lubeltri

I have a question about the Great British Heritage Pass and the Paris Museum Pass.

They allow free admission to numerous attractions, but they seem quite expensive. The Heritage pass is $35 for four consecutive days, $54 for seven, $75 for fifteen, and $102 for a month. The Paris pass is $19 for one day, $39 for three consecutive, and $59 for five. Are they worth buying? Is admission to museums, castles, and other points of interest quite expensive? I know the Louvre is pretty inexpensive. I'm sure I'll be seeing quite a few.

Digital_Traveler

I can't speak to the Heritage Pass however, The Carte Musees Monuments is well worth it, not only as relates to $, but also you will save an incredible amount of time by not having to stand in ticket lines. This is the true benefit in my mind.
Here is the website...
http://www.intermusees.com/wwwie/index.html
This will give you an idea of all the attractions you recieve access to.

StCirq

I don't know about the Great British Heritage Pass, but the Musyes et Monuments pass for Paris does save you a great deal of money, assuming you have an interest in visiting a number of sites that it covers. If you visit only three sites in a day, you've already basically paid for the pass for three days. Living in the DC area, I'm used to being able to go to museums and exhibitions for free, but such is not the case in Europe. When I go to Paris for several days, I find the pass is more than worth it. The cost to enter an average museum now is something like 8 euros, so it adds up quickly, and if you plan your day right, you can achieve significant economies with the Musye Pass.

Christina

The Paris museum pass isn't quite $19 as it's only 15 euro. It isn't worth buying to save money unless you plan to go to at least 3 museums a day (or the few monuments on it, like the Arc de Triomphe). The Louvre is one of the most expensive museums in Paris, along with the Jacquemart-Andre--they are 7.5-8 euro. Others are 5-7 euro, and the ones run by the city are free (eg, Carnavalet).

I think if you do plan to visit at least two a day, it makes sense to buy it just for the ability to skip the lines if you are going during a fairly heavy tourist time. Otherwise, I wouldn't bother, and often don't myself. I do buy one when I want to go to the Orsay in summer, even for one day and that's the only one I wnt to see.

janis

The paris Museum Pass would be worth it for most visitors simply because of the time savings. The more places you visit, of course, the more valuable it is. But even if you were only to go to the Musee D Orsay and the Louvre the pass would save you a minimum of 2 to 3 hours waiting in line. Don't know about you but my time is worth more than $13 per hour.

The Great British Heritage Pass is a fantastic bargain for most people. And now that they have included a 4-day version they are even worthwhile for folks on really short visits.

Even if you are only going to be in London there is value for money in the longer passes - since the main sites covered are Windsor Castle, Hampton Court Palace, Kensington Palace, Tower Bridge Experience, Tower of London (1/2 price with the GBHP), The Museum inside Westminster Abbey, The Royal Mews and National Maritime Museum and Royal Observatory at Greenwich.

but the REAL savings with the GBHP comes if you are outside of London - 90% of the biggies are covered. Blenheim, Warwick, all the Kent palaces, Gardens and castles, just hundreds of places. In fact they are now up to about 600 covered properties.

On a 4 week trip a $102 GBHP would likely save you over $300 or $400 in admission charges. On a shorter trip the savings can be just as dramatic - when you consider Warwick Castle costs more the $17 by itself, you can see how the savings can quickly add up.

janis

Oops - meant to say "Even if you are only going to be in London there is value for money in the SHORTER passes -"

LynnP

lubeltri

If you are looking to save time waiting in lines and only want to go to say the Louvre in one day, you can buy ordinary tickets to that attraction only at the Virgin Megastore and some Department stores in Paris that allow you to skip the lines.

lubeltri

Thanks for the advice. I bought the Paris Museum pass for 3 days. I think I will also buy the Great British Heritage pass. You weren't kidding! Warwick Castle DOES cost that much to visit!

SoloAlex

for me, GBHP was a screaming bargain. I spent a week castle- and manor-hopping in the southeast last year and the pass paid for itself by the time I got to Leeds Castle. After doing some research on the web, it didn't take me long to figure out I'd come out way ahead on the deal.

janis

lubeltri: Just to clarify - I used Warwick as an example simply because so many people posting here visit it. Warwick Castle is not any more expensive than a lot of other sites.

Many of the major places (Chatsworth, Castle Howard, Windsor, Blenheim, Beaulieu, etc.) charge between £10 and £12.

jspowell

Not to beat an already dead horse, but another advantage to the museum pass is that it allows you to leave and re-enter a large museum, for example the Louvre, more than once, on multiple days (for a multi-day pass). A museum like that is HUGE, and some of us can only take it in small doses; spreading the museum out over more than one visit helps us to cope, and to appreciate it better.

Christina

If you bought one already, I gather you aren't in Paris and bought it from an agent? that's not really a good idea as you paid a commission on it, especially for anyone who is concerned about whether it saves money. Usually you pay about a 15-30 pct markup on the pass, plus perhaps delivery fees. I don't know about UK, but the Paris musem passes are easy to buy in Paris at metro stop ticket clerk windows, as well as any museum or monument on it, just get it before the Louvre or Orsay--or maybe Pompidou, etc.

brooklyn

The British Hertitage pass is worth the money. It was great fun to drive from one property to the next (and make it the destination for the day) while driving around Britain for a week.

In addition, the people that work at the sites are very nice and helpful regarding places to stay, where to eat, etc.

Each day we would purchase the ingrediants for a picnic lunch and proceed to the next heritage site that was on our way -- it was great & I would do it again. Have a great trip!!