Has the Paris Museum Pass lost its luster?
 

In 2006 we went to Paris with the Paris Museum Pass and felt like kings at the Musee d'Orsay as we went thru a line of 20 people while the general line wrapped around the block. Last summer we were lucky to return to Paris and our Paris Museum Pass line at the Louvre was longer than the general line. I know both of those may have been flukes...but I'm needing to understand if I should recommend the pass to friends who will be there in mid July. Input would be appreciated.

Given the people you name on another thread, it would seem to be the least of their worries and worth the cost, they'd save money by buying it, forget the other reasons

The pass for 2 days costs 48 euro per adult.

Louvre is 15 euro
Orsay is 12 euro
Rodin 11.3
Versailles is 20 euro

so that's 58 euro in admission fees

I couldn´t imagine attempting the Louvre, Musée d´Orsay, Rodin and Versailles in only 2 days. There are those who make the attempt and for them the PMP works fine.

Others might not attempt more than one museum a day. Simply purchasing tickets on line extends the same privileged access as does the PMP and for those who want to spend more time at any single location, the PMP would be a waste of money.

I went to Louvre using a museum pass on Monday May 22nd. After the security check, I went straight to each of the entrance. While other museums just looked at the dates I entered, Louvre used the bar code printed on the museum pass.

We've bought the Paris Museum Pass on every trip and will do so again this year (our 5th trip). We've visited big and small museums and some just for a few minutes. That's the freedom it gives us.

In 2015, we bought the four day pass at the Delacroix Museum which was an unexpectedly lovely little museum. We popped into the Louvre for 1.5 hours (through a side entrance for PMP holders). We spent the evening at the Orsay. We saw the special exhibit and gardens at the Rodin (because the house was still under renovation). We meandered around the Invalides. We enjoyed the Arts et Metiers displays.

We definitely get our money's worth and have fun seeing what PMP site is near us and popping in.

Did it ever have luster?

I'll buy museum passes because I hate waiting in long lines. But I don't believe most people get their money's worth. That said, it was definitely helpful in entering the D'Orsay. It was a 10 minute wait while the other line was probably an hour.

<<But I don't believe most people get their money's worth. >>

You can easily figure out whether the pass will pay for itself by checking the admission cost for each museum you plan to visit. Of course, this assumes you can be realistic about how many museums you will visit during your stay.

Certainly the museum Pass saved us time and money when we were in Paris, but we love art and visited a lot of museums.

Right. The key is "realistic". I don't think most people are. They just buy it because it's marketed to them.

I usually break even on museum passes. If I do more than that, it's because I popped into a museum that I wouldn't have spent money on otherwise. So it's not really a bargain. It does save on time and that makes it a real convenience in a city like Paris.

To summarize...If you are a museum hound, you may well get your money's worth...if not, you probably won't break even money-wise...however...the convenience and ability to drop in on a museum you might ordinarily not take a chance on has some value above the entrance costs...so do the math for the museums you will definitely see, and than decide if the convenience/drop-in factor closes the cost gap.

ssander

In another thread I did mention this group was considering private tours...but they may forgo that due to cost and go it on their own, hence the interest in the pass.

I'm in the "info gathering" phase and am generalizing a bit as I ask questions. I agree the 4 year old won't want to do 3 or 4 museums in 2 days. One of the family members may skip a museum or two and do more kid focused stuff.

They have 2.5 full days in Paris. They arrive via train at noon on Tuesday and leave via train Friday morning.

As for doing d'Orsay, Rodin, Louvre and Versailles in 2 days...I'd agree that is tough. It will certainly be a discussion point in the near future. They may just do 2 museums one day and Versailles the other day.

Context looks very promising but 6 appears to be their max size. I'll keep looking for options but would love input from someone who knows a company they'd recommend that can accommodate 8.

Oh shoot...I'm mixing up my two threads...Museum Pass and Tour info request. I'll copy this to the other thread.