Bonjour! Is it of value to buy the Paris Museum Pass, Paris Visite Travel Card and the Paris Attraction Pass? Is there an alternative way to see the venues less expensively?
Thank you!
Posted by
Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, USA
13944 posts
The Paris Pass which is what I think you mean by "Paris Attraction Pass" is not thought to be a good value.
The Paris Museum Pass IS a good value IF you want to visit museums. Go to their website to see which ones are covered.
http://www.parismuseumpass.com/
How long are you going to be there and what days of the week? In general the best way to cover Metro charges are either by buying a "carnet" of tickets (10 tickets at a slightly cheaper price than when purchased individually) or by buying the Navigo Decouverte for a week's worth of travel running from Monday to Sunday. There is a new Navigo Easy pass as well.
Posted by
New York, NY, USA
11294 posts
There is a Paris Pass, a Paris Visite Pass, and a Paris Museum Pass. Yes, it is confusing. I'm not aware of a "Paris Attraction Pass."
The Paris Pass and the Paris Visite Pass are not good deals for most visitors. The Paris Museum Pass is often a good deal, in that it not only covers most major museums, but allows you to skip the ticket buyer's line (no one skips the security lines, however, and these can be slow).
As always with any pass, you have to add up the price of what your are definitely seeing and possibly seeing, and figure out over how many days you will see these things. You then have to compare it to pass prices. The Paris Museum Pass is available in 2 day, 4 day, or 6 day versions. The days must be consecutive, and you don't get any extra time if attractions are closed on the day you want to go, or if you don't use it for one day. So, for instance, if you're seeing the Louvre and the Musée d'Orsay on day one, and Versailles on day 3, and no other covered attractions in between, you'd need a 4 day pass - not a good deal. On the other hand, if you're seeing these things on two consecutive days, you can use a 2 day pass, which is a much better deal.
If the Paris Museum Pass is not a good deal, you can still buy advance tickets for individual attractions. For the three I mentioned in the last paragraph (Louvre, Musée d'Orsay, and Versailles), this is HIGHLY recommended.
One way I get good value from the Museum Pass is that it's good for the Arc de Triomphe, which I go up once or twice on every trip (often once by day and once by night).
Rick's books have good lists of what is and isn't covered, of the attractions that he in turn discusses in his book (he doesn't cover everything the pass is good for).
Posted by
Chicago
8059 posts
On a first visit the Museum Pass can be a good deal, especially if you are there long enough to get the 6 day pass or even the 4 day pass as the cost per day goes down. The big advantages are that you can make multiple visits -- 2 3 hour trips to the Louvre work better for most than one 6 hour visit. And you are also free to dip into places briefly that you might otherwise skip if you had to buy an entrance ticket. The pass (or a ticket bought ahead) gives you access to a different and shorter security line most places (not Ste Chapelle or Versailles however). It is a particular advantage at the Musee d'Orsay.
For Versailles get a timed ticket and do it on a day your pass doesn't cover.
For transport, never the Paris Visite. Get a Navigo Easy and load it with a carnet of local t+ metro/bus tickets for around town (and load it up again when you run out). If your trip falls between Mon-Sun of one week then the Navigo Decouverte which covers all of the Ile de France for 22.80 a week is the best travel bargain in France and it also gets yu to and from CDG.
Posted by
46 posts
I agree with other posters that the Paris Pass is almost certainty a waste of (lots of) money. I would recommend doing some careful research before opting for the Paris Museum Pass. I made a list of all the museums we wanted to visit and their ticket prices. It turned out that in order to make the Museum Pass economically worthwhile we were going to need to go to at least two, if not three, museums a day. If you’re talking about major museums like the Louvre, Orsay, Orangerie, Rodin, etc., that is not only a daunting proposition but also a tragic waste of a resource that needs to be savored. I would find it difficult to do justice to more than one of these in a day.
My only caveat is that the Museum Pass may potentially save some time standing in line which, during high season, could be valuable. But note that this might apply only to ticket lines, not to security lines from which the pass does not exempt you.
Posted by
London, United Kingdom
4684 posts
The advantage of the Paris Museum Pass in relation to the Louvre is that it lets you visit it on multiple days so you don't feel like you have to trudge round it for hours in a single visit.
Posted by
Minnesota 🎒
15810 posts
In case Claudia is still checking her notices....
The advantage of the Paris Museum Pass in relation to the Louvre is
that it lets you visit it on multiple days so you don't feel like you
have to trudge round it for hours in a single visit.
Unfortunately this is no longer true. Please see these threads for important updates regarding the pass:
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/france/if-you-plan-to-visit-the-louvre
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/take-note-before-you-buy-the-paris-museum-pass
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/france/louvre-museum-important-update/replies/new