Paris Museums free Sunday

Yes, you can expect crowds on free Sundays. There are some museums etc that aren't on the pass. The first Sunday of the month would be a good day to use your pass to see them. They would probably be much less crowded than the others. I visited the Cluny as soon as it opened on one of those "free" days. There was no crowd at all. An hour later as I was leaving there was a crowd trying to get in. So, it pays to go early on free days.

If you like Monet, the Marmotten museum is also a wonderful place to visit.

I do not know the answer to this question, but I am posing it just in case someone does: Since we know that one of the great advantages of the pass is the benefit of skipping the lines, would this apply to the free Sundays as well? Since it’s free, does everyone end up in the same line, or is there still a separate line for pass holders? If that advantage still applies, then it may be worthwhile to pick it up since the free Sundays will create long lines and crowds.

Thanks, Swan and Janis. Both the Cluny and the Marmottan are on our list of museums we want to get to this time. Apparently the Marmottan does not take the Paris Pass at all, so that would be a good choice for Sunday. Maryam, I don't really know either, but I assume that the pass will not allow one to skip the line on the free days. If it did I think it would be worth it for that day just to get in quicker.

Yes, the pass allows you to skip the line. At least it did in August 2006. We had passes and it saved a lot of time because the lines were long.

We were walking around the Marais this June not realizing it was the first Sunday. We found ourselves at the Picasso Museum, and went in with no line and no crowd. I have not tried any other museums on First Sundays

Not sure about all the museums, but Orangerie doesn't let you skip the lines on free Sundays if you have the pass but I got lucky. In Sept 08, there was some mixup and the hours printed on the pass were different that the actual hours, so while the museum should have been open for 45 minutes after we got there (a Saturday), it was closed. Had a conversation with an employee out front who said to come back the next day and she'd let us in. When we did get there, there was a huge line. I spent about 10 minutes trying to convince the guy at the front that what had happened the day before was in fact true...he totally didn't believe me, but ended up going to get the lady with blond hair (as I didn't know her name) who came out and let us in as the guy just scowled. I was in no way rude, he was just on a power trip. But I don't think any of it would have happened had I not been fluent in French.

Not sure about the passes, but if you like museums I second the Cluny, the Picasso, and throw in Rodin. Walk through his house and gardens and see a beautiful collection of sculpture in a setting quite differnt than the usual cavernous spaces of the great museums.

Thanks all. Denny, we are a museum loving family (two teens). I find myself having to lower my son's expectations on how many museums will we be able to fit in! We leave soon (very exciting) and London and Paris are our first two stops, so I'm sure we will need a museum break after that!

I would add up the cost of the museums you plan to visit on Saturday and see if the pass might make it cheaper. Your kids, if under 18, will be free, but you might find it more economical to buy the pass for the adults in your family anyway, even if you're only going to need it for one day.

We bought a 2 day pass when we were in Paris last week and were pleasantly surprised by how much we saved. Buying a pass also made us feel a bit freer about visiting museums just to see one or two important things, which we would never have done otherwise.

Hi Kathy
My partner and I went to the Louvre on the first Sunday in May 2008. We are both keen photographers and often wander away from each other when taking photos, but still keep a watch on each other. I found myself being jostled in the crowd when my partner called to me from about 20 yards away that a young guy was trying to take something from the bag around my waist, I immediately grabbed his hand and called for security. I was then shoved by several other youths and about eight of them then made a run for it. The Louvre security officer told me that first Sundays are a huge problem with pickpocket gangs in all museums and many museums have to significantly increase the number of undercover security officers on the first Sunday.

I did not lose anything from my bag, I wear it in front of my body, It is slashproof and the belt has a steel cable through it, the bag has three zip compartments that can be padlocked to the steel cable. I keep valuables in two compartments and the only accessable one just contains handkerchief, tissues etc.

I would thoroughly recommend a similar bag (they are relatively inexpensive and are readily available on the Internet)

I am not sure that I would go to a museum on a first Sunday again (free first Sundays are common in Europe along with a large increase in crowds and pickpockets).