I am going to be in Paris for 3-5 days in October, and would like to know:
Should I buy a Louvre pass to save waiting in line, or are the lines short in October?
Does the price of a Museum Pass or Louvre pass vary from merchant to merchant, or can I just buy them anywhere?
Thanks
Victoria( nice name,, LOL ) No one needs a pass to avoid lines at the Louvre. I have been at least 7 or 8 times now,, always at the height of the busy summer season( can only go in July or August) and luckily discovered travel forums in time to learn how to avoid them ..after one disasterus visit on a "free sunday" and waiting over an hour to get in,.,. never again!
It is very simple. Do not enter the Louvre through the main Pyramid entrance .
Enter from the underground shopping mall or the metro entrance.
The shopping mall entrance is on Rue Du Rivoli,, under a big awning.. that says "Caroseul du Louvre"( may have spelt that wrong, but you will figure it out easily enough).
You merely enter , descend the stairs/escaltor, buy a ticket from the machine, and proceed into Louvre. You will wait in a short security line( they check you bags etc) but even with a pass everyone must pass security. It has never taken me longer then 5-10 minutes.
If you are not sure where "rue Du Rivoli" is,, go into the big courtyard where the pyramid is ,, face the pramid, not the gardens. Now, look to your left. There , through the big entrance arches of the courtyard is Rue Du Rivoli. Viola!
Yes, well said. Now despite the fact that you're going in October it is still likely that there will be large crowds. Last time I went to Paris I was there in March (low season still) and was amazed to find large crowds in the Louvre when it opened. I like to use the entrance where the lower level food court is (where you will find the inverted pyramid featured in the movie The Da Vince Code). By the way, I bought my museum pass in the Louvre (where the shopping area is near the post office). It took my a few minutes to purchase. Easy!
The museum pass is the same price everywhere in Paris. It is sold at tourist info kiosks and the participating museums.
If you are planning to visit several of the included sights, it is a very worthwhile purchase. Otherwise, maybe not.
My wife and I visited the Louvre and other museums in November and the pass is well worth it. There are always crowds. Buy the pass. Have a good trip.
We entered through the main pyramid in May, about 10 am, no line up, no waiting. I guess we got lucky!
We paid a little more for the guided English guided tour - 1-2 hours. It was well worth it. The guide shows us the highlights, explaining intracacies that were very interesting.
