Any recommendations between the two? We are going this fall for a week and would purchase the 5 or 6 day option. We would use the Metro/travel feature.
Just wondering which is the right option for us and curious about the differences between the two.
Jennifer, I wouldn't do either pass. The Paris Pass is ridiculously overpriced, and the Passlib' is just slightly better.
The Paris MUSEUM Pass, on the other hand, is a very good buy if you want to see - and have time to see - enough of what it covers. A 6-day adult pass is 74€, covers most of the city's major attractions, and you can go back to any of them as many times as you wish to: a bonus when tackling the mighty Louvre.
It does not cover the Eiffel or transport but we did just fine getting around central Paris with one or two carnets of 10-ride t+ tickets for 14.90 € apiece (and a lot of fun walking!) It also doesn't cover a sightseeing bus tour (we had no interest in) or a 1-hour boat cruise, which you can easily do on your own for €15.
https://www.ratp.fr/en/titres-et-tarifs/t-tickets
A 5-day Passlib’ includes a 4-day museum pass+ 5 days of transport (Zones 1-3) + a 1-hour boat cruise and 1-day sightseeing bus tour for 155 €. The Eiffel is an add-on for an additional 15€.
A 6-day Paris Pass is €239.00. Includes 6 days of transport (zones 1-3), a 6-day Paris Museum Pass, the boat cruise, sightseeing bus tour and some other odds and ends. It does not cover the Eiffel.
The transport coverage of the above passes do not apply to getting to or from the airports.
Depending on your dates, the Navigo Decouverte transport pass may be worth your while. The Paris Visite which comes with the Paris Pass is hugely overpriced on its own and even more so when they hand it to you as part of this package (none of these is a 'pass', they just give you an ordinary Museum Pass and an ordinary Paris Visite for more)
If your dates don't work for the ND which runs M-S of one week then just buy sets of 10 ordinary tickets -- carnet for 14.80
If you run out of carnets, you can buy single t-tickets from the machines in the Metro stations.
Make sure to keep tickets until you reach the street level, then toss them.
Make sure you understand how to use Bus tickets, if you prefer them - there are restrictions on timing and back-tracking, etc.
Thanks, all! Does anyone know if there is a difference between the 3 passes mentioned in this thread with respect to lines? I realize that everyone has to go through security where applicable, but part of why I'm interested in passes is the possibility of shorter entry lines. We will be there in late November - so not high-season, but I'm still expecting the crowds one usually encounters in major cities.
Any other tips on lines in general? Pyramid entry at the Louvre v. the others, etc.?
All three of these passes offer the exact same benefit where lines are concerned as the two more expensive passes include the same Paris Museum Pass as you can buy on your own, and which I recommended doing. The thing you do not get with that pass - and so do not pay a lot of money for - is the transport piece.
Most museums have signs which indicate which lines are for people who already have passes or tickets. If you have to stand in a line, it's for security checks which NO one can skip, and they move quickly.*
Regarding entrance to the Louvre, this from their website:
"Visitor with advance tickets (including Paris Museum Pass): entrance via the Pyramid without having to queue."
*One exception to line-skipping is the towers at Notre Dame: everyone stands in the same queue there, pass or no pass.
Thank you so much!
to hammer this. NONE of these except the Paris Museum Pass are passes -- they are all just marketing schemes which include an ordinary Paris Museum Pass. It is this pass which you can easily buy for less on arrival that allows you access to designated security lines at some museums and thus help you shorten the time you spend in the security line. None 'skips the line' i.e. you don't get to bypass all security lines, you just get to use one that often is shorter.
If you plan to be home by midnight, there is a Mobilis Pass for *transport only. *
The advantages are to have only one ticket, you can use it on the Metro, and if you decide to use the Bus you don't have to observe the 90 minute limit, and can backtrack - which isn't normally possible.
I would definitely get just the Museum Pass for as many days as you think you'll need - and either carnets, Mobilis, or Navigo if the dates work for you.
You can purchase everything at the tourist kiosk at the airport.
