lhs624

So I am planning our first trip to Paris. We will be there from Apr 23-30, (a Sunday to Sunday) staying at hotel near the Luxembourg Gardens. I was figuring we would get the 4 day museum pass and use it Mon-Thurs, go to Caen on Friday for the museum and a tour of the d-day beaches and Versailles on Sat (that is the only day we could see the fountains). I am struggling with taking two day trips in a row and feeling like this is my only option if I want to get the benefit of the museum pass. Also, if Friday ends up being kind of nasty weatherwise, I am going to be less than thrilled running around Normandy. So I am wondering, 1. do I need to make a reservation far in advance for the d-day tours or can I wing it once I get to Paris and I can assess the weather 2. Is the four day museum pass so valuable that I should plan my excursions around it? I'm at this point in my planning where I am second guessing everything and probably just need to walk away from it for a week or two.;-)

richardab

You must be a real museum buff. I get tired after a few hours at the Louvre.

Did you leave any time for shopping?

mvor

Make a chart; it will make you feel better: note the museums you wish to see, where they're located and their opening days. It will start to make sense and then you can decide which pass you need, if any.

I typically visit a larger museum--or a collection that I'm especially interested in--in the morning, have lunch and then visit a smaller collection or site in the afternoon. I also try to visit museums in the same area on the same day and my best tip is that if you start to feel "museumed out" head to the nearest cafe and enjoy a glass, or two, of wine.

We went to Normandy last February on a cold and blustery day and it didn't deter from the experience. We hired a guide ahead of time (Victory Tours) but others here advise that you can just show up at the train station and hire someone.

I wouldn't do two day-trips back to back and I also wouldn't do one on my last day in Paris because I wouldn't be able to pull myself away!

Indygirl2

I personally wouldn't plan my trip around the museum pass. First of all, I don't think there is a 4-day pass. It appears to come only in 1, 3 and 5-day increments. Second, in my experience, the lines at most museums are not that long and those that are move fairly quickly. Third, depending on how many museums you plan to visit, you may not be saving much, if any, money.

I would also note that city museums (like d'Orsay) are closed on Mondays, while national museums (like the Louvre) are closed on Tuesday, so you'll have to plan your use of the museum card around that too.

I know that it's easy to obsess over an itinerary. I do it too. However, I would encourage you to establish only a loose plan for your days in Paris. Just by way of example, I've been to Paris several times with every intention of going to the Louvre. Each of the planned days has been beautiful and, with one look at the crowd and screaming children, I've headed off in another direction with no regrets. Certainly, I don't want to suggest that you should skip the Louvre. I would suggest, however, that sometimes it's more fun to forget the plan and just go with the flow. Paris is a wonderful place to just wander. If nothing else, plan some unstructured time in between museums.

Happy travels!

cls2paris

I disagree about the need for the museum pass. There are several advantages and to me, they are worth the extra cost (if any).

One advantage to having it is that you don't have to spend time waiting in line. Another advantage is that if you get museum overload and want to take a break, you can leave and come back without having to pay re-admission. I find this very helpful. I really like the flexibility of it, I can pop in for an hour and leave then go back later.

I read on another posting that the museum passes were changing so maybe there will be a 4 day pass available in April.

As far as 2 day trips, that sounds like a lot to me. The trip to Caen must be a very full day, it seems like a lot for one day to me. However, one of your trips is Versailles and that doesn't need to be a full day (for me anyway it hasn't been).

Have a fun time. get the pass for the flexibility of it and make sure you have time to just sit at a cafe and soak in the atmosphere!

i_am_kane

Betty1

Maybe it isn't for lack of interest that no one has responded to your post.

It could be that people have already been on the web site, as I have, and there were no flights/destinations that appealed to them.

This web site has been doing a lot of advertising on WFAN (New York), particularly the Imus in the Morning Radio Show. The advertising must be costing them a bundle on Imus' show.

djkbooks

Starting March 1, Museum passes will be 2, 4 or 6 days.

You really only need the pass for skipping ticket lines at Versailles, and if you plan to go to Musee d'Orsay. You can purchase tickets online at the FNAC website with a nominal service charge.

Keep in mind, too, that most museums are closed on either Monday or Tuesday.

With the increase in price of the passes, and that many included on the pass are now free, I would advising adding up the admission fees of the places to plan to visit to determine whether a 4 day pass would be economical.

I think it's better to plan around the weather than a 4-consecutive-day museum pass.

I would agree that two day trips at the end of your week are not ideal.

Weather is SO unpredictable, you can hardly depend on the forecast on the TV each morning...but you should have no problem reserving a Normandy tour the day before. Normandy would be a very, very long day, so I would recommend you plan that in the middle of your week.

i_am_kane

I must be losing it...I responded to the wrong post.

Sorry.

lhs624

thanks. yes, the museum passes are changing as of March 1 to 2, 4, 6 day increments. I think we will leave Versailles for the end so we can see the Fountains (but also, i wouldn't be devastated if I didn't get to see them and chose to spend another day in Paris) and will move the normandy trip to the middle of our week. Even just purchasing a 2 day pass seems to be a good deal (my husband is all about the good deals).
thanks everyone. I feel better already.

Luisah

I agree with Indygirl2. Four days of museums in beautiful April weather when you have only six days (assuming that you're leaving Sunday morning) is a lot. If the weather is gorgeous you won't want to spend it inside -- get out and see the city. I suggest you get the two-day pass, do your excursions to Normandy and Versaille and then if you want to visit more museums do it at the end of the trip.

There is amazing art in Paris museums and you should take your time and enjoy it rather than rushing through to get to the next museum. I speak from experience; I went to too many museums in London and then couldn't remember what I saw where.

AnthonyGA

Museum admission prices are not very high (a few euro, generally), so unless you are going to a great many museums, a museum pass is a waste of time. There often is not a huge line at the Louvre, so you don't necessarily need anything that allows you to get around the line—besides, if you like museums that much, you'll spend hours or days at the Louvre, and a ten-minute wait in line will be insignificant even if it is necessary.

Day trips out of Paris are probably not cost-effective if the overall duration of the trip is only seven days.

Weather is indeed unpredictable (especially in April) and it's best to have a plan B for every day in case it rains.

LoveItaly

Oh I_Am_Kane, you make me feel better. Tonight, after a long week I called a friend. Except I didn't dial the number of the one I intended to call. Punched out the numbers of another not so close friend. I apologized and cringed as I haven't called her in quite awhile. Sooooo, hung up and redialed. Guess whose number I called again, LOL. Maybe I am losing it too. So you make me feel better..guess we all err at times.

Juju2

I wouldn't bother with a museum pass at all. The lines in April are not going to be all that long, and the individual museum prices are not all that exhorbitant. I may be wrong, but I seem to recall that if you wanted to leave the museum and come back on the same day, you could get your hand or ticket stamped and be re-admitted without paying again.

djkbooks

Where admission to the Louvre is 8,50€ and Orsay is 7,50€, and the others 6€ or less (even free now - Carnavalet, Cognacq-Jay, etc.) these new passes do not seem like much of a bargain, especially where they're not really needed for "skipping the ticket line" (except at Musee d'Orsay).

Indygirl2

Thank you for correctly be on the availability of a 4-day pass. I had no idea (obviously) that the passes change on March 1.

Christina

I wouldn't buy a museum pass, either, and don't when I go to Paris, even if I plan to visit the Louvre or Orsay. First, your visit isn't during Easter week when I might worry. But you are planning your vacation around a museum pass, now, and I think that is a big mistake. I don't think you will save money with it, and I wouldn't want to visit so many museums every day on a short trip. I think you have to visit an average of two every day for it to even break even. I've never encountered that long a line at any museum in Paris except the Orsay once, and that was in mid-afternoon in peak tourist season. I went there again a year or two ago during the same month (JUly), and just solved the problem by getting there when it first opened and there wasn't hardly any line at all. The line into the Louvre doesn't take that long nowadays because they have ticket machines.

IN any case, you can buy Louvre tickets in advance at FNAC if you really want to.

ed

However, I would buy the Carte Orange. It will be perfect for you because you are going Sunday to Sunday.
You can ride all the RATP. Buses & Metro

You will need passport size pictures. You can buy them at most Metro statons. :-B

emmas

I remember using the museum pass a couple of years ago for Versailles. Is the pass no longer good for Versailles?

Hefeltraveler

I have not been to Paris in April but I have certainly saved a lot of time with the Museum Pass. It does get you into Versailles and once you see the sometimes 2 and 1/2 hour lines you will be glad you have the pass to walk right past everyone and go straight in. I have also seen the Louvre with hour long lines. I agree that you shouldn't necessarily plan all your activities around the Pass, especially with all the things to do in Paris, but I think the money you spend for the pass may even out with gaining more time to see things by not waiting in line. You never no in advance what the lines are going to be like so having an Ace in the Hole when you need one sure helps.

Christina

I wasn't thinking about using it at Versailles, it could make sense for that, although I think it only lets you into one part of it. It doesn't cover the gardens there and a few others things, as I recall. But it could be worth it just for the lines to get into the main part of Versailles.

I can't imagine when there would be hour long lines for the Louvre nowadays. Perhaps in the past there were before they got the automatic ticket machines, but I was just there last summer in peak tourist season, and the wait was about 10 minutes. Maybe there would be for a special exhibit, I could see that. However, you can buy Louvre tickets in advance by themself at other locations. Now there was a long wait to get into a special exhibit at the Grand Palais once (Chagall). I think I waited about 30-45 minutes there.

I could see buying a 2 day one, but not a 4 day one, even though it gets cheaper per day when you buy a four day one.