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Paris Museum Pass Review – Is the Paris Museum Pass Worth it?


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05/08/22

Visiting Paris for the first time can be a lot of fun but also challenging, especially if your Paris Bucket List includes some of the top Paris attractions. Usually, the most popular places in Paris attire large crowds, which means you will spend a lot of your limited time waiting in long lines before entering your favorite museum or attraction. 

However, thanks to the Paris Museum Pass, it is possible to skip all this hassle and save lots of time and money. We tell you everything you need to know and our best tips in this Paris Museum Pass Review.

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Paris Museum Pass Cost and Paris Museum Pass List

What is the Paris Museum Pass? The Paris Museum Pass is a Paris tourist pass that offers visitors direct access to more than 50 top attractions and museums in Paris and its surroundings at a discounted price. This Paris tourist card proposes visitors three different options with different prices and durations:

  • Paris Museum Pass, two days for 57€
  • Paris Museum Pass, four days for 73€
  • Paris Museum Pass, six days for 83€
Paris Museum Pass Review, Is Paris Museum Pass worth it? Paris Travel Tips, Paris Skip the Line, Skip the Line in Paris, Visit Paris, Explore Paris, Paris Tourist Attractions

The Paris Museum Pass includes access to the main museums and famous buildings in Paris like the Panthéon, Centre Pompidou, Musée du Quai Branly, Louvre Museum, Orsay Museum, and the Sainte-Chapelle. It also includes access to famous landmarks in Paris like the Arc de Triomphe or the Tour MontparnasseClick here for the full list.

In addition, the Paris Museum Pass includes twenty other interesting attractions outside Paris, like Château de VersaillesChâteau de Fontainebleau, Villa Savoye or Château de Chantilly.

Please note that the Paris Museum Pass does not include access to the Eiffel Tower, the Paris Catacombs, and Tour Montparnasse.

Where to Buy the Paris Museum Pass

The easiest way to get your Paris Museum Pass is to buy it online in advance and then pick it up at the location indicated in the booking confirmation: 23 rue d’Aboukir, in Paris 2 (a 10-minute walk to the Louvre Museum).

You can also purchase the Paris Museum Pass in different places like the Paris Tourist Office, Paris airports, train stations, Paris museums included on the pass, or dedicated kiosks.

The Paris Museum Pass cost depends on its duration:

GOOD TO KNOW: the days of use for the Paris Museum Pass are consecutive. The pass is activated after the entrance to the first museum or landmark.

Why Use the Paris Museum Pass?

The Paris Museum Pass comes with great benefits, which are the following:

1. It Saves you Time

With the Paris Museum Pass in your pocket, you will skip the longest lines in Paris. The most popular tourist attractions like the Louvre usually have a dedicated line for pass holders, which means that the pass reduces waiting times a lot but does not eliminates them. If you are visiting Paris for the weekend or just a few days, you know that “time” is gold, making this pass worth it.

GOOD TO KNOW: To avoid overcrowding, some sites (e.g., Louvre, Sainte-Chapelle, Versailles) make it compulsory to reserve a time slot. This applies to all the visitors, pass holders or not. Of course, the reservation of a time slot is free since, by purchasing the pass, you have already paid for the entrance tickets. You will receive all the details and instructions with the pass purchase confirmation.

2. You Get a Free Guidebook to Paris

The Paris Museum Pass comes with a small booklet with a map showing the location of the sites included in the pass, a short description of these sites, and some tips.

3. It Saves you Money

Everybody agrees that one of the great things about the Paris Museum Pass is that it saves you time. However, if you want to visit Paris on a budget, it’s all about the money with the passes. If you are going to save money, you want the pass. If you plan to visit only a few sights, you don’t buy the pass and wait in line.

If you check the prices of the Paris attractions listed above, you’ll see that the average ticket price is around €15. That gives you an idea of how much you would need to do in a day to save money with the pass:

» 2-day pass for 57€ (28.5€ a day) – you need to visit a minimum of 3 museums or monuments in a day, for two consecutive days, for the pass to make financial sense;

» 4-day pass for 73€ (24.3€ a day) – you need to visit a minimum of 2 monuments or museums in a day, for four consecutive days, for the pass to make financial sense;

» 6-day pass for 83€ (13.83€ a day) – you need to visit a minimum of 1 -2 museums or monuments in a day (depending on their cost), for six consecutive days, for the pass to make financial sense.

4. It Proposes Interesting, Lesser Known Paris Attractions

This Paris tourist card also includes lesser-known attractions which deserve a visit. General feedback about the Paris Museum Pass is that visitors ‘discovered’ some Paris hidden gems only because they were included in the Paris Museum Pass. Some examples are the Chapelle Expiatoire, the Archaeological Crypt, and the Paris Sewers System, and they are all very cool!

What to Do with Your Paris Museum Pass

Should I buy a Paris Museum Pass for my trip to Paris?

Here’s a proposal on how to use a Paris Museum Pass – 6 days during your trip to Paris. This proposal is ideal for first-timers in Paris, and it means busy days without being exhausting or overwhelming days. You can do the same exercise with our 2 days in Paris itinerary and our 4 days in Paris itinerary.

DAY 1: LOUVRE, MARAIS AND ILE DE LA CITÉ

MORNING: Visit the Louvre Museum and the Louvre Palace (included in the pass) in Paris 1. Move to Paris 4 to have lunch at Le Marais.

AFTERNOON: Visit the Sainte Chapelle (included in the pass) in Paris 4, Notre Dame Cathedral (from outside), and the Archeological Crypt in front of the cathedral (included in the pass).

DAY 2: PARIS SIDE TRIP

Visit the Château de Versailles (included in the pass) and its wonderful French-style Versailles Gardens (not included in the pass during the Garden Shows, free the rest of the year). This is a full-day trip from Paris.

DAY 3: EXPLORE THE AREA AROUND THE EIFFEL TOWER

MORNING: Visit the Quai Branly Museum (included in the pass) or Napoleon’s tomb at Invalides (also included in the pass). Have lunch around the corner.

AFTERNOON: Explore the Paris Sewer Museum (included in the pass). Climb up the Eiffel Tower for one of the best views of Paris (not included in the pass) and chill out at Champs de Mars.

DAY 4: VISIT THE LATIN QUARTER AND SAINT-GERMAIN NEIGHBORHOODS

MORNING: Visit the Medieval Museum of Cluny (included in the pass). Lunch and free time at the Luxembourg Gardens.

AFTERNOON: Visit the Panthéon (included in the pass). Explore the Latin Quarter and Saint-Germain-des-Près, two of the most beautiful neighborhoods in Paris.

DAY 5: TAKE A SIDE TRIP

Take a train to visit Château de Fontainebleau (included in the pass) or Château de Chantilly (also included in the pass).

DAY 6: VISIT THE MUSLÉE ORLY AND THE CHAMPS ELYSÉES

MORNING: Visit the Orsay Museum (included in the pass). Have lunch around the corner.

AFTERNOON: cross the Seine River to Paris 8 and admire Monet’s Nympheas at the Musée de l’Orangerie (included in the pass). Take a walk along the Champs Elysées and climb up to the Arc de Triomphe (included in the pass).

BUDGET

  • With the 6-day Paris Museum Pass: 83€ (Eiffel Tower ticket and Versailles Garden shows not included)
  • Cost with individual tickets: around 145€ (Eiffel Tower ticket and Versailles Garden shows not included)

Is the Paris Museum Pass Worth it?

Is the Paris Museum Pass worth it?

So is the Paris Museum Pass worth it? Here are the main things to consider before buying the Paris Museum Pass:

» The Paris Museum Pass does not include the access to the Eiffel Tower, the Montparnasse Tower, or the Paris Catacombs, three popular attractions in Paris. If you want to visit these three top Paris attractions, you must purchase the tickets apart.

» The Paris Museum Pass does not include temporary exhibitions in the museums.

» There are many interesting and free museums in Paris. Have you heard about them? Some of them are very cool and cost nothing.

» Most of the Paris attractions included in the pass are always free for the under 18s and EU residents under 25s.

» Paris tourist attractions have some time slots very busy (especially on weekends) while other time slots are more relaxed. If you know the less frequented time slots for each tourist attraction, you can save time without any kind of pass.

» Some attractions like Château de Versailles or Château de Fontainebleau, outside the city, need a whole day to get the most out of them.

Alternatives to the Paris Museum Pass

The Paris Museum Pass is, in our opinion, the most interesting tourist pass for Paris. However, this does not mean this is the best pass for you! Check out our Paris Pass comparison for the list of passes available in the city and a detailed description of each pass.

Websites like Get Your Guide or Tiqets propose interesting Paris combo tickets the combination of skip the line tickets to 2-3 popular tourist attractions in Paris at a discounted pass that make you save time and money. This is ideal for people interested in visiting only the very top attractions in Paris.

Paris Museum Pass Review – Our Tips

Paris Skyline from Galeries Lafayettes

» Plan your trip to Paris in advance. Make a list of things to do in Paris, your “musts” in Paris.

» Don’t overcharge your plan. Doing more than two museums a day, for example, is too much.

» Create a fun plan with a nice mix of different things to do in Paris: famous Paris landmarks, top museums in Paris, outdoor spaces, and nice walks. Spend some time in a Parisian café people watching or enjoying nice meals in a good restaurant or brasserie.

» Remember that Paris is a moveable feast. Part of the city’s charm comes from strolling the streets, admiring its beautiful architecture, or relaxing in the city’s parks (all free activities), especially if the weather is nice! Exokire Le Marais, have a stroll at Ile de la Cité, the Luxembourg Gardens or the Tuileries Gardens. Walk the cobbled streets of Montmartre or the Butte-aux-Cailles. Feel the Seine’s breeze on your face and explore the Parisian canals.

» Once you are happy with your sample itinerary, calculate how much you would spend on Paris attraction tickets (regular tickets or skip the line tickets). Then compare it to the Paris Museum Pass cost to figure out if the pass is right or not. It can be a time-consuming process but is certainly worth it.

Is the Paris Museum Pass worth it? We hope that this Paris Museum Pass review will help make the right decision for you.

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Paris Museum Pass: is it worth getting? The Paris Museum Pass gives access to 60 museums, monuments and attractions in Paris. It also gives priority admission and lets you skip the long lines. But is it right for you? Read our review and find out!

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  • Red Nomad OZ (Marion Halliday)
    09/19/2017 at 12:03 am

    We followed a similar process with the London Pass last year, and didn’t end up buying it – which turned out well because we spent a longer time at many of the attractions we visited. We’d rather do a few things properly than try to do everything – we didn’t want to end up walking/driving past a LOT of things instead of really experiencing a few hand-picked things well. We’d probably feel the same about the Paris museum pass – I prefer your ideas about really experiencing the city with a variety of activities.

    • WorldInParis
      09/19/2017 at 1:18 pm

      Thanks Marion for reading and for your interesting feedback. I am sure our readers planning a trip to Paris will appreciate it 🙂

  • Kate
    09/18/2017 at 4:27 am

    This is a good and comprehensive consideration of the pass. I faced a similar issue when deciding if I should get a Rail Pass in Japan, which is widely suggested as essential. However, I did all the maths for the trains and found out that it was marginally cheaper to just buy every ticket for each trip that I took. I think that combined passes are attractive if you don’t want to think about the costs of individual elements, but are only really worth it if you are moving around quickly and fitting in a lot of sights at once.

    • WorldInParis
      09/19/2017 at 1:21 pm

      Thanks Kate for reading. Some travelers will find this pass essential; Others not. For me the key is to decide what you want to do /visit and then do the math

  • Wandering Wheatleys
    09/16/2017 at 7:49 pm

    That is incredibly useful! We always wonder if a city pass is worth buying when we arrive in a new location. We usually end up not buying one because we don’t want to feel pressured to visit a bunch of museums that are not on our must see list. It sounds like you are of the same mindset. Better to spend your time wandering through the streets of a new city and enjoying yourself than rushing around trying to see all the sites on a tight schedule!

    • WorldInParis
      09/16/2017 at 9:45 pm

      Well I am a local so I don’t need to visit 60 museums in Paris in 2, 4 or 6 consecutive days. Plus I always try to visit all these museums for free, even if that means longer lines (in my case time is not a constraint). I tried to be objective but maybe I was not successful?

  • Danijela WorldGlimpses
    09/16/2017 at 12:10 pm

    You’re so right. It does save you a bit of money if you buy it online, but if you have few days in Paris and you want to visit the Eiffel Tower, or Montparnasse, then it doesn’t sound like a good idea.
    One should probably live in Paris in order to see all those 50+ museums! 😀

    • WorldInParis
      09/19/2017 at 1:27 pm

      Mmmm . . . I live in Paris and I may have visited only 90% of these museums (but it’s a secret, don’t tell anyone 😉 )

  • Rhonda Albom
    09/16/2017 at 10:44 am

    We used passes in many countries when we were travelling in Europe back in 2012, but they were always for lots of different types of attractions, not just one category. And we always make sure that there is enough attractions we want to visit on the pass to make it worth our while.

    • WorldInParis
      09/19/2017 at 1:23 pm

      Thanks Rhonda for reading. There is also the PARIS PASS which includes the transportation and other attractions. I will write a post about it, one day 😀

  • Alyson
    09/16/2017 at 9:59 am

    Thanks for walking us through this. I never know whether to go for tickets like this or not. Would I want to visit museums every day? Not sure.

    • WorldInParis
      09/19/2017 at 1:24 pm

      Personally I don’t do many museums when I visit a new city for a couple of days. But if the weather is awful outside an interesting museum is always a good idea

  • Claire
    09/14/2017 at 9:52 pm

    This is a great list to help you decide if it’s worthwhile or not. While I’ve been to Paris a few times I still haven’t been to any museums there yet. Would love to do them one day so may use this post to see which ones I’d want to do and see if the pass is worth me getting 🙂

    • WorldInParis
      09/15/2017 at 8:07 pm

      Good idea! 🙂

  • Miranda
    09/14/2017 at 8:29 pm

    I’m glad you highlighted the fine print on the website regarding free and direct access. I’d totally be one of those people glossing over that!

    • WorldInParis
      09/14/2017 at 8:58 pm

      Ha haa. OK. I found it funny because it is not free and the access (for security reasons) is never direct . .

  • Punita Malhotra
    09/14/2017 at 7:13 am

    Lot of people end up buying city passes, but it tends to put you under a lot of pressure. Its not practically possible to cover everything there is to cover, so it doesn’t work as well as it seems to. You’re right, one should identify selected sights and leave enough time to explore the city on foot. More cobbled roads for me 🙂

    • WorldInParis
      09/14/2017 at 8:23 pm

      He hee. Indeed, lots of cobbled roads for you in Paris 🙂

  • Juliette | Snorkels to Snow
    09/14/2017 at 5:48 am

    Good to know what it does and doesn’t include. I think as travellers its easy to think a sightseeing or do-it-all pass is the best option, but really, each activity takes up a lot of time! Like you said about the Louvre – heck, you could easily spend a few days exploring it! It pays to do the math first and research how much time realistically you need to spend in each place. Great guide!

    • WorldInParis
      09/14/2017 at 8:23 pm

      Glad that you liked it, Juliette! 🙂

  • Tracy
    09/14/2017 at 3:29 am

    I agree about getting the passes if only we can use it surpassing the value we have paid it for. Sometimes it can be tricky and easily fall into the “trap” if we don’t calculate it well. Great tips! 🙂

    • WorldInParis
      09/14/2017 at 8:22 pm

      Thanks! 🙂

  • Angela
    09/11/2017 at 9:27 am

    We didn’t do the museum pass when we were there but it sounds like a great option for a long visit. Thanks for sharing all these wonderful tips!