Lyle

Dear experienced travelers:

I am going to Paris soon and wanted to buy the museum pass. My travel agent can sell them to me for $60 each. I like to be organized before the trip and have as many of my passes, train tickets, etc. before I go. However, if it is much cheaper to buy the museum pass in Paris, I will wait.

Can anyone who has recently bought the pass in Paris tell me the price? Also, in Paris do you get a special discount book that is very worthwhile?

Thank you.

herself

Lyle,
A three day museum pass will cost about 160ff. That is about $22US. You can buy the pass at the first museum gift shop you go to. I did not get a pass on my last trip to Paris so I hope this info is correct.
Elvira is bound to answer your post. She has th latest and best info.

Kathy

Lyle,
I waited and bought my museum pass at the Louvre for 160ff. Since you said that you'd be going soon, then it would be safe to assume that the lines won't be terribly long. But just in case you're worried about waiting in line, the museum pass is also available at museum gift shops, major subway stops and even the Tourisme Office in the Louvre Carousel. If lines are too long at the Louvre, walk down the corridor past all the gift shops and the Tourisme Office will be on your right next to the Virgin music store. Prices are the same at all the different places. Good luck!

Vanessa

Lyle,
Don't buy it from your travel agent, they are trying to add a hefty fee onto the actual price. If you go to the Louvre first, and enter from underground (straight out of the Metro), the office is right there. You buy the pass, very short line for the pass, then go straight in, bypassing all of the people waiting to buy individual tickets for the museum. Having the pass was a big help, I didn't have to wait in hardly any lines. Everything went much quicker.

elaine

Hi
Last week I was able to buy my museum pass at my hotel's front desk, with no additional charges.
If you look at the website you can find all the places where you can buy the pass in Paris
www.intermusees.com/

Bill Fleites

Lyle,
Save your money, don't buy the pass in
the US. I've been to Paris twice, and
both times I purchased it at the Musee
d'Orsay gift shop which is right
outside the museum. No lines, and no
fuss either time.

Tammy

I completely agree with the above posters. Keep in mind that you can also buy the pass at smaller museums. For instance, I bought my 3 day pass at Ste Chapelle where there was virutally no line. Have a great trip!

Susan

How many museums do you need to see in order to make it cheaper to buy the pass vs. paying individual admissions? Thanks.

Bill Fleites

In my opinion, the pass cost is worth it just to bypass the huge lines at the Louvre and Versailles.

nigel

The pass is good deal. It is also good at places other than musuems, such as Chantilly, Versailles, going to top of Arch of Triumph, and others. At 40 plus francs a pop to get into these places you will pay for it in no time. And as was said above, you avoid the lines. Also nice because you can come and go as many times as you want, so you could spend a couple of hours at one place, and then come back the next day and spend some more time.

When we were in Paris a couple of weeks ago we did not buy the pass, but probably should have even though we did not plan to do too many musuems. We would have been better off to have bought it.

Alice

You can also buy the pass at major metro stations, before you even get to a museum. Get them the same time you buy your metro tickets or pass (and pay with credit card, if you like).

rlk

-

Last year (Apr-99) I had no difficulty buying my 3-day museum pass at the metro stop which was closest to my hotel (Varenne). Bought both my museum & transportation pass and paid for both w/credit card.

It doesn't sound as if the extra cost being added on makes it worthwhile to purchase thru your travel agent.

Sue

Teachers get into most (state/city) museums free. (I knew there was some advantage.) Just be sure to take a teacher ID.

elvira

No need to buy the museum pass ahead - you can buy them all over Paris (even in the metro stations). There are one, three and five day passes. Caveat: the pass is for SUCCESSIVE days - so if you buy a 3 day pass, and on day two you don't go near a museum, you've wasted a day of the pass. I figure an average price for a museum (or historic sight) is about 40ff (and that's on the low side), so even a one day pass, if you're doing two museums/sights, is breakeven and NO lines - you get to three days and 160ff, you're break even is 4 museums in three days - and NO lines. Just be sure you know where the pass entrance is (the Louvre's is on the north side of the building, some passage or other - Richelieu maybe?); the Musee d'Orsay used to be on the north side near the shop, but that's changed. The pass is usable at Versailles, the entrance is on the right side of the castle and is marked (entrance D or B, I don't remember which).

Patty

Would someone enlighten me on just how these entrances are marked?

Craig

We spent four days in Paris in October, our first time there. We bought our passes very easily from a Metro station. But not all the sights we wanted to see were covered by the pass. Felt a little foolish, flashing the pass at the Musee Marmottan, the catacombs, and a few other places that didn't accept it for admission. Seems obvious now, but Paris isn't a one-ticket theme park. Just be clear about what sights you want to hit before you buy the pass.
By the way, we had a GREAT time. I'm sure you will too. Bon Voyage

elvira

At Versailles, there's a wooden sign on a short pole that reads something like "cartes musees ->" in the big entrance courtyard; the one at the Louvre isn't marked (at least not obviously - I've never seen a sign) so you have to either know ahead or ask someone (there are museum employees in the courtyard near the Pyramid usually, so you can ask them). Here's a helpful hint: use your best Emily Post manners when asking - I watched an American couple wave the pass under the nose of an employee at the Musee d'Orsay with an imperious "tell us WHICH entrance"...they got told to stand in the line that went around the block. Sometimes, there ISN'T a separate entrance or line; if the wait is too long, you can always go to another museum and return at another time (oh, the joys of a museum pass!).

I've found the best way to avoid lines is to go when tourist buses don't - like at the opening, at mealtimes, just before closing, and in the evenings that they are open late - avoid any days that the museum is free (like the Louvre one Sunday a month) or within the first week of special exhibits. Make a list of alternatives if the museum is too crowded or the lines are too long (this is the great advantage to a pass - go to the Louvre at 9:30, leave at noon, go to lunch, shopping, come back at 4:30).

Susan

Is there a list somewhere that lists exactly which sites are covered by the pass? Thanks.

elvira

intermusees.com

elaine cites it in her reply of 12/15, too.