Paris: So Many Museums, So Little Time . . . And sooooo many pass options!

Go to the official Versailles website and see what you think about paying for the Fountains. There is a map that describes the fountains, but you have to practically run to see them.
Versailles will take most of an 8 hour day.

I would recommend going to Versailles on Monday, since the crowds will be serious on the weekends, and it will be hot, besides. If you want to take a Private Tour of the King's Apartments, this will allow you to see things others don't see. You can go back to see anything you have missed.

http://en.chateauversailles.fr/plan-your-visit/practical-information

The Museum Pass might be your best bet, if you calculate the prices involved in seeing the museums. You can purchase your tickets at the Tourist Information kiosque at the airport.
You can buy the Museum Pass for Versailles, the Louvre, Eiffel Tower, and the Musee d'Orsay, among others.
You can go to the dedicated entrances in some of the museums, such as the Musee d'Orsay - it's Door C - but everyone will have to go through Security.

The Louvre takes some serious homework - if you just want to see the Mona Lisa, you'll be out of there in no time. If you want to visit the Louvre for "real", you need to do some investigating, to see where things are located. It's a truly huge museum.
http://www.louvre.fr/en

I would opt for the 4 day Paris Museum Pass, which would even allow for a Pompidou visit on your arrival day, before dinner in the Marais.
If your scope is ambitious, then perhaps ...

Saturday
•Pompidou Centre (closes 10pm)

Sunday
•Versailles (closed on Monday)
•Eiffel Tower

Monday
•Sainte-Chapelle & Notre Dame
•Louvre (closed on Tuesday)
•Seine Cruise

Tuesday
•Arc de Triomphe & Musee Rodin/Invalides
•Musee d'Orsay (closed on Monday)

The Museum pass can be cost and time effective.. but remember.. it does not allow you to skip SECURITY lines, and at the Louvre and Versailles this can mean a long wait.

For Versailles you have two options, pay to take the Kings Apartment tour ( the pass does not include this ) and you will have a reserved time slot for entry..you must book well in advance for this.
Or arrive BEFORE opening time( at least 45 minutes) and get in security line ( you wont need to get in ticket line as you will have pass in hand ) .

Louvre.. arrive before opening, with pass.

Orsay does have ( or did have ) a seperate line for pass holders so its not too difficult to avoid a long wait there..

Your daughter is in fact free at all of those places, but its a good idea to bring her id to prove age.. they rarely challenge age , but if your daughter looks close to passing for 18 its a good idea to have the id.

She will have to pay for the Kings Apartment tour I think.. but its not very expensive.

personally I find the fountains at Versailles over rated.. not the fountains themselves ,they are beautiful but the running around you have to do to see them ( they do not all come on at once, and they are spread out, and they only play for a short time with hours in between their operations, you will have to follow the schedule. The "music " is just tinny piped in recording. I know some will disagree however.

I'll offer a different - probably unpopular - option?

Skip Versailles. Yes, really.

There is SO much to see if Paris itself that it seems a shame to use one of your only two full days to leave it, especially for an attraction which promises to be absolutely mobbed on a summer Sunday, plus having to ante up extra for the gardens. We spent a full week in Paris without coming close to running out of things to do and MORE than broke even on our 6-day Paris Museum Passes.

If it's a bit of opulence you're looking for, you can find it in the Napoleon III Apartments at the Louvre, or give Palais Garnier a look-see? It's not included in the pass but it won't eat up an entire day to do, and we thought it well worth the extra ticket price (we self-toured it).

https://www.operadeparis.fr/en/visits/palais-garnier

Aside from that, I can think of umpty things you could - and should - do with 4-day museum passes which are not on your list. Some of the these would be:

Sainte-Chappelle: a glorious and very old jewel box of a chapel with breathtaking windows!

Musée de Cluny/musée national du Moyen Âge: an excellent museum too often overlooked

Arc de Triomphe: the view from the top! This may also be visited at night thus freeing up daytime sightseeing.

Panthéon: see where where some of France's notables are buried.

The Towers at Notre Dame (Tours de Notre-Dame): another great rooftop view of Paris with up-close looks at the chimeras.

L'Orangerie: a small museum in lovely Jardin des Tuileries (near the Louvre) with Monet's "Water Lilies" plus works by Renoir, Cézanne, Matisse and others.

Conciergerie: a very old and important bit of Paris history, it was a palace turned prison during the Revolution. Marie-Antoinette, Charlotte Corday, Madame du Barry and many others were incarcerated here before execution. This is near Sainte-Chapelle.

Eglise du Dôme (Dome church) in Hôtel national des Invalides: Napoleon's tomb + other military figures.

I'm pretty sure ALL of the above are free for your daughter, and I haven't even included free things all of you can do, such as Jardin du Luxembourg, Saint-Étienne-du-Mont, Église Saint-Séverin, Èglise Saint-Sulpice, Cimetière du Pere Lachaise and...well, there's lots and lots to do.

You can purchase your 4-day Museum Passes passes when you get to Paris and start using them right away on your first day. Just don't purchase them at a most-visited attraction where ticketing/pass-purchase queues will be long.

http://en.parismuseumpass.com

Do not confuse the Paris Museum Pass with the Paris Pass, which includes transportation but is ridiculously overpriced. We found the most economical, and enjoyable, way to get around was a combination of our own two feet + carnets (booklets of 10) of transport tickets that we used for occasional hops on the metro. These booklets may be shared between the 3 of you and cost 14.90 €. These tickets will not work for transport to/from the airports or Versailles.

https://www.ratp.fr/en/titres-et-tarifs/t-tickets

Once again, I'm going to agree with Kathy. With only three days, skip Versailles. The list of sights Kathy gives is great, and I would add the Marmottan Museum, especially if you like Impressionist art. And to get to it you walk through a lovely park - trés parisien!

And be sure to allow yourselves time just to sit back and let Paris sink in. Sidewalk cafés, open air markets, wonderful neighborhood shops - slow down and have a wonderful time without wearing yourselves out. As Rick says, assume you will return.

There are not many pass options for museums. There is one. The Paris Museum Pass and for a short trip I would get that. All children 17 and under are free; nationality is not relevant. A 17 year old should have her passport in a neck wallet for security as she might be asked to prove age; our daughter was 14 and it wasn't an issue but I know people with older kids where ID was checked.

Any 'pass' that claims to contain transport etc is just a marketing scheme that takes the ordinary passes like the Paris Museum Pass and the ordinary Paris Visite pass (always a terrible idea) puts them in an envelope and charges you more. so get the Museum Pass for yourself and your child just walks in with you. Most major museums have designated security lines for pass holders. For the Louvre it is at the Pyramid although you may find the Carrousel underground mall entrance is quicker even without a special line. At the Louvre ticket check is done at wing entrances; the long lines are security lines. The Orsay has a special entrance for pass/ticket holders; I would never go there without a pass or ticket. It is to the right of the main security/ticket line. Most other museums have separate security lines for pass holders. At the Notre Dame Tower, you sign up for a time slot early in the morning on an ap or on the machine at the site and then return at your admission time.

the problem with doing Versailles on arrival day is that the security lines become longer as the day runs on and the pass does not give you priority for that. You might book a King's apartment tour in the afternoon as a way to skip the security line (it has another entrance) This would then make getting into the gardens for the fountains complicated just from a timing perspective.

For transport buy a carnet of 10 ordinary tickets and share them for Paris. Your daughter can get a ticket jeune pass for Sunday for travel that includes Versailles (it will not cover airport transport though)The ticket jeune for people 25 and under is basically a Mobilis day pass for half price. If you go to Versailles on Sunday a 4 zone pass Ticket Jeune for her and two one way RER tickets for you would be the best choice. I think the gardens are worth it but the fountains only run for about an hour and a half in the morning and then again in the late afternoon:

We went just for the gardens a couple of years ago and they are stunning with the fountains running; it was 8 Euro extra when we went.

https://janettravels.wordpress.com/2016/02/15/fountains-of-versailles-a-little-chaos/
The problem for you is that you are arriving late and so if you want to do the King's tour to skip that long security line then it will be tricky to actually tour the garden during the period the water is running. I am not sure the logistics work. If it were me I would not do Versailles with such a brief time in Paris, or I might just go for the gardens and skip the chateau but you need to pick your own priorities. If it were me and I had this little time for Paris, I'd probably plan to wander Paris perhaps with a self guided walking tour on Sunday rather than racing off jet lagged to the chateau which is hideously and miserably crowded. It will be an unpleasant introduction to France IMHO.

Note that while Paris is very safe, pickpockets mostly from Eastern Europe and part of organized crime families are ubiquitous at tourist spots like the Musee d'Orsay and Louvre and Versailles. It is not hard to avoid being picked but it is necessary to take precautions. NO valuables in pockets or backpacks; carry as little as possible of value and stow it safely. A cross body purse worn in front with your arm across the zip closure in crowded places or a neck wallet worn under clothing are two secure ways to keep cash credit cards etc secure. Don't count on being 'alert'; the pickers are pros. My husband once found a hand in his pocket only because he put his own hand in his pocket

What Kathy said.

All good advice.

I'll add that for most people, an hour or two at a museum is the sweet spot, after that returns diminish sharply and the experience becomes a slog. A lot of this is physical. So, if you visit the Louvre on any day, you've still got most of the day left for other activities.

For first-time visits to the Louvre, I think it is worth taking one of the tours that the museum offers. These will introduce you to some of the greats and give you a framework for understanding other art. It's only possible to scratch the surface there however you slice it.

The Orsay is a bit more manageable. The last time I was there I followed Rick Steve's downoadable audio tour and had a great time, and learned a lot.

A great thing about the museum pass is that it lets you return, and it lets you dip into any number of smaller museums at no extra charge. So I'd recommend against two blockbuster museums in one day, but you could visit the Orangerie the same day as the Orsay or Louvre.

The heart wants what it wants, but you can have a wonderful time in Paris without visiting Versailles. If you do go I hope you are not disappointed.

To (badly) paraphrase William "Smoky" Robinson,
"A taste of honey is worse than none at all."

I, too, suggest skipping Versailles. To me the Louvre is just as enchanting or more (as others have said, the sexiest part of Versailles is the fountain).

That said, like Versailles, the Louvre requires energy and stamina. Last year I went to Paris just for the sake of visiting some of the museums that are not as frequented by tourists and it really was probably one of my best trips to Paris ever.

You're going to have a blast!

A couple of posts warn against trying to do Versailles on our arrival day, which makes sense. Just to clarify, we are arriving on SATURDAY afternoon. By the time we get from the airport to our apartment, it will probably be around 6 pm. We are looking at doing Versailles on SUNDAY. So it isn't our arrival day, it's just our first full day. We do want to hit a street market that morning, since there is one near our apt that sounds great and is only available on Sunday (besides, it will be nice to stock the room with some treats and fresh flowers right from the outset), and then head over to Versailles. I understand the warnings against it given our short time frame, but it's the number one thing my teenager wants to do there and when you have a high school student excited about a historic location because of what she learned in her history class, well, it's basically impossible to nix that. I'm just trying to figure out the logistics, how much of it to do, the timing, etc. The other things are more negotiable, though I really can't imagine going to Paris and not going to the Louvre. It sounds like a 4 day Museum Pass is definitely the way to go.

OK, I guess it's a must but it's probably worth repeating this point made earlier by Pat:

The Museum pass can be cost and time effective.. but remember.. it
does not allow you to skip SECURITY lines, and at the Louvre and
Versailles this can mean a long wait. For Versailles you have two
options, pay to take the Kings Apartment tour ( the pass does not
include this ) and you will have a reserved time slot for entry..you
must book well in advance for this. Or arrive BEFORE opening time( at
least 45 minutes) and get in security line ( you wont need to get in
ticket line as you will have pass in hand ).

During high season I don't think we can overemphasize how overcrowded the chateau will be, and I'm seeing many complaints about long waits - even with tickets and passes - in the security queue. Booking the tour mentioned above seems to be a way around that, as I've seen suggested elsewhere as well.

We didn't have an issue with long security lines at the Louvre but we got there before the opening hour and used the Carrousel entrance. I don't know if that one is possible anymore as the Louvre website states that, "Visitor with advance tickets (including Paris Museum Pass): entrance via the Pyramid without having to queue." Maybe someone who has used the pass more recently can confirm?

By "not having to queue" they mean in the ticket, not the security, line.

Based on multiple posts on this forum (but no personal experience) I would consider booking the King's Apartments tour at Versailles essential to your visit as you describe your plans. It's not very expensive and sounds as if it will pay significant dividends, time-wise. I hate spending extra money, but sometimes a sight is simply only worth visiting on a short trip if you spring for some sort of special access.

The long queues are for security but as several have noted, passholders MOST places (but not Versailles) get a shorter designated security line. If you have a pass you can enter at any open gate at the Louvre; no one cares if you have a ticket to enter, but if you want the shorter security line at the Pyramid you join the pass line. If you want to use the Carrousel entrance you can just do that. The entrances are not ticket check spots and you can go in to shop at the bookstore or eat at the restaurants without tickets to the Louvre. The ticket sales room is huge and has lots of machines; we have not yet waited when having to buy tickets. When they say passholders and ticket holders can use the separate line at the Pyramid without having to queue, what they mean is, they can join the passholder queue which may or may not be long but will generally be shorter than the main queue.

If you are going to be there all day Sunday I would decide on hitting a street market in Paris or going to Versailles early to beat the long line (or as noted get the King's apartment tour) But if you want to see the fountains, you need to get the earliest apartment tour in order to be free in the afternoon for that. The chateau is miserable; I would not want to spend one of only 3 days in Paris mashed up against hundreds of other tourists being pushed along.

I'd go to a market street or the St. Ouen market (not sure which you were talking about) and then plan on other activities around the city in the afternoon, but if you choose Versailles, I would make a day of it.

To (badly) paraphrase William "Smoky" Robinson,
"A taste of honey is worse than none at all."

Blue439- it's a Miracle you could work that quote into this thread. But I second that emotion.

The chateau is miserable; I would not want to spend one of only 3 days
in Paris mashed up against hundreds of other tourists being pushed
along.

And I wouldn't want to be discouraging to someone who desperately wants to do this attraction - it's YOUR trip, after all - but this may be of interest?

It's a Sunday in July a few years back:
https://blog.ricksteves.com/blog/the-palace-of-versailles-mobbed-by-tourists/

Hi mrswirth, all good advice. You’re going in to this trip knowing you only have a few days in Paris and that it will be crowded. If Versailles is your top priority, do it. It’s best to arrive first thing in the morning, but if you already have plans for the market, you’ll arrive after lunch. It will be crowded so be prepared to stand in line.

Get a Paris Museum Pass. Use the mall or Richelieu entrance at the Louvre. Don’t bring a big backpack. Have a wonderful time!

At the Louvre -- carry your own water bottle and plan to stop in the restaurant for a welcome snack/meal break after a few hours of artworks. Remember that the building was a palace before it became a museum, so look UP at the amazing ceilings.

Sorry, I misspoke when I referred to Versailles being open on Monday.
You will not have time to do all the museums in Paris...even in 2.5 days.

I would just concentrate on the Louvre - if you are especially interested in something - and the Musee d'Orsay. Also go to the Eiffel Tower.
You won't have time to do much of anything else, but walk around.

I would recommend you go on a cruise after sunset - June's sunset will likely be around 10h30 - the bridges and monuments are all illuminated. The boat makes one loop, and you get off at the same dock.
You should go to the dock nearest you, since you will be staying in the 15th arrondissement: http://www.bateaux-mouches.fr/en

I'll offer a different - probably unpopular - option? Skip Versailles.
Yes, really.

Wise advice from Kathy especially as SO MUCH of what's inside Versailles are REPRODUCTIONS. Don't waste your time.

Would also welcome input on getting the most out of visiting the
aforementioned locations.

Look at the websites for the Louvre and d'Orsay so you can pinpoint what is important for you to see in each of their collections. This is how you avoid being daunted. This also makes your time at these two museums more efficiently spent. Spend time visiting the masterpieces that interest you the most and really enjoy them.

Hi,

My suggestions to you are: Versailles (see the Hall of Mirrors for the momentous historical events in 1871 and 1919, the Battle Galerie, etc), St Germain en Laye, or although a bit more distance, Fontainebleau.

If daughter wants to see Versailles, I suppose you must. I went only to see the Hall of Mirrors because of the 1871, and 1919 events and was not at all sorry I had a 'short' visit 20 years ago when the lines were not what they are today. I've lived in Paris 20 years and have been to the Louvre exactly 3 times and don't plan on more. There are so many other museums in Paris that are relatively crowd free, far less exhausting with art that's more my period. For David, Ingres, Poussin, Delacroix and other French artists. the museum is important. Most of the rest is stolen art mostly from Napoleon I's Italian campaigns. This fact doesn't bother many people but it does me. Also in my opinion, the Louvre with the onslaught of mass tourism is becoming less of a museum and more of a brand.

As Fred said, it might be worth replacing Versailles with one of the less overcrowded chateaux in the area around Paris like Fontainebleau or St Germain en Laye. They are covered by the Paris Museum Pass as well.

Another chateau alternative right at the end of metro line #1. Maybe your daughter would be interested in the history of this often overlooked Paris wonder. Mata Hari was executed here. She's a fascinating topic for study.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ch%C3%A2teau_de_Vincennes

My husband and I are going back to Paris in Feb '18. We were there as the 1st leg of our honeymoon in 2015. We booked it around in 4 days and still didn't see Centre Pompidou, D'Orsay, or do Seine River Tour! My point is, we aren't getting to Versailles til our 2nd visit because there are just so many glorious places in Paris proper.
I've begun my research too, and everyone who mentions this new pass called Paris Passlib says it's a ripoff. Basically Paris Museum Pass teamed up with Paris transportation to create this pass. We are going to stick with the museum pass. The only place that isn't covered on our agenda is Montparnasse Tower/Observatory.
Good luck!

Basically Paris Museum Pass teamed up with Paris transportation to
create this pass.

Amy, the Paris Pass is similar (Museum Pass + Zones 1-3 Visite transport pass + 1 hoho bus + 1 hour Bateaux Parisiens River Cruise). At quick glance, a couple other differences with the Passlib are the ability to add fast-track entry to the Eiffel's 2nd floor (not the top) for an extra 20€, and it's less expensive than the Paris Pass but they also short you a day of Museum Pass on their 3 and 5-day passes. On a 3-day pass, you only get two days worth of Museum Pass, and four days on the 5-day pass. That one also isn't available in a 4-day version.

But no, I wouldn't buy either of them. The Museum Pass plus a carnet or two of transport tickets was a much more economical way to go. We had no interest in the hoho or bateaux cruise but you could buy tickets to those in addition to the Museum pass and still come in WAY under the price of a Paris Pass, and possibly under the Passlib as well.

When things like the Paris Pass and Passlib are marketed they are marketed as if they are something special and a pass. They are not passes if by pass you mean a card that does a variety of things. They are just ordinary products bundled and sold for more than you would pay otherwise (and often things are in conflict. Why have an expensive Paris Visite transport pass and a two day HOHO pass at the same time? You can't use both.

Why have an expensive Paris Visite transport pass and a two day HOHO
pass at the same time? You can't use both.

Exactly. It's a senseless waste of $$$.

The King's Apartment Tour at Versailles is only 7 Euro's. Well worth the price to skip the hours long line at security. I am planning to do this is April. The window to book for the tour opens 3 months before your date. Keep in mind, travel time to Versailles is 1 hour each way.

http://en.chateauversailles.fr/plan-your-visit/tickets-and-prices?public=10&visite-tid=2

I travel with my kids who are 16 and 14 now. I get that if they want to do something you do it. We had that with stonhenge when we went to London over Thanksgiving break. It was not well lined up with our geographic plan as we wanted to go to York and Edinburgh also. We told him what the options were as we reworked a plan around Stonehenge and not going north. Once he saw the sacrifices he made the choice to not go. Not saying your daughter will, she may think it is the most important thing to her and that is cool. You might show her this thread, or give her a few sample itineraries that show going to Versailles and not with explanations of the lines and other issues. Getting kids involved in the research and planning, not only what they want, but the tradeoffs and logisitics of what they want can be helpful in making trip better for everyone.

My experience is not the popular one, but I visited Paris for 4 days last year, and I took 1 full day trip to the Loire Valley and visited 4 chateaux, and I took a half day trip to Versailles. On our full day in Paris we visited Notre Dame, St. Chappelle and the Louvre. In the evenings we mostly just walked the streets and enjoyed the view. Was there a lot we didn't see that we wanted to see? Yes, absolutely, we will definitely be back. But I don't regret what we did because visiting the palaces were one of the biggest priorities for the trip. We were tired, but we can sleep when we are dead, right? If it is something you really, really want to do, than I say do it.

That said, I would really advise you to get up early and go first thing in the morning. We were in line 45 minutes before the palace opened and were the first people in the door. We got to view the Hall of Mirrors totally alone, and it was one of our favorite travel memories every. It was worth the early morning wake up time. With you visiting at the height of tourist season and on a weekend, you might need to be there even earlier than that. Just something to consider if you want to make it more enjoyable. Have a lovely trip!

We visited Paris with a similar plan where we arrived on Saturday afternoon and went to our hotel near the Versailles complex. Then on Sunday morning we took the Kings Apartment tour which got us immediately into the chateau without the long lines and a nice private tour of part of the palace. We then spent the rest of the day first visiting the more crowded, public parts of the palace and then the large gardens, the smaller palaces and the beautiful running fountains through out the gardens. (We rented the golf cart like vehicle to so tour the gardens.) We had a great time and recommend that you visit be on weekend or other day when the fountains are running and sign up for the Kings Apartments tour.

You should really look for a place in Versailles proper for lunch or dinner, when you come back.
Otherwise, go to the open-air market and make a picnic in the gardens.

As for Saint-Ouen - I would skip the flea market there. It's only open on Saturday and Sunday, anyway. You won't have time for it - it is too enormous.

janet - you say you don't present tickets or Museum Passes at the Louvre????
That's tantamount to breaking the law...I wouldn't want to by-pass Security, knowing someone had a bomb in their backpack.

Get the Museum Pass and do the right thing.

Don't underestimate jet lag coming from the west coast. Skip Versaille, there is so much to see and do in Paris without burning the entire day on one thing. There is also so much more than museums that I would see the Louvre and save the Oray for next time.