Should I purchase the museum pass and rail pass in advance before i leave the US? if so which one should i get? <BR>I will be in Paris then travel to Nice. <BR> <BR>many thanks

I traveled to Paris last summer; I opted to purchase my museum pass in Paris since once I arrived my plans changed a little; sites that I thought would not take up alot of my time did, hence leaving me less time for other attractions. I did not purchase a rail pass in advance; I simply purchased metro/train tickets as needed. The people in the station information center advised us which was the least expensive ways of getting around.

I purchased my Museum Pass at the metro station closest to my hotel (Mabillion, a small station). The Museum Pass worked really well. <BR>Dave

You will pay about 25-30% more if you purchase your museum pass here as opposed to in Paris. It is very easy--any large metro stop will have them. As for rail pass, if your visit begins near Monday and will extend for most of the week then the Carte Orange will be a good buy. It goes from Monday to Sunday and costs 78FF. A carnet of metro tickets is 55FF (10 rides). You need a small picture for the carte orange--you could cut it out of a snapshot.

If by railpass you mean trains, not metro, and referring to Eurail or Francerail pass, you MUST by those in the U.S. - they are not available in Europe.