We will be visiting Paris at the end of the year with 2 of our grand-daughters.
Is anyone familiar with the Museum Pass. Is it necessary? Should it be purchased in Paris or the US.
Can the carnet tickets be used on the bus or are they only for the metro?
Thanks for any help you can provide

I've been to Paris 5 times and only bought the Museum Pass the first time because we thought that was the thing to get. I think it depends on how many times you will use it within that timeframe to know if it's worth it for you. Some will say buy it while the majority will probably say no. I don't recall it really being a fast track to get into any places as we still had to wait. If you decide you do want to buy them, it's probably best to buy them at your first museum stop at one of the smaller museums.

Carnets can be used on both the metro and bus for the zone(s) your ticket is for. If you use the bus, remember to validate it once on board.

I don't think the museum pass is necessary but many people do buy it. You need to compare costs between the museum pass and the museums you want to visit and see if it will benefit you. No one can decide this for you. You can buy the pass in Paris.

The pass is most useful for avoiding lines-it's not so much a money saver but a time saver (and convenient to not buy tickets at every museum).

We saved time with it at the Louvre and at D'Orsay. Just know it has to be used on consecutive days and I agree with above posts...buy it a small museum...no need to buy it in the US and will probably cost you more. You will not be able to jump to the head of the line with it at the Notre Dame Towers...you can use it but no priority in line there.

Carnets can be used on the Metro and buses....very convenient also. Be sure to hold on to your ticket until you exit the Metro and throw the ticket away then...can be hard to tell which tickets have been used if they get mixed up with your unused tickets.

Sometimes we buy it and sometimes we don't. We have definitely been able to skip lines when we have it and that is a huge advantage of it. We have either broken even or saved money with it. We've also discovered a couple smaller museums that we may not have because they were on the pass and nearby where we would be.
As others have said u need to look at what's on the pass and decide if u will use it enough to make it worth the cost. Definitely buy it in Paris as u will pay shipping costs if u buy it online before u go. As suggested buy it at one of the smaller museums. We've gotten it a couple times at the Conciergerie and never waited to purchase it. While u have to use it on consecutive days, u don't have to use it on the day u purchase it.

Our experience is exactly like that of yestravel, and I'm glad that she/he posted.

We have never lost money by purchasing the pass and we have avoided some long lines, especially at more crowded times of year.

We have not purchased the pass when we know that there are several gallery shows or other events that will keep us busy, and we won't be hitting a lot of museums.

Buying the Museum Pass depends on how much time you plan to spend in museums. If a lot, it's often worth the cost. If not, no. You need to do the math. Don't buy it in the USA...buy it at the first museum you visit or some other nearby small museum where there aren't big lines.


A carnet of tickets is 10 tickets usable on both métro and busses. It's possible that one of the Paris passes for the métro is a better deal than buying a carnet, but it depends on the days you're traveling, whether you can show a photo, etc. A carnet is usually the best bet.

We probably break about even with the museum pass. But we've bypassed long admission lines at the Louvre, d'Orsay, and the Branley. We've also stopped into some museums just for a short break. I love the flexibility the pass gives you. But it all depends on where you plan to visit.

This is the official website for the Paris Museum Pass.
http://en.parismuseumpass.com/rub-th...vantages-2.htm
Other sites will try to sell it to you for an upcharge.

No need to buy ahead of time, just get it at a smaller museum. I like to get it at Musee Cluny or Sainte-Chapelle. I've always bought the 2 day pass and planned my trip accordingly. I love the pass for the ability to by-pass the long ticket lines at places like Musee D'Orsay.

If you click the link above and then go to Museums and Monuments then click on each individual listing you will get all the info you need about each site including address, metro stop and opening days and times.
Ann Marie

We purchased a Museum Pass and thought it was worthwhile. You can come out slightly ahead and skip some lines (though it can be confusing some times).

The other benefit that others have alluded to above is that it gives you the freedom to try museums without worrying about it being "worth it". Pop in, try it, if it's not your thing then move on -- no money lost. Extra handy with kids (see my rather lengthy trip report too -- we were first timers and have 2 kids).

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...rip-report.cfm

You can also purchase them at some tabacs -- we purchased ours at the one across from Ste Chapelle. You can also get them at the Tourist info centers. We had an odd number of days, so we did the Eiffel Tour and Seine bit on the first day and then used the pass on the next 4 days (including Versailles -- that's one of the more expensive ones).

If thre girls are young you probably will not get your money's worth. I doubt if they wil lwant to spend the time it takes to makeit worthwhile. I've been to Paris at least 30 timed and have never found it worth it. There are ways to avoid lines without the pass. Enter the Louvre by way of the Carosel de Louvre shopping center. Buy tickets at one of the many FNAC or Virgin stores . A lot of museums are free and the smaller ones seldom have a line anyway.

One benefit: visiting Louvre multiple times, concentrating on one section each time. That's what we did for our 2nd trip to Paris, and it's far more enjoyable that our 1st visit. Louvre is probably the only museum in the world that I felt compelled to do so.

Otherwise, there is only marginal benefit, both money wise and time wise.

It's been a couple of years since we bought the museum pass, but my recollection is that the children (teenagers) were free, so all four of us skipped the lines and we only had to purchase 2 museum passes.

we only had to purchase 2 museum passes for the adults.

Are the queues to the Louvre significantly shorter by using this pass?

Cheers

They were the couple times we used the museum pass to to get into the Louvre.

I think we purchased museum passes for each of the first six or seven trips we made to Paris. My daughters, whose first trip to Paris was in 3rd and 7th grades, were museum "rats", so we loved dipping in and out of any type of museum at leisure, and during one week's stay in Paris, they started out each day for an hour or two at the Louvre. Heck, we often entered just for the restrooms!

Nevertheless, I don't think the pass was that much of an advantage at the Louvre--if you enter underneath via the Rue de Rivoli metro stop, the line is usually rather short, and even if it isn't, it tends to move fast there. But Musee d'Orsay can be backed up forever, and more often than not, we have found our passes to be of great value there. My kids, like many little ones, loved the Impressionists, so that alone was worth our cash upfront.

Here is what the pass cannot do for you:
--You can't get to the front of the line for the Notre Dame towers. You access is paid for; no "front of line" is.
--We had to queue to get free tickets for the elevator to the top of the l'Arc de Triomphe.
--At several museums, your child has to go to the desk to get a "free" ticket. In the past, we encountered this at the Picasso and at the Military musuem. That situation could have changed.

Speaking of the Picasso musuem, we would never have gone there had it not been on our pass. We were amazed.

I agree to find a small museum on the pass list to get your pass.