Paris passes--I'm confused

Their is a transport AND admission pass for Versailles.
It is called a " Forfaits Loisirs" , just google that and you will find the site, in english no less.
The museum pass does not cover all of Versailles. Certain things are extra, including the gardens on weekends.

Connie,

Make certain that this is what Rick states.. I would hate to be wrong, but we are leaving for Paris next Sat. and will much the same.. There is just so much to see. We are taking our 13 year old granddaughter and her 13 year oln aunt for our GD's 13TH. We plan to do some bus sitting to allow them to take it all in.

Such a Beautiful city.. Much too much to see in a lifetime..

I used the museum pass before and unlike other sites, we did have to wait about a hour in line.

Sounds like Pat is putting you on the right track, however get to Versailles early, to minimize you wait.

Okay, so the Paris Museum Pass does cover most (some say all) of Versailles but you still have to wait in line, where as, with the Le Passport you do not have to wait in line and everything is covered. Is that correct?

Do any of the Paris transportation passes cover the train to and from Versailles or would that be extra if using the Paris Museum Pass?

Thanks for all your help.

After more digging I've come to this conclusions:

We want to visit the Louvre, Museum Orsay, Versailles and possibly others. The Paris Museum Pass would be a good deal but we would have to buy a train ticket (cheap) and stand in line for Versailles.

If we bought the Le Passport ticket for Versailles, we could skip the line. If we did this, we probably would not buy the Museum Pass which means we would have to stand in line at the museums.

So, it seems like it boils down to which line we'd rather skip. Am I correct and which line is usually the worst in mid June?

Thanks

The Paris Musee Pass is for 2 or 4 days..maybe 6 also, but not certain. Le Passeporte is for RER from Paris to Versailles and admission to the Chateau.. I am not certain if it covers all of Versailles, but most of the big sights as some require an extra cost.. Your Metro pass will cover only certain zones..1 and 2 will cover most of the sights in Paris proper. The further you go out of the city, i.e. DisneyLand , you travel ino Zones 3-5. Versailles is outside of Zone 2 for certain and would require extra fare anyway. I believe what Rick suggests is to use your Musee Passe until it expires in Paris, 2 or 4 days, then fdo Versailles with the Le Passeporte which would cover extra RER fare to Versailles and Admission and not use up a Musee day.. OR you could use up a day of your Musee pass and just pay 6E roundtrip from an RER station for the "C" line. REMEMBER.. with a Musee pass, once you use it in a day, it starts your "clock" for the passes duration. Is this any clearer?

Thanks so much Ed. That makes perfect sense. We'll just get a 2 day museum pass and then do Versailles with Le Passport on the third day. Then we skip all lines.

I do not have any information regarding the Le Passport for Versailles, and it was several years ago that I used the Museum Pass, but I cannot tell you how amazing we found it to be. You do need to be assertive and walk around and ask until you find the place to go in each Museum, but it saves so much time. The line for the Louvre itself can wrap around the courtyard and then outside around the building and you can bypass all of that. The Museum Pass in the end did save us money, but the time it saved was worth it in itself- especially since it was raining when we were there.

Do you purchase the Le Passport at the train station?

I just looked up the Le Passport and the Forfaits Loisirs. It is no longer available.

Connie,

I asked a similar question on this board a couple months ago and the conclusion was that the Le Passeport is not available anymore, even though Rick put it in the 2009 Paris guide. We're just going to buy a 4 day Museum Pass and pay for the train (which is very cheap). But I'm kinda disappointed cuz the Passeport came with free audioguides as well as the train trip. Must be cost-cutting measures, just like here at home!

According to the Versailles website, there is still a Passeport available for 20€ on weekdays and 25€ on weekends (beginning in April, 2009). It covers the Chateau, Marie Antoinette Estate and the Fountain Display on Sat or Sun, as well as other sites. It does not mention transportation to/from Paris, so it looks like you would have to buy that separately. This pass would also allow you to skip the entrance lines.

Link to the site:

http://www.chateauversailles.fr/en/592_One-day_pass.php?idT=3

Here is the latest information.

The Forfait Loisirs for Versailles and other sights has been discontinued.

Le Passeport for Versailles still exists, but Rick is wrong. It doesn't include transportation. It is an admission pass only which includes the audio guide and the fountain shows (weekends and holidays).

Under normal circumstances a Paris Museum Pass should allow you to skip the lines at Versailles. Here is a quote from the pass site:

"Entrance with the pass via the temporary Vinci pavilion. The PARIS MUSEUM PASS gives access to all the sightseeing excursions open according to the season: the 17th century Chapel and Hall, the State Apartments of the King and Queen, the Apartments of Mesdames daughters of Louis XV, Apartments of the Prince Heir Apparent and Galleries of the 19th century History of France and the domain of Marie-Antoinette. Not included: shows, musical water shows, audio guides, conferences, restaurants and transport services. Please note: in 2003, the Versailles estate inaugurated a vast restoration operation aimed at modernising infrastructure and public facilities. The first stage of this operation will be completed in 2009. Until then, priority access with the PARIS MUSEUM PASS could be interrupted during short periods for security reasons. Thank you for your understanding."

For a complete list of your transportation ticket and pass choices for Paris with links to detailed explanations of each one, go here.