Paris Museum Pass--a waste of money.
Written: Apr 05 '04 (Updated Apr 06 '04)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: MAYBE useful for the timid, several lesser museums or in high season.
Cons: Largely unnecessary and a poor value.
The Bottom Line: See the Louvre, but pass on the pass.
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| hfruehauf's Full Review: Musée du Louvre |
Contrary to several reviewers' opinions, my fiancee and I found the Paris Museum Pass unnecessary and a waste of money, particularly the one-day version.
Planning to visit Paris for 3 days in May, 2003, we became nervous from some reviewers' remarks re the "hours-long" lines to buy admission tickets at the Louvre Museum and scared into buying the Paris Museum Pass in order to avoid those lines. So, from here I advance-purchased two adult, one-day passes from "la Conciergerie.com" at about $25.00 apiece plus an $8.00 fee for pre-arrival delivery to our hotel. The present cost is nearly the same. Delivery worked out OK and we went to the Louvre around 9-9:30 AM on a Thu. or Fri., parked in its underground garage off of Rue Rivoli and came right up to the ticket concourse below the Pyramid.
There were four ticket booths open and no more than 4 or 5 buyers at each--a two-minute affair. "Long lines"? Bah! When we left some 3-4 hours later, they were not much longer. The passes got us ONLY admission to the permanent collection (an E8.50 p.pn. value) and not the important, temporary exhibit(s) costing E8.50 more p.pn. Combined tickets to both cost El3.00 each. Apples-to-apples, spending $55.00 for two $l1.00 admissions is silly and gets even sillier for families. Reviews claiming the passes cost "about the same" as regular admission are completely uninformed. Thus, also, you often won't need them at all unless, maybe, it's high season, later in the day or a national holiday (in fact, it was their Armed Forces Day when we visited).
The E22.00, one-day passes are, indeed, valid at 70-plus local museums and monuments, but so what? Most are of little or no interest anyway. Moreover, as even a quick trot through the huge Louvre takes 3-4 hours or more (most allow a day) and you'll be tired, you can only "force" in one more attraction that day, anyway, maybe the Arc de Triomphe, the Musee d'Orsay or, as we did, the Rodin Museum (valued at E5.00/pn.). Yet, even if you can, the pass is still a poor value. Nor is it valid for the Eiffel Tower. Plus, what if you cancel your trip or lose them? Fodor's, by the way, agrees with me.
Tip: Since the Web tells us that both tickets and passes can both be bought locally at a number of sites, including major department stores and a mall shop beneath the Pyramid, wait until you get there, decide at that time, and save a lot of money. See the "Paris Pages" and the Louvre's home page for particulars.
Recommended:
No
Best Suited For: Couples
Best Time to Travel Here: Mar - May
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Epinions.com ID:
hfruehauf
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Reviews written: 11
Trusted by: 0 members
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