I've just read the details on buying a Paris Visite pass and was interested in the host of discounts available to passholders at various shops and attractions. <BR> <BR>While the pass itself may not be a real bargain -- unless we take public transportation several times a day -- I am wondering if these discount offers will make the pass worthwhile.(There were at least six places I already had on my list offering discounts.) <BR> <BR>Have you ever taken advantage of the discounts?

I haven't, I've believed the conventional wisdom that the Paris Visite pass just isn't worth it. I actually never take enough metro or bus rides each day to make a pass worth it--at most I take a couple of rides each day to or from the farthest points, and end up doing, with pleasure, a heck of a lot of walking to spots in between. <BR>Also, when it comes to museums and such that are included in the Paris Carte Musee, that's the pass I want to bypass long lines at the Louvre and the Orsay museums.

Hi Elaine, thanks for your reply. I have to agree with you on the face of it; the price per ride would probably not be worth the cost. <BR> <BR>I usually try to walk a LOT when I'm in a foreign city -- there's always so much to see! But I'm taking this trip with my mom, who's almost 70, and I expect we'll be using public transportation quite a bit. <BR> <BR>I will certainly be purchasing the museum passes you mentioned, but I was intrigued by the notion of the little discounts at the museum shops (@ Louvre, Orsay and Versailles) and the 2-for-1 deals at Jacquemart-Andre, the Montparnasse Tower, and the top of the Arc de Triomphe. Those extras may tip the scales in favor of purchasing the PV. <BR> <BR>I'm wondering how easy it is to get the discounts: show the card? stand in a particular line? give the secret handshake? Correctly answer three questions from Tim the Enchanter? ((I hope you like Monty Python...)) <BR> <BR>The PV does seem pricey -- thanks again for your input.

I hadn't noticed that many discounts offered by the Paris Visite, but if you plan to use them, it may be a good deal for you. The only store I remember is Galeries Lafayette and frankly that's not a real one as you can get that anywhere (your hotel probably, also I think you get it if you just go to the visitor info counter in Galeries Lafayette even if you don't have a card from anywhere). There are a few things tourists might use, discounts on tickets on the Bateaux Parisiens, Arc de Triomphe, etc, but they seem really minor. I think the pass can be a convenient and easy way for tourists to get transportation, and you'll have no trouble figuring it out or using it or buying it, unlike some other passes used by local residents. From your comment, it sounds like you may not even expect to use it a couple times a day, in which case I wouldn't even buy a transportation pass. I'll tell you, I've been to Paris a lot including several extended stays when I've been studying from 2 wks to one month and I don't even buy a transporation pass sometimes when I'm there less than a week or when my stay crosses the weekend, I just buy carnets supplemented by a Mobilis pass perhaps on days when I plan a lot of travel (Mobilis is a one-day unlimited transportation pass for bus/RER/metro, very convenient). A Mobilis pass is only 33F a day (for zones 1-2) and you don't need a photo. In fact, you could buy a Mobilis pass every day and it would be cheaper than the Paris Visite for any numbers of days. You could also vary your zones more easily that way and it would save money. For example, most people only need zones 1-2 (central Paris) when sightseeing in Paris. If you go to Versailles or someplace outside of town where you'd buy the zones 1-5 Paris Visite, you could instead buy a one-day Mobilis for zones 1-4 (4 is all you need)for 54 F which would cover Versailles and all transportation within Paris that day (that would also cover St-Germain-en-Laye, for exampe; Disneyland or Chantilly you'd need a zone 5). Often people buy too expensive passes when they only need the far zone on one day or something. Anyway, if you think it makes sense for you, buy it, it will be convenient and differences in costs between all these options are only a few dollars. IMO there is absolutely no point to buying the Paris Visite when it is cheaper to buy a Mobilis pass even every day, if you want unlimited trips. Some tourists are leery about buying tickets at ticket windows in Paris, I've noticed (they mention it on this forum), if that worries you, get a long-term pass. One caveat with the Mobilis (which I haven't tested), I think CDG airport is not covered on the zones 1-5 Mobilis for some obscure reason as to who owns those stops (the airport owns them and won't include them but they are included in the Paris Visite or Carte Orange, go figure).

Phyllis, my last post crossed yours and I do have another comment. I wasn't aware there was a discount on museum shops merchandise. I checked that out and it does seem that is a very nice benefit and maybe even now I'll get one for a day's shopping LOL. It sounds like it is only for the "reunion des musees nationaux" which is not all museums on the card (only 33 national ones in this syndicate). However, the main ones are included that you mentioned (Versailles, Orsay, Louvre). They do have nice gift shops and that alone could make it very worthwhile (10 pct off products, 5 pct books). I found a URL which shows you which museums' gift shops are included: www.rmn.fr/index-gb.html <BR>One place they don't mention which is where I shop is the Boutiques Paris-Musees (a shop at Musee Carnavalet, Forum des Halles and at 29 bis rue des Francs-Bourgeois in the Marais, which is where I go). This shops sells stuff you won't find in the attached museum shops, very nice reproductions of crystal, etc. I have bought part of a crystal wineglass set that is a copy of one owned by George Sand in there which is gorgeous and I'd love to buy more pieces. I have a sneaking suspicion that museum shop is not included on the card (for all I know that shop isn't even affiliated with the museums, I'm not sure, that could just be their name but they do have nice stuff at reasonable prices).

Thanks a million, Christina -- I really appreciate your replies. I never met a museum shop I didn't like; I'll make a beeline for the one you mentioned near the Musee Carnavalet, believe me. <BR> <BR>[As an aside, if you're still reading this thread at all: Do you know where I can find some information before I go on the concert series "festival of sacred art"? I read something about this in a guidebook and would love to know if there will be an online calendar somewhere. I ask because of your interest in music.... Thanks again.]

Phyllis: <BR> <BR>City of Paris Festival of Sacred Art. A dignified series of classical concerts is held in five of the oldest and most recognizable churches of Paris. End of November through early December. For information, call 01-44-70-64-10. <BR> <BR>Got the information from Travelocity Destination Guides - Paris <BR> <BR>

Thank you yet again, St. Cirq, for being helpful. I had posted a question about this a while back, and someone gave me a website that had that phone number, but I don't speak French, and I hesitate to phone up and make a fool of myself ... Oh what the heck. <BR> <BR>In a post I found using the search tool Elvira one said that you should never "pass up the chance to do something because you don't speak French." <BR> <BR>Get me the overseas operator. <BR>

Phyllis: <BR> <BR>When you get to Paris, pick up a copy of Pariscope for 50F at any kiosk - it will list everything you want to know about these and other performances in Paris. <BR> <BR>That is, if calling doesn't work out

Pariscope is still FF 3.- and worth the money, for sure. I guess that was a typo, StCirq. ;-) <BR> <BR>Also on-line at <BR>www.pariscope.fr <BR>(runs from Wed-Tue)

Typo? Non. Brain-dead on a Friday afternoon? Oui.

.. Juste comme moi! TGIF ;-)

phyllis <BR>if you find out info on the concerts please post it here? i am going to be in paris thanksgiving week and would like to go to this. thanks!

Phyllis (bet that's not your real name) I have checked a lot of my classical music program sources in France and can't find programming for that event. I think it's too early to post programs for November, some of my web sites only do well within a month or so. You could try later on closer to going, here are some web sites that list classical music concerts in Paris: www.concertonet.com, www.concertclassic.com, www.concertparisiens.fr, www.musicaparis.com, and www.francefestivals.com (that's the French Federation of International Music Festivals) I checked the Paris tourist office site which is pretty good for more obscure concerts, actually, but closer to the date (www.paris-touristoffice.com). they only list the event dates (Nov 20-Dec 20) and a phone number for info. It's interesting what you can turn up while searching -- I found this on Mme Chirac's resume on the Elysee Palace web site because she was apparently the founder of the series a few years ago. In any case, there are always lots of concerts every week in the various churches around Paris and a lot of these "fetes" are kind of PR and nothing that different from what's usually going on around town. St Sulpice is known for its organ, they have wonderful concerts, often on Sundays about 4 pm, it seems--their schedule is on www.stsulpice.com I did find out that the Kiev chamber choir will be doing some Ukrainian sacred chats in St Roch church at 8:30 pm at end of Nov, I think, but I'm not sure it's part of that--I believe that concert is in the musicaparis.com URL (there are now several concert companies that go around doing concerts in churches who are getting syndicated and have their own web sites; that's one of them, the one that performs in Ste-Chappelle is another, AMP). Anyway, I agree that you should just pick up a Pariscope or Officiel des Spectacles when you get in Paris and you'll find classical music concerts for every night (Mon and Tues are usually slower nights for these) BTW the above is a real address and on my Paris pages on that web site I have some musical-related items of interest for sightseeing, if you've got time to kill, you might find it of interest (might not).

oh I forgot the URL, it is: www.virtualtourist.com/ChristinaW

Christina: <BR> <BR>We already found the info for the festival and posted it to Phyllis. It's on Travelocity's site - go to Destinations, got to Paris. It's been listed since the beginning of the year. It's later November to early December and she's got a tel. no. to call. The other sites you posted are very good ones, too, I've found, for Paris events.

Thanks all, for your helpful and detailed replies. I think I'm trying to do too much planning -- down to which concerts on which nights!?! -- when my trip is still 12 weeks away. I'm just so concerned to make the trip a big success (for my mother; I expect I'll enjoy it no matter what). <BR> <BR>I really appreciate your guidance.

I wouldn't dare dispute those of you who are frequent visitors to Paris, but the six of us there in late July were quite happy with the Paris Visite pass. We bought it at the Tourist Office. Yes, I am sure you can buy tickets every day, but I hadn't been to Paris in 40 (gasp) years and time was worth more than the few extra dollars the pass might have cost us (never calculated the difference). We did use it to get a discount at the Montparnasse Tower and also on purchases at the Louvre museum store. We didn't get to do a canal ride, but we could have had two for one there. We used buses, metro and RER multiple times a day and loved "flashing" our card. I don't think any of us regretted buying it. We probably didn't get our "money's worth" out of the museum pass either, but the mere fact that we went to the front of the 2 block long line at the d'Orsay in 90 degree heat made it good enough for us. Maybe next time we will go more "native."

Yes, I looked in the travelocity Destination guides but didn't find any detailed program for this festival, which is what I thought Phyllis was searching for, rather than just the phone number. Maybe I wasn't looking in the right place but I saw no program on there. I left out one good URL, though, that is www.arpegionne.com for Parisian concerts. You can also buy tickets to some of the better concerts in churches at www.ticketavenue.com and they also (much to my surprise)give fairly good descriptions of the composer and works. For example, if you are interested in sacred music, there is a mass being sung by Josquin Depres at St-Germain church in the evening of 11/26 which should be very good. He's a more obscure composer from the Renaissance era, if you like Palestrina you might like him, he was well known for his polyphony. The Kiev Chamber Choir's concert on 12/14 in eglise St Roch is also for sale on ticketavenue as well as something by Monteverdi in St Severin church, as I recall.

We bought it on line for our first trip to Paris in May of 1999. I got it for the museum pass and the metro pass (3 days). It turned out to be worth it for the Metro pass alone because the week we arrived, the museum workers went on strike. With the mueseums shuttered, we went hopping all over town. Also, when the Orsay opened briefly, the pass was also helpful because we were admitted right away without waiting in a tremendously long line.