickets for metro/ buses.( ten one way tickets) .. its 13.70.. so even if you get two( you can share tickets) its still a good deal.. and a cruise ( included on the Paris Pass) is only 11-14 euros anyways..
A frantically busy person may be able to justify the Paris Pass.. but only barely, personally I would never recommend it myself.
As said.. the pass does let you skip ticket lines .. but security lines are never skippable .
The Paris Museum Pass for 4 consecutive days costs €56, which is a good value if you use it every day, especially to cover Versailles (a €25 value). See http://en.parismuseumpass.com/ or the relevant summary page in any of Rick's guidebooks that cover Paris.
Sarah,
I was in Paris in March of 2012 and i bought the Paris Museum Pass. "Worth it" means different things to different people. When it comes to such passes, you should "do the math" and see if its "worth it" to you.
The math came out for me as "worth it". My meaning, i saved a few Euros. But i also saved time not having to wait in some ticket lines. When i was there, the only lines that were long were at the Louve and Musée d'Orsay (MO). At the Louve i got there 30+ minutes before opening and used the underground entrance off the RER line. The MO i didnt have a choice but to wait entering along with the others that were there before me. There was a long line at Sainte-Chapelle, but i would say that was more due to security than anything else and no pass would get joe tourist though that fast.
The Eiffel tower had a long line for tickets . I had bought my tickets on-line and choose my date/time. Easy peasy. But if you want to go to the top, you WILL have to wait in a line for the lifts up AND down.
It was said that the Catacombs can have a long line and so i got there before opening and waited along with the others.
note that pass will only get you into the place. If they have security, EVERYONE will go through that.
happy trails.
I found the Museum Pass very useful, but then again I went to a fair number of museums and really dislike standing on line.. (BTW, the Notre Dame line moves quickly just as Rick says in his guidebook.) Paris Pass looked grossly expensive to me.
just to clarify Craigs comment about Notre Dame.. yes.. the line for the church part moves quickly.. but the church is free anyways.. its just a bottleneck at door.. however.. the line for the Towers Of Notre Dame is very slow moving.. and as noted , its not free. They only let about 20 people up at one time.. so if you arrive and there is already a line formed down the sidewalk ( if facing cathederal, its on left hand side) you can wait hours! Good to arrive before it opens and try and be in first group or two let up..
Thanks for clarifying my comment, Pat. What you say is absolutely correct. I have never had a desire to climb to the tower -- my knees are not as cooperative as they once were -- so I didn't note them separately.
Thanks for all the recs!! I did mean the Museum Pass, not the Paris Pass so looking like I will get it for sure.
We are going to paris with a baby for 4 days, so is a museum pass going to make a difference or should I just focus on sightseeing because of an infant?
Also are there any passes for paris trains and metros?
RnB a lot depends on things you haven't told us.. first to clarify.. the Museum pass is also useful for visiting Versailles and the Arc de Triomphe.. so not just museums..
How old is baby.. young ones are usually pretty good about sleeping in buggy several times a day.. or can be carrying in a body pack.. meaning museums can be visited while they nap.. but older babies.. say over 9 or 10 months often ( depending on their temperament and you must know what your little one is like) do not want to sit in a buggy for an hour or two straight.. so museums may not be a good option.
Your personal interests and tastes count too.. I have said it before.. but young babies are basically luggage.. they go where you go and they usually don't care much one way or the other ( ask all the boy babies whos mommies drag them shopping at the malls., lol .. give them some cheerios and some chew toys and many of easy going enough to go along with the plan) Try that with some 2 yr olds.. recipe for melt downs.
When is trip.. in spring summer and fall there are so many great outdoor areas to take tots to..pocket parks and the great big ones.. good playgrounds..
In winter ,,well rainy cool weather means looking for more indoor activities..
So basically more information from you will likely be better and more specific advice and tips.. age of baby and time of time of trip..
A lot of that will determine how much you will use pass
I love the Museum pass. In addition to getting in the museums without any lines buying tickets, I used it as a bathroom pass. Restrooms in museums were always clean and free and whenever I needed to use a restroom, a museum was always near by.
