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.
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€
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 Montparnasse – Click here for the full list.
In addition, the Paris Museum Pass includes twenty other interesting attractions outside Paris, like Château de Versailles, Château 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:
- Buy the Paris Museum Pass 2 days for 57€
- Buy the Paris Museum Pass 4 days for 73€
- Buy the Paris Museum Pass 6 days for 83€
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
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?
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
» 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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