Paris museum pass

They come in 2, 4, and 6 day sizes, costing 32, 48 and 64 euros respectively.

For perspective, the Louvre stiffs you ten euros, but a couple days it's only five or six. Neither this price nor the pass covers special/temporary exhibitions.

You can buy them at the first participating place you come to, around Paris at several spots, or order in advance for an extra fee.

It doesn't cover transportation, that's another package.

In my mind, you'd have to be a museum freak to come out ahead -- and not see much else in the time you were using it.

One advantage is that it gets you past the ticket booth, but not head of the line privledges into the door.

Tally up what you want to see and make up your own mind.

To my way of thinking, the only people that make out on a pass on any kind, including train, metro, etc, are the folks who peddle the passes.

Hi James,

We decided which museums we really wanted to visit, purchased a 2-day museum pass, and planned our museum visits for those 2 days. We bought ours at the d'Orsay and got there right as the museum was opening. It was in January and there was no line for purchasing tickets.

The real question is "how much time do I want to spend in museums?"

For some people, the museums in Paris are like candy, for others, it's more like brussel sprouts.

If you want to take full advantage of the museums Paris has to offer, they are a good deal. It will almost certainly save you at least a few Euro. But the real benefit is being able to zip past many lines. It could easily save you two hours of your valuable touristing time. Consider how much that is worth to you...

The pass also covers most of Versailles - which is a good deal - and will consume most of a day. So if you were planning to visit Versailles anyway, I would get the 4-day pass. That leaves 3 days for other museums, and is a good value. If you were not planning to visit Versailles, the 2-day might be enough if those two days are well planned.

One side benefit to the pass (especially the longer passes) that few people consider is that it allows you to break up your visit to a large place like the Louvre into several visits. Let's face it, no one has the tolerance to see all of the Louvre in one visit. So most people tend to head for the things they think they can't miss like the M.Lisa and W.Victory and then take a cursory glance down another hallway, and then go. With a pass, you can go for an hour one day, and an hour the next, and so on.

Randy's last point was especially good.

james,

The post from Ed provides an excellent summary on the features of the Paris Museum Pass. It covers quite a wide variety of sites, so can be a good value for those that plan on doing a lot of touring in Paris.

One of the biggest advantages of the Pass is that it allows entry via a "Passholders" entrance which is most often much quicker than waiting to buy tickets and enter at the "normal" entrance point. One point to consider is that it may not be too crowded in March, so you may not have many problems with crowds?

You can purchase the Museum Pass at many locations in Paris, including CDG. Check the website at www.parismuseumpass.com/en/home.php for the details and current costs (click on the "Points of Sale" tab for locations where you can purchase these).

If using a Paris Museum Pass, it's a good idea to plan your touring carefully in order to gain the most benefit, as the Pass must be used on consecutive days. Once you've "activated it by writing the date on the back, the "clock is running".

A couple of comments on the Museums you mentioned. As you're only going to be in Paris for a week, I wouldn't bother trying to see all of the Louvre. If you're interested in the Mona Lisa, it's in the Denon Wing (be vigilant for pickpockets in that area). Venus di Milo is in the Sully wing and one day would probably be adequate for the Louvre.

The Musee d'Orsay is one of my favourites - awesome collection of impressionist art in an elegant old building. There's a fancy dining room on one of the upper floors if you're interested in a fine hot meal (there are smaller Cafes in other parts of the Museum).

If you're adventurous and have a generous budget, you might have a look at Paris Segway Tours. They're a lot of fun!

Happy travels!

Hi, I have only been to Paris once, in August! The pass was worth EVERY penny! The lines at the Louve and Versaille were unbelievable! Add the hot temps, humidity and 2 kids- would have been unbearable w/o slipping right in!
I realize March is probably a totally different animal. Just wanted to add a comment for others who might be traveling at a different time.
Have a great time! Paris is AMAZING!!!!

The Orsay would be a good place to buy the pass. There's a separate counter where they sell it off to the side, so you don't even have to wait in a single ticket line.

Just another post to say that i think it is TOTALLY worth getting the pass. Just being able to skip the line at the Louvre was worth it--you can just go in the side entrance, flash your pass to security, they will scan your bags and you go through the metal detector and you're in! Besides, it's nice not to have to worry about having the right change and cash on me to get into the various sights, having to pay for each one and then waste time waiting in line, etc. With my museum pass (which I have bought on each of my 3 trips to Paris) I just carry enough cash with me for lunch, a coffee, and maybe a small trinket. Easy peasy!

Of course,, one can also skip the long line at the Louvre by using the underground entrance through the shopping mall,, and then buying ticket from the machines there. I have done this at least 5 times( an always in summer , only time I can visit ) ,, easy peasy.