Paris Pass or Museum Pass. Which One Suits You Best?

Today’s post will discuss the two most popular cards to save money on your trip to Paris. Is it worth buying the Paris Pass or the Museum Pass? Which one suits you best and why?

• Read: How to organize a trip to Paris step by step and super easy
• Read: Itinerary to visit Paris in 5 days

What are the Paris Pass and the Museum Pass?

Originally, the Paris Pass card was made up of 3 cards. One was the Paris Pass, another the Museum pass, and the third was the transport card for Paris.

But this year has changed. Currently, the Paris Pass card is a tourist package that includes more than 80 tickets to Paris attractions (it saves you 55% on tickets).

With the purchase of this card, you receive two passes, the Paris Pass (your digital all-inclusive pass) and the Museum Pass (a physical card).

That’s right, as you have read, the Museum Pass is included in the Paris Pass, but it can be purchased separately.

Museum Pass must be collected from a collection center when you arrive in Paris. Each pass has its own selection of attractions.

I explain everything in detail below.

What are the Paris Pass and Museum Pass cards for?

These cards are passes that help you save money on your trip to Paris. But they also serve to skip the queues, since you will have preferential access and other advantages.

For example, the Paris Pass includes a wine tasting, a river cruise, a Paris guide, the Big Bus Paris, or tickets to Asterix Park, among others.

This makes the Paris Pass much more complete and attractive depending on your interests.

Comparison of Paris Pass and Museum Pass

Depending on the style of your trip and the visits you want to make, you’ll be interested in buying the complete option offered by the Paris Pass or the option of museums and monuments, which is the Paris Museum Pass.

What does the Paris Pass include?

The Paris Pass allows you to enter with free admission to more than 60 attractions, monuments, and art galleries. (same as the Museum Pass, I’ll detail them below)

• Free access to 7 additional attractions: includes entrance to Montparnasse Tower, a Seine cruise, and a wine tasting.
• Day ticket for the touristic bus.
• Free guide with more than 120 pages about Paris and its places to visit.
• Skip the line at many attractions.
• Additional discounts at Galeries la Fayette, Hard Rock cafe, and others.
• Guided Access to the Eiffel Tower (2nd floor)
• Cheese tasting
• Literary walk
• Etc.

What Does the Paris Museum Pass Include?

The Museum Pass includes admission to more than 60 monuments and attractions. The most important are:

• Louvre Museum
• Orsay Museum
• Arc de Triomphe
• Torres de Notre-Dame (currently closed. 2020)
• Palace of Versailles
• Pantheon
• Conciergerie
• Sainte-Chapelle
• Pompidou Centre
• Excludes Access to the Eiffel Tower

How do These Pass-Cards Work?

How the Paris Pass works

The Paris Pass is designed to help you save money during your visit to the French capital. It’s simple and easy to use, and, combined with the Go City app and website, it will make it even easier for you to plan your trip to Paris.

The Paris Pass has 2, 3*, 4, and 6-day options to suit all types of travel, from short weekend getaways to longer vacations.

Your Paris Pass will be activated the first time you scan it at an attraction and will be valid for the consecutive days of the duration of your pass (2, 3*, 4, or 6 days).

*The 3-day Paris Pass includes a 2-day Museum Pass.

Some attractions require a mandatory reservation. You can do it on the Paris Pass website. Making a reservation does not start the duration of the pass.

How does the Museum Pass work?

The Museum Pass is a physical card that you have to pick up at specific places in Paris.

Once you have your card, you have to put your name on it and the date you are going to start using it.

Always try to use it in the morning, so you have the whole day to take advantage of it.

To access the different attractions, you must go to the entrance and show your pass. You do not have to queue to buy a ticket.

In some cases, you have to queue for bag control or if you are carrying a large backpack, leave it at the ticket office, as in the Palace of Versailles.

These cards have the advantage of saving you the queues; this is a must if you travel in summer. Of course, you are not saved from the queue of the Sainte-Chapelle, nor the control of the Palace of Versailles.

The Museum Pass is considerably cheaper than the Paris Pass. I recommend that you make a list of the places you want to visit to know which card interests you the most.

Pick up locations

• Orly Airport
• Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG)
• Galeries Lafayette

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How Much Does the Paris Card Pass Cost?

This pass can be purchased for 2, 3, 4, and 6 days. Depending on the number of days and the ages, the price changes.

For example, a *three-day pass for an adult is €149, and for minors (2 to 17 years old), €52. This is especially important if you are traveling as a family.

*The 3-day pass includes a two-day Museum Pass.

Please note: Children under 18 and European citizens under 26 have free admission to most museums and monuments included in the Museum Pass itinerary.

Another thing to keep in mind is that on the first Sunday of the month, admission is free to most French museums.

How Much Does the Museum Pass Cost?

The Paris Museum Pass includes more than 60 museums and monuments. There are passes for 2, 4, and 6 days.

The two-day pass costs €60 per person (over 18 years old), but if you want, you can upgrade it, that is, you have the possibility to buy this pass and add the river cruise; in this case, the price goes up to €69.

The Paris Museums pass for 4 days costs €80. Without a doubt, the preferred option for lovers of art and culture.

Perfect to see the largest number of museums and monuments in Paris.

Pay Attention at:

• Children under 18 years old and European citizens under 26 years old have free access to most museums and monuments included in the Museum Pass itinerary.

• To secure your entrance to the Louvre Museum, make the reservation on the Paris Pass website.

• Admission to most French museums is free on the first Sunday of the month.

Where You Can Buy These Cards to Visit Paris

These cards, both the Paris Pass and the Museum Pass, are purchased online or at the tourist offices of Paris.

We recommend buying them online, and if you do so, they will send them to your home with sufficient time.

In the event that you buy them online but do not have time for them to be sent to your home, at the time of purchase, they give you a choice of Museum Pass collection points.

The Museum Pass can be picked up at different places in Paris, including Galeries Lafayette or the main airports.

The Paris Pass is an online pass that you download to your phone through the Go City app.

Plan Your Visit to Paris with the Paris Pass or the Museum Pass

How to know what Pass suits you more? These are my recommendations

• Make a list of the places you want to visit, yes or yes.
• Are all the places you want to visit included in the passes?
• Next to each place put the price of the ticket without the pass.
• Do the sum and see if it’s more or less that which costs the Paris Pass or the Museum Pass.
• Are you going to move around Paris by Public Transport?
• Do you want to do the wine tasting included in the Paris Pass? Climb the Monparnasse Tower? Take a cruise on the Seine? A mini perfumery workshop? cheese tasting?
• How many days are you going to be in Paris to be able to see everything that interests you.

Once you’ve made a list and answered those questions or questions that come up to you, you’ll know if the passes suit you or which of the two is worth the most.

I’m sure you’ll at least be interested in the Paris Museum Pass. It is essential to save time from the lines, especially if you travel in the summer.

Here you have an example of prices and which pass includes it. Keep in mind that if you buy the Paris Pass for at least 3 days, it includes a 2-day Museum Pass.

*The price to go up to the Eiffel Tower on your own changes, depending on whether you go up using the stairs, the elevator, and if you go up to the second floor only or to the top.

Regarding the Palace of Versailles, the price that appears is only the ticket entrance, it does not include transportation from Paris to Versailles.

Need help knowing what card pass is better for you? Leave your comment, and I’ll be happy to answer your doubts!

Plan Your Trip to Paris

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Last Updated on 18 August, 2022 by Veronica