Paris Museum Pass
 

Hello All,

I'm looking at the Museum and Monuments Pass that rail europe sells for $51 (3 days). It is supposed to include over 70 museums and monuments.

Has anybody used this pass?

Is it worth it?

Is it cheaper there?

Is it hard to get once you are there?

Is there another web site that I can pre-order it before I get there for cheaper than raileurope?

Thanks!

LOTS of people use the museum/monuments pass. However there is no longer a 3-day version. They are now 2, 4 or 6 days.

there is really no reason to buy it ahead of time - you can get it at any of the covered sites and other spots all over Paris.

If you try a search of the forum, you'll see that 'billions' use the pass.
It is 'worth it' if you want to see enough museums whose collective entrance fees is near or over the price of the pass.
It is 'cheaper' in Paris only because any other source has marked it up.
It is available at any museum covered by the pass, and the tourist office.
Don't pre-order it.

Two other important points about the museum pass:
1. It can save you waiting-in-line at the Louvre and Orsay.
2. Whether you buy a 2-day 4-day or 8-day pass, remember that it's for CONSECUTIVE days in all situations.

Even if you approach this with a bookkeeper's mind and come to the conclusion that you didn't exactly make out like a bandit, having the pass will pay off in two non-financial ways: You'll save time by skipping many lines, and you'll feel more adventurous entering a museum (because you don't have to pay) that you're not sure about, so you'll find out about some likes and dislikes without getting hurt.

WK

<i>Has anybody used this pass?</i>

Yes, I have.

<i>Is it worth it?</i>

One of the best things I have ever bought.

<i>Is it cheaper there?</i>

Yes.

<i>Is it hard to get once you are there?</i>

You can buy it at any major Metro station, I got mine at Bastille.

<i>Is there another web site that I can pre-order it before I get there for cheaper than raileurope?</i>

Everything is cheaper than raileurope. Don't but it in advance, it's just one more thing to forget/lose.

The pass includes a <b>lot</b> of attractions, I went to at least three that I hadn't originally planned on just because they were 'free'.

The real savings (especially with the new price scheme) is not financial, but in <b>time</b>. You will not need to wait on a ticket line at any of the covered attractions, and that is potentially the biggest time-killer of your whole trip.

Buy it. In France.

&quot;Everything is cheaper than raileurope.&quot; Many things are but quite a few things are not so a blanket statement like this is simply not based on facts.
To wit: Swiss Passes thru RailEurope currently, and have been for the past two years, cheaper thru RailEurope than at stations in Switzerland.
Eurostar fares of $90 return are often much cheaper than those in pounds or euros.
Last year German point-point tickets for single travelers were well under regular fare at German stations.
London TravelCards were cheaper for the last two years thru RailEurope than in London (no longer true)
Great British Heritage Passes and london Passes likewise were a tad bit cheaper thru RE.
Always check RE but they often are more expensive. Right now i saw a $25 Munich-Rome fare that was available on the RailEurope web site as they are moving to market pricing like in France in Italy.
Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater is what i'm saying - no Raileurope does not act like a non-profit, or in the case of many European railways, a loss-making operation but much like a for profit company in the US even though it's owned by the French and Swiss railways for the most part. They sell a product - often at higher prices than in Europe, sometimes cheaper but they offer a service for folks who don't want to go through things that veteran travelers take for granted - thus many are happy to pay a premium for seamless travel. Personally i don't mind struggling thru web sites and standing in ticket lines, it's part of the adventure - others may not and RE does a service, at a price often that many are happy to pay. And some of the railpasses they sell here and are not on sale in Europe are downright bargains for many - the two-country passes, German pass where you can get unlimited travel for as low as $35 a day, etc. etc.

Just remember that many people pick their museums because of special exhibits. The pass only covers the admission to the museum and does not include the special exhibits. If you are going to museums for these exhibits you might not be saving .

Raileurope must have some old passes, so if you only wanted a 3-day pass you'd probably have to get it from them, as they have changed days, as noted above (I think howard meant 6 days). So in Paris you could only get 2,4,6 day passes. It's still too expensive, $51 for 3 days of museums? yikes, that is $17 a day in museum fare. Who spends that? (you could if you went to both Louvre and Orsay in one day, perhaps, as they are the most expensive ones, about 7-8 euro each). I wouldn't recommend you do that, though.

Besides, you can get a 4 day pass in Paris for only 45 euro, which is almost the same price as they want for the 3-day pass (about $54). Raileurope marks them up a lot, the 3 day pass only cost 36 euro which would be around $44.

It's possible that the RailEurope has not updated its information; the current museum pass, as other people have noted, can be bought for 2, 4, or 6 days.

If you've never been to Paris, the 2 day pass at 30 euros seems to me to be a great deal. You can easily spend 30 euros if you want to go, for instance, to the Louvre, the Orsay, check out the Arc de Triomphe, the Rodin Museum, St. Chappelle, and the Cluny. There are places, like the Louvre and Orsay, where you may want to spend some time, but it's also nice to be able to walk in and out of places that you just want to get a feel for. And being able to bypass the lines is worth it! Just remember, that it's two consecutive days that you need to use it (or 4, or 6).

If you've been to Paris before, though, and you don't feel like spending as much time in the main museums, or you want to see some of the other museums, the pass may not cover them. For instance, the very popular Carnavalet is NOT covered by the pass. Nor is the Musee Jaquemart-Andree. So the pass may not be worth it if that is our plan.

Personally, I see no reason to buy the museum ahead of time. It's generally a bit more expensive to do it from a tourist website, and very easy to buy it at any of the museums that use the card.
Paule

bookmarking

Thanks everyone for the information! I wonder if raileurope still has the 3 day pass because they have some inventory left over?

We just returned from Paris today and did get the 4 day pass. We found it to be worthwhile especially the fact of not having to wait in line. Our daughter and boyfriend were there as well and had gone to one of the museums without the pass and said the line was so long so we gave them ours to use for the afternoon and they were able to get right in.

The busiest (and priciest) museums (included with the pass) are the Louvre and Musee d'Orsay.

In my observation (over many, many trips to Paris and re-visits to many museums), the two-day pass is the most economical.

A museum pass question: can one use this pass to enter the same museum mutiple times? For example, if I get a 4-day pass, can I go to the Louvre on all four days (apart from other museums), and more than once on the same day?

Ady,

Yes, you can go as often as you want to any museum throughout the duration of the pass - they don't stamp it or scan it, you just show it.

thanks,laughingd2.
As I'll be in Paris for 11 days (minus two days in the Loire valley), I guess a 4- or 6-day pass would be great for me. Guess I could start my day with Louvre every day :-)

I actually did go to the Louvre about 3 times on a pass one week. I would pop in each evening and spend a few hours before closing. It really helps to break that place down into small chunks. The only problem is that you need years of small chunks to see it all!

Are you still able to buy the passes at metro stations?

I thought I read on another thread here a little while ago that you couldn't.

According to the official site, they are no longer sold at Metro stations.
http://tinyurl.com/kmyc5