johnc.

I will be in Paris in a couple of months and I just can't wait to visit the musuems. How do I go about it ordering one, for how many days and how many museums is it good for and how much does it cost??? If you have any suggestions as to how to get out more of my visist to the Louvre and the Dorsay please let me know. As I understand it is always extremely packed and I assume its better to be there before nine to beat the lines. Thanks Fodorites!!!

janis

Don't buy it before you get to Paris. You can buy one in most Metro stations and museums and it is cheaper there. And with the pass in hand you jump all the lines. (That is why it is best to buy it in a metro station - otherewise you will have to wait in line at your first museum to buy it.

terri

Janis, tell us the price more info. on the pass. Thanks.

janis

I'm not sure all the prices - the last ones I've used were 3 day passes which cost 170FF. I covers almost all the museums, galleries and many other sites. I know they sell 5 day passes (the last time I bought a 5-day one was 10 years ago and it was a different scheme, so don't have a clue what they cost now.)

Christina

You can find info on it at www.parisvisite.tm.fr, including a list of the places it covers. That is some travle agency web site, not sure, but the information is good and I think the prices are not marked up (85/170/255F for 1/3/5 days)--unfortunatley, sales are limited to large group numbers, it appears. The museum pass has its own web site (www.intermusees.com) but it's been down for revision for quite a while; some internal pages are accessible but don't think you need anything the above URL doesn't give you. My tips for the Louvre: have some idea what type of art you want to look at (look at their web site or a guidebook), so you can narrow your visit to certain areas (ie, I prefer the sculpture wing, medieval art, Ingres, decorative arts; they do have a wing I just discovered last time with some impressionist art, not much because most is in the d'Orsay, but they have a few excellent paintings). It's not that packed at night, even in July, that's when I go (ie, Thursday evening until 9-10 pm, I think). I like to go about 5-6 pm and there is no wait at all. D'Orsay is also open late on Thurs night. YOu don't need to worry about the lines that much with the pass, but the museum itself will be crowded which I don't find enjoyable. It probably is less crowded before noon, though. YOu can get the pass at the Paris Tourist Offices, also.

johnc.

Christina thanks a bunch for your help. Any specific guide to the Louvre that you may know of???? Thanks again.

Christina

John, there is usually a brief discussion of the Louvre's collection in a good guidebook, that would usually be enough for planning. I know the Michelin Green guide has one. The best guidebook I've heard of is the Knopf guide to the Louvre (US$25 retail). I've also heard that the Louvre's own CDROM is great but it is about US$50 so you may not want to invest in that unless this is a particular interest, of course (great Xmas present for an art lover). You can order that from their website www.louvre.fr in the boutique area. The Louvre's web site itself has a good virtual tour IMO and may suffice. If you know your interests and museums habits, it's probably good enough to sit down for 10 minutes or so with the detailed museum plan/layout when you get there and make your plan of attack, perhaps based on number of hours you want to spend there. It's good to be a little aware of their collections, though, as some people don't know at all what they have and are surprised that there is hardly any art past 1850, but about everything before that; if you only like Impressionist or Modern art, it could thus be a short visit.

elaine

Hi<BR>Just to embellish the already good advice you've gotten:<BR>You can also look at<BR>www.paris.org, click on museums. It's a helpful website in general for Paris.<BR>The places <BR> that are included on the pass are places where you can buy it, except you don't want to buy it at the Louvre or the Orsay, you want to buy it at a small museum to <BR>avoid the long lines at the Louvre and the Musee D'Orsay. You can also buy one at major metro stations, at the Tourist Information Bureau Carrousel du Louvre,;at the National Tourist Bureau: 127 avenue des Champs-Elysées, 75008 Paris (open daily from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.); and at railway stations: Information-Tourist Bureaux located in the Montparnasse, Nord, Est, Lyon, and Austerlitz stations. I bought one at my hotel front desk at no extra charge.<BR><BR>Free maps of the Louvre in all languages <BR>are available at the information counter after you get inside. It is laid out sort of as a center area under the Pyramid, with three spokes: the Denon, Richlieu, and Sully wings. From the main entrance where you buy your tickets, you have to choose which wing you will enter first--consult your Louvre map for what interests you. In order to visit one of the other wings, you usually will have to return to the main entrance area, and enter one of the other wings. There may be some other passages from one wing to another, but I haven't found them yet.<BR>Crowds are worst on weekends, Mondays, Wednesdays, and in the mornings, although if you have your museum pass you will skip any significant entrance lines.<BR>Bring your own water bottle, since there don't seem to be water fountains, at least not that I can find. Alternatively, there is a snack bar on the mezzanine level just above the ticket-buying area where you can sit and enjoy beverages. There are free coat-check rooms behind the escalators. The coat-check room won't take bags, that's a separate checking procedure. There are also restrooms down there, often with lines. <BR>A good article to give you an orientation to the Louvre:<BR>www.canoe.ca/TravelEurope/louvre.html<BR><BR>The Louvre offers periodic guided tours or a self-directed audio guide in English. For the audio guide, many of the most important art works have number codes; you punch the number into your audio guide for information on that work.<BR><BR>Surprisingly, flash photography is permitted in the Louvre in my experience, although the Louvre website says no flashes.<BR><BR>After you've joined the crowd to see the disappointing (to me) Mona Lisa behind its glass barricade, take a couple of extra moments and walk a few steps to the right to see a couple of much more beautiful other paintings by Leonardo Da Vinci. My favorite is the Virgin of the Rocks.<BR><BR>Another useful note: The Louvre normally closes at 6pm but two nights each week, Monday and Wednesday, the Louvre is open until 9:45, although the entire museum may not stay open during the evening hours. The Louvre website will tell you which galleries and sections are closed on which days and evenings. The Louvre is closed on Tuesdays.<BR><BR>www.musee-orsay.fr Musee d'Orsay<BR>The museum is closed Mondays. From June to Sept it opens on other days at 9; in other seasons it opens at 10am. It is especially crowded on Tuesdays because the Louvre is closed.The information desk near the entrance has museum floor plans in English. There are English-language guided tours daily except Sunday at 11:30am. There are also audioguides for rent. There is a restaurant on the second floor and a snackbar on the fourth floor.<BR><BR>My strategy for the Orsay is to get there 1/2 hour before opening time if I don't have the museum pass, and just before opening time if I have the pass. I start on the top floor of the <BR>museum where most of the impressionist paintings are--early in the day you can see them in relative peace. If the outdoor terrace near the cafe is open, you can get a great camera shot of the city including Sacre Coeur. Flash photography is not permitted inside the museum. If you are interested in decorative arts, there are some beautiful furnishings and objets, especially on the first floor, to see in addition to the paintings and sculptures. The Musee Orsay is closed Mondays, open until 9:45 on Thursday nights. Guided tours in English at 11am Tues-Sat and 7pm Thurs.<BR><BR>I have a Paris file with more information; if you'd like to see it, email me.<BR><BR> <BR><BR>

gail

As usual elaine has tip-top advice. Agree with less crowded evening visit. In April the only time I waited in line long was for Musee d'Orsay opening. When I left mid-afternoon, the line was no longer. Did not buy a museum pass because I had no intention of ever visiting more that one museum a day, so it wouldn't have been cost effective. If workers are on strike at the Louvre or Musee d'Orsay, don't cry as there are many smaller museums well worth visiting. I was especiall enthusiastic about the Beaubourg (Pompidou Centre) and the Picasso. In two weeks I couldn't visit every museum I'd have enjoyed.