Paris Museum Pass

It's legit...as long as you purchase it at a tourist info kiosk or at one of the museums...or thru the website at www.parismuseums.com . Anywhere else it's listed, it's probably being sold by a tour operator offering it at a premium.
It becomes a better deal the longer the pass...2 consecutive days at 32 Euro needs about 4 museum entries (or 3 museums and Versailles) to be cost effective...ratio improves with 4 or 6 day pass...but how many museums does he want to see?
The other intangible benefit is that the pass allows you to bypass ticket (not security) lineups at poplar destinations. Two places I've experienced where this has made a BIG difference is at the Musee d'Orsay and Versailles.

Do no underestimate the value of not having to stand in line to enter. Depending upon the time of year, that's a huge benefit. We were there just couple of weeks ago and it was well worth it. Your son will also be at liberty to do some things that otherwise might not be worth the 8 Euro admission (a point that Rick makes). Compared to the cost of going to Paris, a six day pass at 64 Euro is a great value.

Yes, get it. I have seen some outrageous ticket lines at the Arc de Triomphe, the Louvre, the Orsay, the Pompidou, and even the Rodin, and with the pass, you can skip them all... well, there's still a short line to enter the Arc after the ticket queue. The only major sites where the pass is no advantage are the Eifel Tower (not covered), Notre Dame (free entrance anyway) and the tower of Notre Dame (covered, but can't bypass the line).

And as others have noted, it allows you to see many of the minor museums that you may not have considered otherwise.

I, too, have a question about the Paris Museum Pass.

We have 2 adults and 4 children under 18 in our family.
We really only need the pass for 3 days - but since they do not sell 3 day passes, we'd either need to get a 2 day pass and add the extra things on the third day, or get a four day pass. I was only going to get them for the adults, since the children are all free where we want to go.

The price is the same if we pay the museum fares independently or buy the Pass. (This is because we can get family discounts at most of the places we will go.)Actually the Passes would be 6 Euros more in total.

So, I was going to get the Passes so we wouldn't have to wait in line - but will the children need to wait in line to get their free ticket anyways - even if the adults have the Pass? I guess I am asking if the children can just skip the line with us since we have the Pass, or will we all wind up waiting anyways in order to get the children their tickets.

Here are the places:

Musee D'Orsay
Musee Rodin
Musee du Louvre
Versailles
Musee De l'Armee

Thank you very much.

Kathy

Kathy...yes, the children can skip the line with you. However, remember that it is the ticket lineups you skip, not the security lineups. There are rarely long lineups for tickets at the Louvre, since they have so many machines available. The lineup there usually comes at the security screening point at the outside Pyramid entrance. If you go in through the Carrousel mall entrance, you'll rarely find a lineup. If you're coming in via Metro, it's accessible from the Palais Royal-Musee du Louvre stop.
If there are ticket lineups, you will see major benefits at the Orsay and Versailles by using the pass.

Norm - thank you,

For security, is there an a line for those without bags? I am wondering if we don't take any purses or backpacks if we can go through security faster.

At the Pyramid entrance, yes, there is a line for people without bags, but they ususally don't start subdividing the line until you're close to the entrance....if there's a long line there, it's still better to go in thru the Carrousel mall entrance.

Nathalie, with the 18 year-old son going to Paris, should ascertain before buying a museum pass for him just how many museums he might be interested in seeing. I know how many mine would have gone to when they were 18.

At the Orsay, there is a separate security check for people with passes - and a much shorter line. If you see a mass of people, you are in the wrong place, go to the other side.

I went to purchase a Paris Museum Pass and when I entered in 2 for the number of seats it gave me this error message: "Votre demande n'a pu aboutir, car au moment de la saisie de votre nombre de places, le quota s'est épuisé." I translated this using translate.bing.com and it mentions that this means I exceeded my quota, so I thought I would try one at a time so I put 1 and it still gives the error. So I tried typing one and two and it still gives the error.

Anyone know a workaround?

Sean....purchase it in Paris. It'll save you the $16 they charge to ship it to you. They're available all over the place, including the TIs at CDG airport. There's no limit to the number of passes sold, so there's no need to purchase it in advance on-line.

First - thanks to the person who posted the link with the point of sale places in Paris.

Second, I just want to clarify. If I just buy the 4-day pass, it covers the admission fee for Versailles too? There's not a Paris Museum Pass and a special Paris Museum Pass that includes Versailles? I thought I read somewhere that there were two different passes.

Thanks in advance.

We used the Paris Museum Pass to go to Versailles. If you go on a weekend, when the fountains are running, they will hit you up for an additional 8? euros to see the gardens. I think during the week the gardens are included. The pass was definitely worth getting, even just to skip the line at the Louvre.

The Paris Museum Pass is now obsolete. Let me tell you why. As Rick notes, you don't save money with the Museum Pass. I mean how many museums can you visit in 2, 4 or 6 days? Do a little figuring and you'll agree. The big benefit of the pass was not having to wait in line to buy tickets. But the museums have taken away that benefit by putting must-see items in temporary or specials exhibits. So you not only have to pay EXTRA for those, you have to get in line to do it. Here are examples from October - November 2012. Louvre -- Late Raphael art -- would you want to miss that? It was fascinating.
Orsay -- Women's fashion shown in the Impressionist paintings -- all of Paris is talking about this one. Even smaller museums get in on this. Rodin's The Kiss is in a temporary extra-cost exhibit area. (They have some nerve doing this when the museum is under renovation!) We went to the Maritime Museum. It has a temporary exhibit on lighthouses. Now if you are the type person who would enjoy maritime history, wouldn't you want to see the Lighthouse exhibit? So forget the museum pass. Pay for your entry fee, special exhibits and audio guide on line. (This isn't always easy because you probably didn't bring a printer to Paris to print your ticket.) But at least you'll know what you are paying upfront.

Kathy - Norm's answer isn't correct. You do have to get your children a free ticket at the Musee de l'Armee. Can't get them from a kiosk either, have to wait in line. Had to do that when I went with my kids. Also - where are you seeing the family discount for tickets? Unless you hold a French "Familles Nombreux" card, you don't usually get the reduced price for families.

You have to do your homework to see if a Museum Pass is worth it. Add up the ticket prices per person of all the museums you want to visit, and compare it with the cost per person of the pass. I bought a six-day pass and went to the Louvre, the Musee d'Orsay, the Cluny Museum, the Pompidou, Ste.-Chapelle, the Jewish Museum, and Versailles. I did the math and saved 5 euros by buying the pass (I basically broke even). But the real value of the pass is skipping the lines. The line at the Louvre was at least an hour long, and the line at the Orsay wasn't much shorter.

I just returned from Paris where my husband and I wore out our 6 day passes. It was a great value, and a great time saver.