Museum Passes
Apr 24th, 2005, 03:51 PM
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Museum Passes
I have read about museum passes, does any one know of a pass I can buy online from a reputable vendor that would include all the must sees in Paris including Versailles?
Apr 24th, 2005, 04:05 PM
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You probably don't need to buy it online.
The Paris Museum Pass, Carte Musee, can be purchased at most metro stops, any participating museum (you can buy one at a small museum, even if you don't plan to visit that museum), and it is even sold at face value at some hotel front desks.
However,for an online vendor who will deliver the pass to your hotel, paris.org recommends
www.conciergerie.com
here are the participating museums
In Paris: Musée des Antiquités nationales de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Arc de Triomphe, Tombeau de Napoléon 1er, Musée national d'Art moderne - Centre Georges Pompidou, Musée national des Arts d'Afrique et d'Océanie, Musée national des Arts asiatiques - Guimet, Musée des Arts décoratifs, Musée des Arts et Métiers, Musée national des Arts et Traditions populaires, Musée d'Art moderne de la Ville de Paris, Musée de l'Assistance publique - Hôpitaux de Paris, Maison de Balzac, Musée Bourdelle, Musée Carnavalet, Musée Cernuschi, Musée national de Céramique de Sèvres, Abbaye royale de Chaalis - Musée, Jacquemart-André, Château de Champs-sur-Marne, Musée du Cinéma - Henri Langlois, Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie - La Villette, Musée Cognacq-Jay, Musée national du Château de Compiègne, Conciergerie, Musée Condé - Château de Chantilly, Musée national de la Coopération franco-américaine - Château de Blérancourt, Musée national Eugène Delacroix, Musée départemental Maurice Denis - Le Prieuré, Musée des Egouts de Paris, Musée d'Ennery, Musée national du Château de Fontainebleau, Musée national des Granges de Port-Royal, Musée Hébert, Musée Jean-Jacques Henner, Musée de l'Institut du monde arabe, Musée de la Légion d'honneur et des ordres de chevalerie, Musée du Louvre, Château de Maisons-Laffitte, Musée national des châteaux de Malmaison et Bois-Préau, Musée de la Marine, Mémorial du Maréchal Leclerc de Hauteclocque et de la Libération de Paris - Musée Jean Moulin, Musée de la Mode et du textile, Musée de la Monnaie, Musée national des Monuments français, Musée Gustave Moreau, Château de la Motte Tilly, Musée national du Moyen Age - Thermes de Cluny, Musée de la Musique - La Villette, Musée Nissim de Camondo, Tours de Notre-Dame, Crypte de Notre-Dame, Musée national de l'Orangerie des Tuileries (closed), Musée de l'Ordre de la Libération, Musée d'Orsay, Panthéon, Musée du Petit-Palais, Musée national Picasso, Château de Pierrefonds, Musée des Plans-reliefs, Musée de la Poste, Château de Rambouillet, Musée national de la Renaissance -Château d'Ecouen, Musée Rodin, Maison d'Auguste Rodin à Meudon, Sainte-Chapelle, Basilique Saint-Denis, Musée national des châteaux de Versailles et de Trianon, Maison de Victor Hugo, Musée de la Vie Romantique, Château de Vincennes, Musée Zadkine.
The Paris Museum Pass, Carte Musee, can be purchased at most metro stops, any participating museum (you can buy one at a small museum, even if you don't plan to visit that museum), and it is even sold at face value at some hotel front desks.
However,for an online vendor who will deliver the pass to your hotel, paris.org recommends
www.conciergerie.com
here are the participating museums
In Paris: Musée des Antiquités nationales de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Arc de Triomphe, Tombeau de Napoléon 1er, Musée national d'Art moderne - Centre Georges Pompidou, Musée national des Arts d'Afrique et d'Océanie, Musée national des Arts asiatiques - Guimet, Musée des Arts décoratifs, Musée des Arts et Métiers, Musée national des Arts et Traditions populaires, Musée d'Art moderne de la Ville de Paris, Musée de l'Assistance publique - Hôpitaux de Paris, Maison de Balzac, Musée Bourdelle, Musée Carnavalet, Musée Cernuschi, Musée national de Céramique de Sèvres, Abbaye royale de Chaalis - Musée, Jacquemart-André, Château de Champs-sur-Marne, Musée du Cinéma - Henri Langlois, Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie - La Villette, Musée Cognacq-Jay, Musée national du Château de Compiègne, Conciergerie, Musée Condé - Château de Chantilly, Musée national de la Coopération franco-américaine - Château de Blérancourt, Musée national Eugène Delacroix, Musée départemental Maurice Denis - Le Prieuré, Musée des Egouts de Paris, Musée d'Ennery, Musée national du Château de Fontainebleau, Musée national des Granges de Port-Royal, Musée Hébert, Musée Jean-Jacques Henner, Musée de l'Institut du monde arabe, Musée de la Légion d'honneur et des ordres de chevalerie, Musée du Louvre, Château de Maisons-Laffitte, Musée national des châteaux de Malmaison et Bois-Préau, Musée de la Marine, Mémorial du Maréchal Leclerc de Hauteclocque et de la Libération de Paris - Musée Jean Moulin, Musée de la Mode et du textile, Musée de la Monnaie, Musée national des Monuments français, Musée Gustave Moreau, Château de la Motte Tilly, Musée national du Moyen Age - Thermes de Cluny, Musée de la Musique - La Villette, Musée Nissim de Camondo, Tours de Notre-Dame, Crypte de Notre-Dame, Musée national de l'Orangerie des Tuileries (closed), Musée de l'Ordre de la Libération, Musée d'Orsay, Panthéon, Musée du Petit-Palais, Musée national Picasso, Château de Pierrefonds, Musée des Plans-reliefs, Musée de la Poste, Château de Rambouillet, Musée national de la Renaissance -Château d'Ecouen, Musée Rodin, Maison d'Auguste Rodin à Meudon, Sainte-Chapelle, Basilique Saint-Denis, Musée national des châteaux de Versailles et de Trianon, Maison de Victor Hugo, Musée de la Vie Romantique, Château de Vincennes, Musée Zadkine.
Apr 25th, 2005, 09:07 PM
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Hi:
We pre-purchased our Museum Pass from RailEurope (www.raileurope.com, 1-3-5 day options, we chose the 3-day) and we pre-purchased a 1-day ticket for the Louvre from TicketWeb (www.ticketweb.com).
This was the 3rd time I'd used RailEurope & while they have a hefty service charge, the convienence of having the pass before traveling (so not wasting 'vacation time' waiting in line in Paris to buy it & they send you the complete pass for Paris, whereas a couple of years ago for London they sent me a vouture that I had to redeim once there). And the TicketWeb price appeared to be a 'steal' vs buying a ticket at the Louvre.
Since the Museum Pass allows for multiple enteries to a site, in retrospect we should have gone with the 5-day Museum Pass rather than 3-day & 1-day Louvre ticket and then done 3-trips of 3-4 hours each to the Louvre, as its to overwhelming to do in a day.
Z
We pre-purchased our Museum Pass from RailEurope (www.raileurope.com, 1-3-5 day options, we chose the 3-day) and we pre-purchased a 1-day ticket for the Louvre from TicketWeb (www.ticketweb.com).
This was the 3rd time I'd used RailEurope & while they have a hefty service charge, the convienence of having the pass before traveling (so not wasting 'vacation time' waiting in line in Paris to buy it & they send you the complete pass for Paris, whereas a couple of years ago for London they sent me a vouture that I had to redeim once there). And the TicketWeb price appeared to be a 'steal' vs buying a ticket at the Louvre.
Since the Museum Pass allows for multiple enteries to a site, in retrospect we should have gone with the 5-day Museum Pass rather than 3-day & 1-day Louvre ticket and then done 3-trips of 3-4 hours each to the Louvre, as its to overwhelming to do in a day.
Z
Apr 26th, 2005, 12:06 AM
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You would want to carefully evaluate the savings of the museum pass versus the individual admission fees of the places you plan to visit.
There are so many entrances with ticket offices to the Louvre now (see their website) that there are nearly never long lines, particularly at the Denon Wing (the Mona Lisa is closest to this one) which is still unknown to most and has a checkroom.
The only places you really need a museum pass for skipping the ticket lines are Versailles and Musee d'Orsay. A three day pass would cover Versailles, Musee d'Orsay and the Louvre for you.
Since the five day pass is valid only for consecutive days, the savings may be minimal when you consider entrance fees to the smaller places and that you might rather visit them on other days.
There are no long lines to purchase the passes. You can buy them at any metro station, any place included on the pass, often right at the front desk of your hotel. No need to pay a hefty markup or service fee, and you'd just have something else to remember to pack and not lose.
Ticketweb price for Louvre tickets is the regular admission fee (with no markup) plus a $4.82 handling fee.
There are so many entrances with ticket offices to the Louvre now (see their website) that there are nearly never long lines, particularly at the Denon Wing (the Mona Lisa is closest to this one) which is still unknown to most and has a checkroom.
The only places you really need a museum pass for skipping the ticket lines are Versailles and Musee d'Orsay. A three day pass would cover Versailles, Musee d'Orsay and the Louvre for you.
Since the five day pass is valid only for consecutive days, the savings may be minimal when you consider entrance fees to the smaller places and that you might rather visit them on other days.
There are no long lines to purchase the passes. You can buy them at any metro station, any place included on the pass, often right at the front desk of your hotel. No need to pay a hefty markup or service fee, and you'd just have something else to remember to pack and not lose.
Ticketweb price for Louvre tickets is the regular admission fee (with no markup) plus a $4.82 handling fee.
Apr 26th, 2005, 06:57 AM
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BTW - my math had our 3-day Museum Pass at ~41eur each (including the RailEurope premium & shipping fee) and the 'gate' enteries for what we went to on the pass were ~61eur. Additionally, at most sites we got to cut to the head of the line, while at the Notre Dame Crypts this may have saved 10 seconds of vacation time at d'Orsay it easily saved 30 minutes & at the Louvre it easily saved 10 minutes. But none of my prepaid passes covered the Eiffel Tower - 30 min in line to get tickets, 10 min more to get the elivator to the second level, 30 min more at the 2nd level to the top. While there was no option to eliminate elivator wait times, but I wouldn't have minded paying a slight premium to have bypassed the ticket linup & gone straight to the elivator linup.
In my opinion, when your on vacation with a limited amount of time to sitesee paying a slight (even hefty) premium to bypass linups is money well spent (in saving time an agrevation).
In my opinion, when your on vacation with a limited amount of time to sitesee paying a slight (even hefty) premium to bypass linups is money well spent (in saving time an agrevation).
Apr 26th, 2005, 08:25 AM
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If you <u>ever</u> need to wait in a line to buy an RATP product that isn't sold in machines (<i>e.g.</i> Carte Orange, Mobilis), then getting your museum passes at the same time costs exactly zero queueing time.
The <i>Carte Musée</i> can be a very good deal if you plan judiciously. Plot your targets on a map and cluster them by day to minimize enroute time. If you don't want to linger more than half a day in Versailles, for example, go there first thing in the morning and take the RER back to Invalides. Visit Napoleon, followed by the Orsay for a few hours. After the museums close, the Arc de Triomphe (open late) is a few minutes away on the #73 bus.
The <i>Carte Musée</i> can be a very good deal if you plan judiciously. Plot your targets on a map and cluster them by day to minimize enroute time. If you don't want to linger more than half a day in Versailles, for example, go there first thing in the morning and take the RER back to Invalides. Visit Napoleon, followed by the Orsay for a few hours. After the museums close, the Arc de Triomphe (open late) is a few minutes away on the #73 bus.
Apr 26th, 2005, 08:43 AM
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I wouldn't buy one online myself becuase it is marked up -- if you buy one at all. However, I was going to mention after the above that there isn't any pass that includes all must-sees. In particular, as noted, the Eiffel Tower is not on it. As for Versailles, I haven't used one there, but I think there is part of it that is included and part that isn't. Check the details.
Apr 26th, 2005, 11:32 AM
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Christina is right, the pass, I think, gets you general admission to the chateau and gardens. It doesn't include, for example, the King's private apartments or the Opera, or other special rooms or tours that may be of interest.
Apr 26th, 2005, 12:42 PM
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actually, my recollection is that the pass gets you into Versailles palace, but NOT the grounds. At least not on the day we were there and the fountains were on.
We purchased ours at the crypt at Notre Dame...no lines there at all. I agree with DJKBooks, who says the only lines it allows you to skip are Musee D'Orsay (very worthwhile!) and the Louvre. But also the line at Versailles, which was probably about 30 minutes.
We purchased ours at the crypt at Notre Dame...no lines there at all. I agree with DJKBooks, who says the only lines it allows you to skip are Musee D'Orsay (very worthwhile!) and the Louvre. But also the line at Versailles, which was probably about 30 minutes.
Apr 26th, 2005, 04:46 PM
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Just to clarify, the museum pass allows you to skip the line at the ticket window at each venue, and go straight to the entrance (as you already have a ticket).
There is usually always quite a long line at Musee d'Orsay if you don't have a pass or prepurchased ticket (you can get one for just the Musee d'Orsay online at FNAC) because visitors are limited (due to security reasons and depending upon the number of staff on duty), so often the line comes to a complete standstill, as tickets are sold as people depart. The real advantage of a pass or prepurchased ticket here is immediate admission.
The gardens are included at Versailles with a pass - except on the Sundays when the fountains are turned on.
If you don't have a pass, a good time to head for any museum/monument is lunch or dinnertime.
The Musee d'Orsay is open late on Thursdays, and I've heard there's nearly no line there on that day at dinnertime and after. Used to be that you could go to the gift shop at the Musee d'Orsay (no ticket required) and purchase your ticket or pass there. But, I'm not sure if this is still true.
There is usually always quite a long line at Musee d'Orsay if you don't have a pass or prepurchased ticket (you can get one for just the Musee d'Orsay online at FNAC) because visitors are limited (due to security reasons and depending upon the number of staff on duty), so often the line comes to a complete standstill, as tickets are sold as people depart. The real advantage of a pass or prepurchased ticket here is immediate admission.
The gardens are included at Versailles with a pass - except on the Sundays when the fountains are turned on.
If you don't have a pass, a good time to head for any museum/monument is lunch or dinnertime.
The Musee d'Orsay is open late on Thursdays, and I've heard there's nearly no line there on that day at dinnertime and after. Used to be that you could go to the gift shop at the Musee d'Orsay (no ticket required) and purchase your ticket or pass there. But, I'm not sure if this is still true.
