Going to Paris April 9th-18th with my 18 & 16 year old sons and looking for specific recent experiences with the museum pass. I've seen conflicting info re: whether Versailles is included or not? Since we were going to be there for 8-9 sightseeing days were looking at a 5 day pass with a break to see Versailles and then possibly another 3 day pass because the info I had did not include Versailles-anyone with recent info? Also debating whether to buy the pass in advance or not-seen many different prices! Another thing is whether or not my 16 year old needs to have a pass since many places have reduced student rates-I guess the benefit is not to stand in line. Also still a little confused about what is included on the carte orange regarding the areas it covers vs a carnet! For example, if we went from Sacre Coeur to Montparnesse how many single tickets would we use? Thanks

Hi,

Buy your museum pass in Paris, it is cheaper.

You will need only 1 metro ticket for Sacre Coeur to Montparnasse.

Regarding Versailles, you get what appears to be a conflicting info about the museum pass because it is not a simple yes-no question.

If you go to the Versailles site, you see 5 fee charging attractions. The Museum pass covers only 2; the State Apartment and the Trianons. So depending on which attraction one is referring to, the answer to the Museum pass coverage is either Yes or No.

The site is at:

http://www.chateauversailles.fr/en/5..._and_times.php

I can understand why this is rather confusing. Many travel sites that mention the Museum pass for Versailles only mentions Chateau and Trianon. But what does an admission to the Chateau mean?

katk-

Here is the link to a recent thread regarding the Museum Pass, should answer all your Qs on it:
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34476912

I am not sure if you really need to buy a 5-day pass AND a 3-day pass. That will be a LOT of museums you will be going to... You probably will be able to see a good number of them with just a 5-day pass and spend the rest of your time strolling the streets of Paris, or take other daytrips outside of the city.

Also, you will be arriving in Paris on Good Friday. Make sure you check the museums websites to see what's open/closed that weekend. The last thing you want to do is to have a Museum Pass which you "activated" on Friday and then find out everything is closed through Monday.

The prices of the Museum Pass when you buy it in Paris:
1-day €18
3-day €36
5-day €54

Carte Orange:
It is valid from Monday-Monday. If you buy it, you have to specify how many zones you want to buy (the more zones, the more expensive). It includes the Metro, buses, RER (but not to/from airports). Carnet is just a 10-pack ticket, which is cheaper than buying individual tickets. 1 carnet = €10 whereas individual ticket = €1,30
The carnet is only good for zones 1&2 (I believe), so if you want to go to Versailles, you have to buy a separate ticket which is €5 roundtrip.

Each carnet ticket is good for one metro ride (with free transfers), and one bus ride (no free transfers).

From Sacre Coeur to Montparnesse:
If you walk down the steps from Sacre Coeur to the closest Metro station and take the Metro to Montparnesse, you will need 1 ticket.
If you take the funicular down Sacre Couer, that costs 1 ticket. Then you have to use a 2nd ticket for the Metro.

katk-

This Paris transport website is also helpful:
http://www.ratp.fr/ParisVisite/Eng/index.htm

Since you are arriving on the 9th I would buy a carnet to use Saturday and Sunday. Then I would use the Carte Orange for the rest of your stay. (You can buy the carte orange anytime during that first weekend you are there, you don't have to wait until Monday morning). I think you will easily get your money's worth and won't have to worry about the 3 of you running out of the Carnet Coupons (if all 3 of you make 1 roundtrip to Sacre Coeur you'll use 6 coupons - you only have 4 left; not enough for another round trip for the group and you'll have to buy another carnet) A Carte Orange for Zones 1-2 is 14.5 Euros and it's good for unlimited rides Monday - Sunday. For 43.5 Euros total the 3 of you will have unlimited transportation for the week. There is more info on the French RATP site http://www.citefutee.com/informer/ta...nements_o.php# Makes sense when you think that for 14.5 Euros a person can theoretically get 1 1/2 Carnets (not that you can actually purchase a half - but you know what I mean) or for 14.5 you can ride as many times as you want for 1 week. You will of course do a lot of walking, but the Metro system is superb and an easy was to get around.

Versailles is included with the pass, but you'll need to pay extra for the guided tour of the Apartments (well worth it). With the pass we also saw the gardens and the Trianons. There is a separate charge if you are seeing the fountain/light show. Also please think about renting the audio guide - they make a huge difference in how much you'll understand about the Palace, artwork and the decorative arts. Try to get to the Palace early and spend the whole day - there is so much to see!

The Carte Orange is good to/from CDG if you have purchased a card that inncludes Zone 5 (Where CDG is). From a previous post: Charles de Gaulle is in zone 5, see http://www.citefutee.com/informer/grand_public.php - the "Visualiser vos zones" chapter.
A weekly carte orange for 1-5 zones costs 27.65 euro, see http://www.gisparis.com/paris/paris_subway.ht

Buying both five-day and a three-day museum passes is probably overkill. We are museum lovers and initially bought a five-day pass at the beginning of our two-week stay. We regretted that action and wish we had bought three-day pass instead. Keep in mind that the key reason for the pass is not to save money but to avoid the long lines. And, you're probably only going to encounter long lines at a few major sites--the Louvre, d'Orsay, Versailles, Ste. Chapelle. (At least, that was our experience.) So, go to those four sites during the three days. Or, save one of them for another part of you trip and get a one-day pass in advance of that venture.

Thank you all for the help-great ideas! I consider myself rather intelligent but some of the little details aren't as clear in the websites and it's always reassuring to hear from someone who has the knowledge or first hand experience. I assumed the 5 day pass would be plenty of museums for my teenage sons unless it rains every day but always good to get others' opinions. Trying to find out which museums, sights, etc. are open on Good Friday and Easter Sunday has also been difficult as many of the sites are generic and not date specific. Just thought of another question-passes and carte orange able to be paid for with a credit card or do you need cash? Also do cafes and bistos take credit cards or only deal in cash? Thanks again

Credit cards are accepted in most places, including where you'd buy the museum passes.
I'm not sure what you meant in your most recent comment about the five-day museum pass. But, to me, loading up on museum visits during a 5-day period doesn't allow for that much variety of activity over the 8-9 days. If it was me, I'd want to spread it out. Think about it--if you have beautiful weather, do you really want to spend the good part of 5 straight days indoors?

Howard,
We always get a 5 day Carte Musée. That way, we can pop in a smaller museum, wherever we happen to be. We don't spend hours in any museum, as we prefer to be out seeing the sights, but without it, we probably wouldn't have seen Musée Rodin, the Carnavalet, or the Cluny.

Best,
Sandy

My understanding with the museum pass is it also includes many monuments such as the L'arc de Triomphe, Concierge, Pantheon, Sainte Chapelle, Versilles-so we will not be spending all of our time couped up in "museums" but it does give us the flexilility to go back to one place more than once for shorter times if we choose depending on if the weather is nice or not and some of the museums have great gardens nearby so i don't thimk we will miss the scenes outdoors during these times. But again we are trying to work out the cheapest, best itinerary without wasting time. With Easter monday being a national holiday I was wondering if some of the museums normally closed on a Tuesday will then be open on Tuesday since they will be closed on Monday-Anyone with experience? Thanks

The Carnavalet Museum is free.

Some site-specific web sites do list opening days for holidays, such as the Louvre and Orsay's web site. The Orsay is always closed Mondays, but the Louvre's web site states it will be open Easter Monday (that is not one of the biggest holidays), as well as Easter.

If a museum is closed for a holiday, I wouldn't expect them to then open on their regular day off, as that kind of would then mean no holiday for them or their workers--I think they'd just stay open on that day instead (like the Louvre).

Fine, if you want to get a 5-day museum pass. go for it. I was just citing our experience with them.

The info I have from eyewitness Paris is that there is an admission charge to the Musee Carnavalet which is one of the museums we planned to visit so I,m sure we will come across conflictiong situations throughout the trip so I'll be sure to give my updates about our experience when we get back to let everyone know about our mistakes and triumphs.

The museums that are run by the City of Paris are free. This includes the Carnavelet and Victor Hugo among others that I can't remember. They do have a website. (City of Paris) Up until a couple of years ago there was a charge for those museums.

Re: Carnavalet museum

I found the website. To settle this once and for all, the museum is FREE for its permanent collections. However, for exhibitions, there is an entrance fee.
http://www.paris.fr/musees/musee_car...ipal_cadre.htm