I am helping my mother in law plan her first trip to Paris. She'll be going for 8 days in May. We want to get her something related to the trip for Christmas, so we thought a 6 day museum pass would be perfect. Her plan is to stroll and take in the city slowly, so a pass like this will allow her to stop in a museum for an hour or two and not feel like she is wasting money by not staying longer.

Since we want this to be a gift, we need to buy it somewhere that will deliver to the US. I have visited a few sites and encountered different prices and vast differences in shipping. Does anyone have experience buying the pass ahead of time? What sites are best?

Thanks!

That is a great idea for a gift, but the passes are so widely available in Paris without mark-up that most Fodorites recommend waiting to buy them there. If you really want to get it in advance, you'll pay dearly for the conveince. I I can't recommend a source because I took the advice on this board and bought ours at a tourist info kiosk on arrival at CDG.

If the extra cost puts you off, how about a book that focuses on the museums with a 50-Euro note as a bookmark (if you or a friend has one left over from a previous trip)?

That's a nice idea for a gift, and I agree for a gift, you should get it in advance. I think one of the best prices I've seen is at www.gotoparis.net (which I think links to www.discoverfrance.com). I don't think it's much of a gift to just give somebody cash and say go buy your own pass, and it's really crude, especially if the person doesn't "need" 50 euro cash.

They sell the 6 day pass for only $79 which isn't too bad a markup (it sells for 60 euro, which is about $75 now). YOu will pay $12 for shipping, by Fedex probably, but I think most of them do that. The ones that don't charge that much for S&H charge a lot more for the pass, that I've seen. That's a lot cheaper than Raileurope who sells the five day one for that price (and you have to buy something else, also).

Christina: I don't think they were saying to go buy your own pass. The 50 Euro is a nice gift to give someone going to Europe to buy themselves something special they wouldn't buy if they didn't have the extra Euro. It isn't a big deal to buy a museum pass so to spend the extra $12, I would say save the money and give them the gift.

Thanks Christina. That is significantly less expensive than anywhere else I have seen, so I think that will be where I buy the pass from.

I don't mind spending the extra money to get it shipped here. I know she can get it herself for less, but this is something that she will appreciate and will be able to get excited about in the months coming up on the trip.