Is it better to buy the Paris Museum pass here or wait until one is in Paris?

We just returned from Paris and we bought it at the first museum we went to with no difficulty.

If I wanted to buy it here anyway, as a gift to my parents planning a trip to Paris, where would I get one?<BR>

Ted: I just did a quick search on Dogpile.com and got this address:<BR><BR>http://www.parisplus.com/ParisMuseumPass.html<BR><BR>for Paris Plus, a company that will sell you the tickets for many things ahead of time. I know there are at least two other companies that do the same. Just look on Google.com or Dogpile.com.<BR><BR>That said, your situation is one of the few scenarios where buying ahead makes sense. It is quite easy and much cheaper to buy various Metro passes, museums passes, etc. in Paris. <BR><BR>I have even begun to question the wisdom of buying various train passes ahead of time. Although only Eurailpasses can be sold outside of Europe, I recently worked out our trips for the summer using some of the SCNF discounts. With our itinerary and our family age range, the Eurailpass didn't make much sense.

Buying the pass in advance will cost much more--maybe 20%. It can be purchased at larger Metro stations or at a museum. It is advisable to purchase at a smaller museum to miss the lines of the larger.

Thank you very much ....I will just wait and buy the passes in France. <BR><BR>In response to Ted, there is a website<BR>http://forfrance.safeshopper.com<BR><BR>It's actually a wee bit cheaper to buy from them than from parisplus.

I purchased a Carte Musees Pass which gets you into 70+ museums and monuments <BR>unlimited times. I bought a 3 day pass and it was only $32 and they Airborne Express them to you (I think that was $17)they also have 1 and 5 day passes. I also purchased a 2 day Batobus pass for $14. I thought it was a great deal and definately a time saver. Now I'll have them when I get there and not have to even wait in a line to get them. The site was www.gotoparis.net if anyone is interested.<BR>Alyssa

Alyssa, the thing is, there is no line. In six times of buying musee passes, we've encountered not a single hassle in Paris. It's not like there are two places to buy them--you can buy musee passes at guichets in the Metro. The last time we were there, I had my children do it by themselves...that's how simple it is.<BR><BR>I do understand the need to have everything "set." My parents kept fretting over these and metro passses (my father was absolutely obsessed with Paris zones), so I have sympathy for Ted's desire to get his parents the stuff ahead of time. I'm sure they'll sleep better. Otherwise, there is no conceivable reason to spend 20% more for something that takes no extraordinary effort to buy in Paris.<BR><BR>I guess my frustration is that so many of us Americans have been spending cash on advance tickets when we could have been putting it to better use--drinking wine!<BR><BR>

I buy my museum and metro passes in advance with http://www.conciergerie.com/main.htm<BR><BR>They deliver them right to my hotel! This costs a bit more but I find it worth it. I land, check in, have all my passes, off I go!<BR><BR>