Paris museum pass

Old Apr 26th, 2010, 04:19 AM
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Paris museum pass

I will be in Paris for 2 weeks. I'm trying to decide which pass to purchase and if I should purchase these before leaving USA? Planning on going to Versailles also. Please help!
Nana_Geo is offline  
Old Apr 26th, 2010, 04:30 AM
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It's hard to help you decide since you don't say if you will be going to any museums. If you do plan museum visits then which ones?

First you need to decide what, if any, museums you want to visit. See if they are included in the museum pass (many Paris museums are free). Look at the prices for the museums and determine if the pass is a good idea for you. Normally you would need to visit at least 2 museums in a day (usually 3) for the pass to pay for itself.

Museum passes are for consecutive days. I find that too many museums too close together make for sensory overload.

I don't think the museum pass entitles you to total access at Versailles.

You can book many museum tickets on the internet so you don't have to wait on line for tickets (Versailles, Louvre, Orsay, Orangerie, Rodin). These are the museums that will have the longest lines. The small museums won't have any lines.
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Old Apr 26th, 2010, 04:51 AM
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Nana-Geo, as Adrienne so rightly points out, the pass is for consecutive days so one must be prepared to see at least one museum a day. This is why I have never bothered with it.
I either rock up early and be in front of the line somewhat or go much much later in the day when most of the crowds have sauntered off to new pastures.
With that technique I have never stood in line for more than 20 minutes - thats not long at all. I like the freedom to check out the weather and make up my mind about cruising a museum or two on any particular day.
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Old Apr 26th, 2010, 04:55 AM
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I agree with adrienne completely. Sensory overload also called Stendhal Syndrome, takes over after a few hours viewing. I have never found the need for a museum pass in over 25 trips to Paris. To avoid lines enter the Louvre thru the Carousel de Louvre shopping mall on rue de Rivoli. For the D'Orsay and other museums you can buy tickets at FNAC if they can't be booked online. Even with tickets or a pass you still might have to wait at special exhibits as they often limit the number of people going thru at any one time. And as she says many of the museums are free.

For Versailles, you can buy a combined train and palace ticket at the train station.
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Old Apr 26th, 2010, 05:02 AM
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I thought they did away with the combined train and entrance ticket for Versailles?

Another thought is that if the weather is beautiful you probably will want to be outside (gardens, cemeteries, wandering around) rather then spending your time in museums. Leave museums for the rainy/overcast days.
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Old Apr 26th, 2010, 05:32 AM
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We always get the card. Certainly there is a risk of overload -- there are far worse things! -- but most people can manage that somewhat by mixing up their experiences. Not only does the card get you into things you want to see, but allows you to "try" museums you would otherwise pass on if you were paying for them.

Of course, if you are there for 2 weeks, you have the luxury of added time (which may hurt the utility of the card). You'll simply need to compare the card options to your itinerary.
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Old Apr 26th, 2010, 05:47 AM
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The combined ticket is still available. I think they changed the name though. I think it's now called a Passporte
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Old Apr 26th, 2010, 05:54 AM
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I'm on the other side - we loved the pass. We looked at it as a fixed cost to buy us flexibility.

We are going with kids and we may spend 30 minutes in a museum and probably as long as 2 hours. Buying the museum pass allows us to not stand there, look at the price and decide if it is worth it or not. We go in, expose the kids to something fun, and keep going if they are enjoying it, or bail if they aren't.

We tend to do more 'quick hits' than extended viewing, so it does work for us. I agree that you will also go into museums that you might not otherwise do.

It depends upon your travel style...
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Old Apr 26th, 2010, 06:08 AM
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One more little quip from me - If I had the pass I would feel obliged to go into a museum just to get value for my buck even if I really didn't feel like it. Spoils the whole experience and ends up a waste of time.

Surfmom - I do see your point when with kids, but I have a DH who likes to take his time.....have learnt over the 40 years we've been married to cool my heels and let him enjoy scrutinising everything for as long as it takes!
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Old Apr 26th, 2010, 06:52 AM
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I'm with surfmom. Because we often travel just to look at art in Paris, we have frequently bought the pass and enjoy all the options it gives us.

Please note that the pass covers more than museums. In addition to Versailles entry, included are the towers of Notre Dame, the top of L'Arc de Triomphe, Sainte Chapelle, and more. While you still have to wait in line for the towers at Notre Dame, at other museums, you have an easy, straight-in access that makes it worthwhile. Your time is ALSO your money.

Here is the online brochure PDF:
http://en.parismuseumpass.com/datas/..._pass_2010.pdf
so you can see all that's covered.

As to naysayers who say, "I can look at that much art per day," I think one of the reasons I like the pass is that if I just am "arted-out" in the middle of a museum, I can leave and come back another day. And the Louvre is certainly much more enjoyable taken in small doses. Our family spent a week starting each morning at the Louvre for around an hour and then getting the heck out to do something else.

Like surfmom, because of having the pass, we ended up enjoying museums we otherwise would never have seen and have just left, without guilt, ones that we just didn't like.

I certainly in your shoes would consider buying a six-day pass and use it for the time stretch in which you do NOT do Versailles. Just shell out for that separately to make the most of your in-Paris pass time. You could also do a mix/match of days.

What I would not do is buy the pass online if the only option is still mail delivery* or delivery to your hotel--it's a rip off. It's just not necessary to fork over extra Euros when buying it on the ground is so simple. Again, the Paris Museum Pass website shows the sales locations.

*There seems to be a new option in the works to print the tickets at home. All the information is in French and I have no idea whether or not these are official and if FNAC adds on more bucks for that option. I would love to hear if anyone has used that option yet.
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Old Apr 26th, 2010, 07:03 AM
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As you can tell from replies, your interests and travel style will determine whether the pass is for you. We bought it for our first trip to Paris as we knew we would be going to a lot of museums. The second trip we did not.

We probably used it enough to break even at least, maybe save money. The added benefits are: you can go to the same museum more than once if you want (we went to the Musee D'Orsay three times using our pass -- the third just for a few minutes to see a few favorites, something we never would have done if we'd had to pay admissions each time; obviously not standing in line (this was a great feature for St. Chapelle and Musee D'Orsay); and one that was great for us was that if you're near a museum when you need one, you can pop in and use the toilet.

The Louvre and Musee D'Orsay have one night a week when they are open in the evening. If the day is wonderful and you want to spend it doing outdoor things, you could always go to these museums in the evening making use of your pass
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Old Apr 26th, 2010, 07:13 AM
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MNsnowflake: I have never thought of restroom benefit of the pass before! Brilliant! Have to remember that when people at home ask me about the pass.
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Old Apr 26th, 2010, 02:08 PM
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There is no reason whatsoever to buy them in the US before going. They aren't like Eurorail passes where you can't even buy them in Europe.

I don't think they sell the combined ticket for Versailles any more, either. The Versailles Passeport is solely for Versailles, it doesn't include the RER. It includes that little train on the Versailles grounds, though. In fact, I think SNCF stopped selling any of those combo tickets (which were called Forfaits Loisir) to any destination.
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Old Apr 26th, 2010, 07:14 PM
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Bookmarked. Thanks.
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