Museum Pass/Visite Pass

Has anyone used the Museum or Visite Pass in Paris?
They seem extremely over-priced in my opinion. Thoughts? Opinions?
Thanks in advance.

I agree with you....unless you spend your whole time running from "sight" to "sight" ...

We've used the Paris Museum Pass: was a great deal for us and I'm not usually a fan of passes. The nice thing about that one was that it covered a lot of the places we knew we wanted to see and allowed unlimited visits to all of them. As the Louvre is immense, we took it in over 3 separate visits to avoid burnout; one of those during late-evening opening when everything else was closed. You could also, say, make 2 separate trips to the Arc de Triomphe for the view, once during the day and again at night.

It didn't include a lot of other stuff - like hoho buses - we didn't have any interest in.

Combined with a shared carnet of transport tickets (€14,50) we came out way, WAY ahead of the ridiculously priced Paris Pass which includes the Visite card - which is why it's so overpriced - and more than broke even. We had a week in the city and bought the 6-day passes.

But like any other pass, you have to do the math in advance to figure out if it's an economical buy for you or not. With a week to work with, there was plenty of time to cover ground without burning rubber. But just those 3 trips to the Louvre was worth €45 of a €74 pass (today's prices).

Comparison of current pricing for 2:
2, 6-day P.M. Passes + 1 shared carnet = €162,50
2, 6-day Paris Passes with Zones 1-3 Visite= €406,30

Hi @tglory1107, I've moved your topic to Western Europe: France branch.

Thank you. My group is looking at the two-day pass. We want to go to Versailles; however that will eat probably one whole day. Leaving us with a whole day of running around. Not sure it's worth it!

The Museum Pass is well worth it if you plan to visit several museums, The Paris Visite is a no-go rip-off.

Thank you. Did you notice if the museum passes are available at the airport? Around Paris?
What about the Navigo pass? This seems to be comparable to the Visite Pass.

You can buy them here:

http://en.parismuseumpass.com/rub-t-points-of-sale-3.htm?cat=3

Elsewhere (look under all the tabs):
http://en.parismuseumpass.com/rub-t-points-of-sale-3.htm

In almost cases, Navigo is considerably cheaper than the Visite as it covers zones 1-5 of Paris - including the airports (Zones 4 and 5) - where Visite is priced by tier: zones 1-3 being the cheapest, and zones 1-5 being the most expensive.

http://www.ratp.fr/en/ratp/r_61634/paris-visite/

http://parisbytrain.com/paris-train-metro-week-pass-navigo-decouverte/

Do be aware that Navigo only comes in weekly and monthly passes, and the weekly passes are valid only from Monday - Sunday. This can be an issue if you, say, arrive in Paris on a Thursday and intend to stay until the following Wed. A pass purchased on Thursday would expire at 23:59:59 on Sunday and you'd need to buy a new one (or something else) to see you through the rest of the week. You also need a passport-sized photo for this pass, and cannot purchase them for the current week after midnight on Thursdays.

We want to go to Versailles; however that will eat probably one whole day.

Yes it will, or will if you try to cover more than the chateau, anyway. If you only have 2 days for Paris, I'd skip it (we did). There are plenty of things to do in the city centre. Depends on your interests, I guess?

We arrive Tuesday. We will be staying out by Disneyland, definitely need the zones 1-5 pass. Navigo sounds like the way to go, or buying the carnets. Thanks

Thank you!

I personally don't think the museum pass is necessary unless museum hitting is the primary part of your trip. I ended up not going to half of the museums I expected, and ended up randomly walking into ones I strolled upon. If you're dead set on visiting the Louvre, it may be worth it to buy a pre-timed ticket; but otherwise, you're probably better off just paying for entrance as you go.

I think it would be virtually impossible to get your money's worth out of a 2-day pass if you've only got one day.
By the way, having only one day in Paris is a real pity.
I doubt that's time enough even to get your bearings.

If the weather is good you won't want to spend your time closed in all those museums! It is true that it includes a lot of museums but would you visit ALL those museums if they were not included in the pass?
In addition, some of those museums like the Louvre are totally for free always for people under 25 years (living in the UE) and also totally for free for all visitors the first Sunday of the month. On the other hand, Eiffel Tower is not included in the pass.
I don't want to suggest you YES or NO, just want you to get the full picture.
Hope it helps
Elisa (World In Paris)

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