Prepurchase Tix for Museums,etc.?

Hi Tony. If planning to visit several museums in Paris, I would suggest a museum pass. Gives you a discount and lets you skip the lines. This is explained in Rick Steves France or Paris books or at http://en.parismuseumpass.com/. Enjoy your trip.

What is safe about pre-purchasing? I have avoided buying in advance ever since I left London transport passes at home. Getting a refund was a nuisance and I was out the shipping charges. You can also lose out if transport is disrupted, if you fall ill, or you would rather do something else. What is the point of showing up for your London Eye flight at the appointed time if it is pouring down rain and visibility is not 30 feet? There is no reason for advance purchases in London, unless you are visiting Madame Tussauds, London Dungeon, and London Bridge Experience. Heaven help you if that is how you want to spend your London time. Lines at the Tower of London can be avoided by arriving at opening. Pre-purchasing precludes taking advantage of 2 for 1 discounts from http://www.daysoutguide.co.uk/ the best bargains in London. Consider buying theatre tickets if you have your heart set on a show that might sell out. I have been happy to choose from the half price offerings at the TKTS booth. http://www.officiallondontheatre.co.uk/tkts/

I tend to pre-purchase museum and transportation passes. As for other entrance fees, I avoid that, as I tend to see my sightseeing day flow of its own - I have a set plan that I stick to, but only as far as "AM" or "PM" and "EVE" :-) If I have to schedule an entrance, ie to avoid a long line-up like at the Eiffel Tower, I schedule it for first thing in the morning -- that time slot I can control. As for show tickets in London, I prefer purchasing in advance. For example, I made sure that I was in the "Ork Zone" for The Lord of the Rings! Also, some seats can be discounted in advance (like the first two rows) and I like to check http://www.theatremonkey.com/ (seat guru for London theatres).

Hi Troy, We spent a week in Rome in February - we did prepurchase tickets for the Vatican museum, which was easy, and we were so glad we did! The ticket lines were very long and we walked right past them. You can buy the tickets right on the vatican website and it costs an extra 4 euros which we thought was well worth it. We used Rick's suggestion to buy our Colosseum tickets at the Palantine Hill entrance and only waited about 5-10 minutes at the Palantine entrance. Worked like a charm! We did prebook a Ghost tour for late one night but then it was so cold and we were so tired that we ended up skipping it and losing that money. So now I will prebook only for the must see's that have super long lines but not for optional night time stuff. In Paris, I ordered the Paris museum pass before we left home and ordered two but only received one. What a hassle! So I would wait and buy the museum pass in Paris - they sell it at all kinds of places, even newstands, so it is easy to get without standing in line anywhere. Have a great trip - hope these thoughts help:)

We feel exactly the way you do; we want to minimize our pre-scheduled time, but not lose out due to long lines. London, I'm not familiar enough with to know which tickets you MUST purchase in advance to avoid long lines. Paris, I've not purchased the Museum Pass because it doesn't make economic sense; we don't visit enough museums in the required time period to make it work (and we love museums; we basically spent an entire day at the Louvre last time, except for a long Parisian lunch). What I have done is pre-purchased tickets for the Louvre, Musee d'Orsay and Orangerie. As I recall, they were each for any day, any time, but did allow us to skip the ticket line. In Rome, you pretty much have to pre-purchase tickets for the Vatican Museums for a pre-set time. Otherwise, the lines there are horrendous. And you must have reservations/pre-purchased tickets for the Borghese. That's the only things we've bought in advance. Once, we purchased the tickets for the Forum/Colosseum/Palatine Hill near the end of the end, and visited the Forum. I think the tickets are good for 2 (or maybe 3?) days, so we went back the next day to visit the other places.

Troy, a good guidebook (like - Say It With Me - the Rick Steves' series!) will give you strategies for avoiding lines. For instance, if you want a Paris Museum Pass, DON'T buy it at the Louvre (although - I've walked right up the the counter to buy them, AND the last one I bought there came out of a vending machine...). Buy it at a less-visited place = less/no people in line. Same thing for Rome - read his suggestions on THAT one! These passes aren't hard to come by once you get there...If the particular venue accepts the pass, they (almost always - rare exceptions) sell the pass. Definitely no reason to have them before you leave the States. NOW...Some museums (Borghese Galleria in Rome, Scavi Tour, etc.) REQUIRE advance reservations...THAT'S different. For others (Florence examples come to mind) advance reservations are HIGHLY recommended. Again, RS' books will tell you if the attractions you're interested in need advance reservations/ticket purchases. They will 'guide' you...(sorry).

Thanks everyone for the great advice!