Is the Paris Pass 2024 worth it? We review prices and value here
After a couple of slow years like every other city, Paris is booming again and 2024 looks like another busy year for the city and its major attractions. The Paris Pass made some changes and then changed back last year and now in 2024 it’s easier and more straightforward than it’s been in a while. And unlike many other major tourist cities, most attractions in Paris didn’t increase prices in 2023 so the Paris Pass is about the same price as last year as well.
The Paris Pass can be a great tool for many visitors. Not only does it allow free entry into most of the top tours and attractions that are most popular with first-time visitors, but it also helps you plan an efficient itinerary that will save you a lot since so many of the best attractions are close together. As we will discuss below, I highly recommend both the hop-on, hop-off bus tour (in the morning) and the 1-hour Seine cruise (around sunset) whether you buy a Paris Pass or not. Fortunately, they are both included.
Note: This article was last updated in March, 2024. This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated (at no extra cost to you) if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. This helps to keep this site going.
The main Paris attraction passes
- Paris Pass – This includes a Paris Museum Pass (see below) and an All-Inclusive attraction pass, which includes entry to most of the famous attractions and tours that are not specifically museums.
- Paris Museum Pass – This includes only admission to nearly every major museum in Paris.
If you are NOT interested in things like the Hop-on, Hop-off bus tour, the Eiffel Tower guided climb, the (highly recommended 1-hour Seine Cruise or the wine tasting experience, then the Paris Museum Pass alone will save you money.
Prices for the Paris attraction and transportation passes
Paris Pass 2024 prices
2-day passes
- 2-day Adult Paris Pass: (including a 2-day Museum Pass) €179
- 2-day Child Paris Pass (ages 4 to 11): €94
3-day passes
- 3-day Adult Paris Pass: (including a 2-day Museum Pass) €214
- 3-day Child Paris Pass: €109
4-day passes
- 4-day Adult Paris Pass (including a 4-day Museum Pass): €275
- 4-day Child Paris Pass: €130
6-day passes
- 6-day Adult Paris Pass: (including a 6-day Museum Pass) €300
- 6-day Child Paris Pass: €140
Exclusive discount for Price of Travel readers
- Get 5% off all Paris Passes
Use coupon code: GO5POT – Look for “promo code?” in Step 4 of checkout)
Prices of the most popular museums covered by the Paris Museum Pass, which is included with the Paris Pass
Palace of Versailles: €18
Built during the 1600s and 1700s, the Palace of Versailles is one of the largest and most famous palaces in the world. Always one of the most popular attractions in the Paris area, it’s outside of town and it takes 60 to 90 minutes to reach, depending on your starting point. Admission is included with a Paris Museum Pass and you’ll have to make a reservation as well.
Louvre Museum: €17
Obviously you can visit Paris and not visit the Louvre, so it’s good that it’s included in the Paris Pass. You now have to make reservations for your visit, but it’s an enormous place so that is usually simple. The building itself is a historic palace that would be worth a tour even if it didn’t contain the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo, among thousands of other important pieces.
If you are an art fanatic, feel free to spend 4 or 6 hours in the Louvre or even visit twice. But honestly for most people, it gets overwhelming after an hour or maybe two. When I bring new people to Paris I walk them to the Mona Lisa and then to the Venus de Milo. By that time we’ve passed by thousands of paintings and sculptures and been there 45 minutes. After that we look around at anything else that has caught our eye, and then exit through the gift shop. A focused hour is more enjoyable for most people than wandering around for four hours unsure of what you are looking at. It’s also always pretty crowded.
Musée d’Orsay: €16
Located across the Seine from the Louvre in a gorgeous former train station, the Orsay Museum is actually more enjoyable for most people because it’s far more compact and yet also filled with super famous pieces. Here, along with smaller crowds, you’ll see one of Van Gogh’s Starry Nights, Whistler’s Mother by Whistler, and Bal du moulin de la Galette by Renoir. Honestly, you’ll probably recognize at least 10 or 12 famous paintings and you won’t wear out a pair of shoes in doing so.
Arc de Triomphe: €13
You already know what the Arc de Triomphe looks like, and it’s definitely worth going up to the observation deck on top because you’ll get many of your best Paris photos from there. Most people will climb the 234 stairs, but they also have an elevator for anyone who doesn’t look like climbing 234 stairs is possible (or a wise move). The HOHO buses stop here and it’s a good place to get off for a visit because many other people also get off so there will be empty seats on top when you want to get back on. That isn’t true of several other stops.
Sainte-Chapelle: €11.50
Conveniently located just a short walk from Notre Dame cathedral, the Sainte-Chapelle church will be another unexpected highlight of your Paris visit. This 800-year-old church has easily the world’s most impressive and beautiful stained glass windows in several different rooms. It’s breathtaking when you first see it, and one other great feature is that it’s small enough that you can easily enjoy it in less than an hour. The Paris Pass allows you to pack in many smaller and quicker attractions like this without worrying about going broke in the process.
What ISN'T included in the Paris passes
- Eiffel Tower Elevators – 2nd floor elevator: €18.10, 3rd floor elevator: €28.30
- Catacombs of Paris: €18.00
The Paris Pass DOES now include a guided walk up the 700 steps to the 2nd Floor including expert commentary, but obviously the climb isn’t ideal for everyone.
Extras included in ONLY the Paris Attractions Pass
Eiffel Tower guided climb to 2nd floor: €38
This is an exclusive deal for Paris Pass holders and it’s not for everybody, but it will be the highlight of your Paris trip for many. This is a climb of the 674 stairs up to the 2nd Floor (out of 3) with interesting live commentary and explanations in English. It takes 3 to 4 hours in total, so you won’t be racing up. If you are fit enough this will be amazing. And honestly, the 3rd floor isn’t much higher and it’s so high that all of your best photos will be from the 2nd Floor anyway.
Wine Tasting: €36.00 (includes free full-size bottle of wine for each person)
If you want to learn more about wine and try a few interesting French bottles then this is perfect. It’s a long block from the Louvre but an easy walk along the Seine, so it’s an ideal activity to schedule for after your Louvre visit. You get an English-language mini tour in a historic cellar explaining the key aspects of wine making, and then samples of three different wines near the end. They even send each visitor away with a full bottle of French wine to take with you, so it’s a hard one to pass up.
1-day Big Bus Paris hop-on, hop-off tour: €45.00
This is a full-day hop-on, hop-off pass on the double-decker bus that goes by and stops at almost every major tourist attraction in Paris in about a 3-hour loop. You can use it as transportation to get from one attraction to another, but I highly recommend starting early and doing the full loop once before hopping off. I’ve done at least 25 similar HOHO bus tours in major cities and the Paris one is easily my favorite. Paris is compact enough that the loop isn’t too long, and all of the main sights are clustered on either side of the Seine, so you don’t waste much time driving through random areas.
Whether you buy a Paris Pass or not, I highly recommend you take the HOHO bus tour on your first full morning in the city, and you will have seen all of the main sights and know how to get back to them later before noon.
Bateaux Parisiens River Cruise: €18.00
In my opinion, this is the other must-do tour in Paris, whether you buy a Paris Pass or not. These large boats with plenty of top-deck outdoor seating leave from near the Eiffel Tower on a frequent basis, but they are popular so it’s wise to get there a bit earlier than you want to depart. The trick is to select a departure right around sunset. Paris is stunning as it is lighting up for the evening, and you pass under 18 bridges that are each lit up in a unique way. By the time you get back to the Eiffel Tower an hour later, it will also be gorgeously lit up for amazing photos.
Parc Astérix: €59
This large theme park in the northeast suburbs of Paris is based on the Astérix comic book and characters, so it’s a great option and compromise if you are traveling with young ones. The place has many roller coasters and other thrill rides to go along with the character-themed attractions. There are buses that leave from central Paris that take you to the park for a fee. You can also take the RER train to Charles de Gaulle Airport and then a special shuttle from that train station to the park.
Montmartre & Sacré Coeur walking tour: €36
Leaving three times per day (10AM, 2PM, 5PM), this 90-minute walking tour is a highly recommended way to get to know perhaps Paris’ most interesting neighborhood. Especially gorgeous at night (so the 5PM tour could be perfect), Montmarte is the city’s most famous art district and community. At its center is the namesake hill with the stunning Sacré Coeur cathedral perched on top. This will be one of your favorite stops in Paris and some of your favorite photos as well.
Emily in Paris: The Unofficial Tour
Fans of the hit Netflix show will definitely be interested in this 2-mile guided walking tour of some of Paris’s loveliest neighborhoods. It only goes on Tuesdays and Fridays as of now at 1:30 PM so you’ll want to plan well in advance and make reservations. You’ll see the character’s apartment and other famous exteriors including Gabriel’s restaurant along with the bakery where she has her first pain au chocolat. If you don’t watch the show it’s definitely not worth it, but if you do this will be a major highlight.
Grevin Wax Museum: €26.50
This is the French equivalent of Madame Tussauds and it’s far more enjoyable than most people expect. With a central location close to several other included attractions, the Grevin Wax Museum is in a gorgeous building filled with over 450 characters that look so lifelike that you keep expecting them to move. There are obviously many French historical figures, but also international historical figures and athletes and actors and pop stars. You’ll know scores of them. While it’s true that you might not normally pay €26.50 to visit a wax museum, it’s great with the Paris Pass because you can just pop in for an hour or so in between other places. Most people are very impressed.
The Paris Big Bus Tour and Seine River Cruise are great ways to get oriented for first-time visitors
On your first visit to Paris you definitely want to visit the Louvre, Arc de Triomphe, and hopefully the Palace of Versailles (a bit outside the city center), but you also want to have a good look at the city of Paris itself.
Whether you buy the Paris Pass or not, you’ll want to strongly consider taking the Paris Big Bus Tour (included in the Paris Pass) as well as the Seine River Cruise. Both of these offer an excellent and efficient look at all of the famous places you might want to visit later, and you can do both of them in half a day. Take the hop-on, hop-off bus tour as early in the day as you can, and plan on doing the Seine river cruise just after sunset in order to see how beautifully lit the bridges and famous buildings are at night.
Is the Paris Pass good value?
If all of the above seems confusing, you are in good company. These ‘city cards’ can be a great tool for many first-time visitors to destinations, but in some cases they cost too much or disrupt your trip in other ways. Before a trip it’s easy to plan 4 or 5 museums and attractions for each day, but once you arrive that always feels too ambitious. A big part of what makes Paris so incredible is the gorgeous city itself, not just the museums and main sights.
Another thing to consider is that if you lock in your sightseeing expenses before you arrive there will be the temptation to just rush from one thing to the next to get the most from your money. If you happen to have a day when you only get to one or two attractions, you might have a sense of guilt over missing your pre-trip goals.
On the other hand, if you prefer to pay in advance and then challenge yourself to make sure you see all the amazing sights that Paris has to offer, then the Paris Pass can be a great deal. If you are mostly interested in the museums then the Paris Museum Pass is probably the better deal, but if you also want to take a bus tour or a river cruise or do the wine tasting then the Paris Pass is the way to go.
For great value hotels check out our recommended Paris hotels section, which gives you 5 excellent choices without the hassle of going through nearly two thousand hotels in the area.
New: How to get the most out of a 2-Day or 3-Day Paris Pass
Important advice for getting good value out of a Paris Pass
After using so many of these city passes through the years, and also getting some comments from customers who don’t feel like they got good value out of the Paris Pass, I can reveal two important bits of advice for Paris Pass holders.
1. Start early in the day, at least on your first couple days using the pass
The number one struggle for those who regretted buying a Paris Pass is starting early enough. Especially on your first couple of days using the Paris Pass you are strongly encouraged to leave your hotel by 09:00 or so, and go to the most popular attractions first. Places like the Louvre or the bus tour tend to not get too busy until 11:00 or so, which means that if you start on those things right after breakfast you will have time to do TWO top attractions before lunch. After that you’ll have the rest of the day to do one, two, or three more activities, and you’ll still have the whole evening free to have a long dinner and wander the beautiful neighborhoods.
Some people complain that by the time they got to their first attraction of the day, the place was packed, so they started on a bad note and then felt rushed the rest of the day trying to catch up.
2. Plan your day and route before you leave your hotel
The Paris Pass comes with a very helpful booklet that shows all of the attractions on a map, with hours of operation. If you spend some time before you leave your hotel for the day, planning an efficient route that connects the attractions you want to see that day, it will all seem easy and you’ll get the most out of your Paris Pass.
If you aren’t able to plan ahead like this then maybe the Paris Pass isn’t ideal for you. If you aren’t able to spend a bit of time planning ahead, chances are you’ll be racing around and wasting a lot of time, and you’ll be unhappy with the Paris Pass.
The Paris Pass is ideal for:
- First-time visitors to Paris who want to cover most of the main sights in a few days
- Travelers who want to see and do as much as possible on a short trip
- Visitors who want to orient themselves with the bus tour and Seine river cruise
The Paris Museum Pass by itself is ideal for:
- Culture vultures who plan on visiting at least 2 museums each day but don’t care about tours or anything else
- Budget travelers coming during busy season who want to skip the ticket queues
Visiting with no pass is ideal for:
- Visitors spending more than 7 days in the city who might prefer to see only one sight per day
- Backpackers and other extreme-budget travelers
Exclusive discount for Price of Travel readers
- Get 5% off all Paris Passes
Use coupon code: GO5POT ( – Look for “promo code?” in Step 4 of checkout)
One last thing to consider about budgeting your time in Paris
There are plenty of free things to do in Paris, many of which should be high priorities for first-time visitors, including strolling the Champs-Élysées, exploring the Montmartre neighborhood, and admiring the Eiffel Tower and the Arch de Triumphe from the street, so spending a lot of money on museums and attractions isn’t necessarily the key to enjoying the city.
Also, remember that there are only so many hours in the day, and you can only do one thing at a time. The Louvre itself takes at least 3 hours even for a “quick” visit, and while you are inside it doesn’t matter if you get 50 or 100 other “free” things included, you’ll only have time to do a few per day at the most.
However…
The Paris Pass is a popular and efficient way for first-time visitors to see all the best sights in a short time, with little stress and almost no time wasted in ticket queues. Whichever way you decide to visit Paris, you will have a good time. If you can get a discount on the Paris Pass, it’s obviously a better deal and worth considering.
Does “unlimited use” of the hop-on hop-off bus mean that I can do the trip twice round in one day?
Mary-Lynne,
Yes, actually you could ride the hop-on hop-off bus many times on the day you choose. The only restriction is that you only get one calendar day of riding the bus around, even if you buy a multi-day Paris Pass. But on the one day you choose, you can ride it all you want. Have a great trip. -Roger
I am arriving in Paris on November 11, 2014. We leave the 18th at 1 in the afternoon. I am travelling with my 18 year old son. We are staying in Arr 11. The first day is a holiday so I thought we should start out at the Eiffel Tower. Any ideas on what else we should do since it is a holiday.
I’m thinking about buying the 6 day Paris pass. We will activate it on the 12 so the 11th we will need to pay for the Metro. The only time we will leave the city is for Versailles. I was thinking about the Louvre on the 12 and Versailles on the 13. I want to hit all the major points and travel with only enough money to eat throughout the day. I have a backpack for my camera, maps and wallet.
We only plan on being out one night for an Opera or show. Can you recommend a show? Other than hitting the major spots we don’t shop or spend a lot of money. We like to jamb it all in and do everything trendy. I would love to see a show at the Palais Garnier. Anything for a budget concious mother you reccomend will be helpful. Also I am nervous about being out at night so as early in the evening as possible.
Do you think the 6 day pass is too ambitious? I like that I am also getting the Metro card. We will probably need it at least twice each day.
Also we are flying into the Charles De Gaulle airport. Staying on Rue Petion in ARR 11. Is it beneficial to arrange for a transfer or a shuttle. Or is this something we could use the Metro to navigate on our own.
Thanks for your help.
Christine,
It’s difficult for me to make specific recommendations for entertainment options in Paris, partly because I don’t live there. But I have spent quite a bit of time in Paris and I think you’ll feel safer than you realize once you get there. Particularly in the city center, Paris is probably safer than most US cities. There’s a bit of a pickpocketing problem, but that actually happens more during the day, and in specific areas where tourists are easily distracted by street performers and such. If you’ve seen “civil unrest” in Paris on the news, that actually happens way out in the suburbs, far from where you’ll be.
One reason Paris is quite safe is that there tends to be many people walking around well into the evening. The usual warnings apply in that you shouldn’t go down dark alleys by yourself late at night, but even then, it’s extremely unlikely that anything would happen.
During the day, just be careful with your camera and how you are carrying your backpack. If you find yourself in a big crowd on the street, there could be someone trying to grab something and run, but again, that advice is the same in any large city, and Paris is far safer than most.
The nice thing about the 6-day pass is that it doesn’t cost much more than the 4-day pass, so it allows you to see the sights at a more relaxed pace and still get good value. As I mention in the article above, Paris is a gorgeous city and you’ll want to spend some hours just strolling around the central neighborhoods rather than rushing from sight to sight. So since you’ll be there for a week, I think the 6-day pass is a good call, especially if you use a discount code.
Since you are trying to keep costs down, I’d suggest taking the RER (suburban train) from CDG Airport and then taking the Metro to your hotel. It’s quite straightforward and you’ll be one of hundreds of tourists doing the same thing at the same time. The important signs are also in English.
Lastly, my best budget tip for Paris is to shift your main meal of the day to lunch, as you can get something fantastic for around €12 that would cost at least €20 in the evening. Look for small neighborhood restaurants that offer a “plat du jour” (meal of the day), which will always be good and usually be great value. There aren’t many chain restaurants in Paris, so these little places are easy to find.
I hope this helps, and I’m sure you’ll have a great trip. -Roger
Hi Roger, what a great piece. Just a little of questions. Me and my girlfriend, who is under 26, maybe coming over for our 1st trip to Paris in late November for 3 nights, so 2 whole days and a half day. We both love our museums and art and also want to visit the Notre Dam and of course the Eiffel tower. I was thinking of getting a 2 day card for us but is it really worth it?
Chris,
Mainly to sum up what’s in the article above, a Paris Pass is great for those who want to see a lot on a short visit, especially if it’s their first visit to Paris. The hop-on, hop-off bus tour and the Seine River Cruise are both really nice ways to get oriented in a hurry. And as long as you intend on going into at least a few of the more expensive museums and other included attractions, it’s probably a wise purchase. The included transit card is also really nice because it allows for unlimited Metro rides, and more visitors take the Metro many times per day on a visit like this.
But as I also say in the article, Paris is a really lovely place and if you are more in the mood to just wander around and see only a few of the main attractions, I’m sure you’ll enjoy it even without a Paris Pass. Best of luck either way. -Roger
Cheers for that Roger, Having done some workings out and, with the discount code, It does seem to be worth it. More so for me but even if my partner only used her card for the Bus tour, wine tasting, opera house tour and the river cruise it still comes to 90 euro.
A couple more questions the metro travel card does that work for both days or only one if we got a 2 day Paris pass Also as we may arrive on the Tues afternoon so we will pick it up then, does the pass , not the metro card, start from then or is it from the 1st time you use it, I.E Wednesday morning?
Hi Roger,
Good day!
I’m so glad I found this article. There are a lot of very good tips in here.
Anyway, my husband and I will just be in Paris from Oct 23 (8am) to 26, so technically, we’ll just have 2.5 days in Paris.
We are thinking of getting the 4 day Paris Pass to see the major attractions (including Versailles), but based on the feedback here, it seems there won’t be much queues already around this time. Is my understanding correct that we can only use the HO/HO bus access only once the entire 4-day pass? Also, if we do decide to visit Louvre twice in our stay, would this be allowed in the Paris Pass?
Is the Paris Pass only good for one entrance per attraction for the entire duration? I am getting confused. LOL!
Hope you can help us decide if it’s worth getting the pass in the first place.
Thanks again!
Regards,
May
May,
Always happy to hear that this information is helpful. In October there will still be fairly long queues for the most popular attractions, partly because they usually have fewer ticket windows open after summer is over. Still, if you go to the popular ones early in the day, you should be okay either way.
Unfortunately, you only get one entry to each included attraction with the Paris Pass, including only one day on the hop-on hop-off bus. However, one day on the bus is really perfect because it’s much better as a city tour than it is as transportation between the attractions. The Pass also includes a transit card for unlimited Metro rides, and that is a MUCH more efficient way of getting around.
Also, on such a short visit, you probably wouldn’t want to visit the Louvre twice anyway. It’s huge and amazing inside, but I think you’d get more out of visiting another museum or attraction instead.
It’s hard to decide on a Pass for you, but as I’ve said many times before, you’ll almost certainly have a great time in Paris whether you get a pass or not. Bon voyage. -Roger
Great article, Roger!! I assume you live in Paris too…? I moved over last year and I just read our article out of interest as a friend who will be visiting soon asked me about that. I agree with all you said, I just wanted to pin point one thing with regards to the Visit Travel card… (not sure if someone else already did..). I’d suggest the NAVIGO card for those visiting for more than 3 days… it costs an average 36.00 Eur (rechargeable card included) weekly pass (Monday to Sunday) zone 1-4 and 38.00 Eur weekly pass (Monday-Sunday) zone 1-5 (Val de Europe where the Designers Outllet & Disneyland are located in zone 5 for those interested…). In fact, as a Parisian, I don’t see much advantage in the “Visit Travel card”…
Best wishes, Aldria
A. Combes-DaMatta,
No, I don’t live in Paris, but I’ve been there many times and have studied most of the tourism options for years. Thanks for the kind words. The Visit card that comes with the Paris Pass is extremely easy, especially for those who don’t speak much French, but this sounds like a good tip for those choosing to skip the pass and yet want to move around a lot. Much appreciated. -Roger
Hi Roger,
First of all let me compliment you for the great job you are doing. I think your advices are very specific and helpful.
I am Planning my first visit to Paris from 16th to 20th September 2104 accompanied by my wife & 4 year old daughter. I want to cover the main sights along with Disneyland. Can you please help with ideal places considering that the child may not like to walk much and if there are some facilities(like Pram or play area) for children at some of the attractions. I am planning to buy a travel pass for 4 days, paris pass seems to expensive so would rather buy a museum pass or individual attractions passes. Please suggest. Thank you in advance.
Vishal
Vishal,
I wish I could help you more, but I’m not really an expert on child-friendly alternatives to the popular attractions in Paris. In general, Paris (and all of France) is very child friendly so I think you’d be okay going almost anywhere. The article above is meant to help people decide on a Paris Pass or not, and I try to answer questions if people are still unsure. In your case it sounds like you’ve got it figured out, and I’m sure you’ll have a great time. -Roger
Roger- Great info!! I don’t think I’ve seen this question: Should I do a combo tour of Giverny and Versailles by tour bus or is it better to do Versailles with the Paris Pass and then a Giverny bus tour. I want to maximize my time since I will only be in Paris for 3 1/2 days. Thank you so much!!
Haleh,
Thank you. I’d recommend doing Versailles with the Paris Pass by taking the RER train out there, and doing a Giverny tour separately. For one thing, it looks like adding Versailles to a Giverny adds about €100 to the price, and it will probably actually be faster on your own taking the RER. Also, I’ve been on dozens of those kinds of day tours, and the longer they are, the less fond I am of them. They always require waiting for the slowest person to get back on the coach, and of course you are always traveling in a pack as well. Using the Paris Pass, you can get there in like 35 minutes for about €3.50 each way. And once you are at Versailles you can spend as much or little time there as you please. It’s quite straightforward once you see the instructions once, and your hotel can probably help you as well.
You could actually do the same thing to see Giverny as well, but it won’t be as much of a savings since it’s not part of the Paris Pass. Best of luck with it all. -Roger
Roger, First, I have to say that this is a great resource thank you so much for all of your valuable information. I am traveling to Paris and will be there from Aug 25th – Aug 30th. I am trying to decide whether to purchase a Paris Pass for 4 days or separate Museum Pass for 4 days and a Paris Visite card for zones 1-5 for 5 days. I am traveling to Paris for the first time and alone. I plan on taking the transit from CDG to my hotel near the Eiffel tower and to visit Versailles. I also want to hit most of the major museums and attractions during my trip. I am confused because I have done a bit of research and it appears to be cheaper to buy a Museum pass for 4 days at 56 Euros and a Paris Visite travelcard for zones 1-5 for 5 days at 65.50 Euros than to buy a Paris Pass for 4 days (173 Euros) which does not cover travel to Versailles or the Airport anyway. Would you be able to confirm this for me? I want to get the best “bang for my buck”. Thank you Jennifer
Jennifer,
Thank you. Yes, it’s true that a Museum Pass and a Visite Card are cheaper than a Paris Pass, mainly because the Museum Pass doesn’t include such popular attractions as the hop-on, hop-off bus tour, the Seine river cruise, the chateau wine attraction, and a few more. Most of those extra things are kind of expensive on their own, but if they don’t interest you much then the Museum Pass is the way to go. The Paris Pass also comes with a helpful guidebook and a few other small extras, though I’m sure you’ll have a great trip without them if you are mainly focusing on museums. Bon voyage. -Roger
Hi Roger.
May I say what a brilliant feature this is. Thank you so much for starting it. I have read it all the way through and some of my q’s are already answered so thank you.
I will be in Paris from 25 Sept to 28 Sept meeting up witha friend from Texas who flies in to CDG around 8.45 Am. I fly in to Orly from Southampton at 8.30 Thurs evening. I would like to know how I can get to my hotel from Orly. We are staying at the Montpellier Hotel in Montmartre area, 18th Arr. Also, I would like to meet my friend at CDG on Fri am if poss. She asked about going to the Moulin Rouge Sat. night, but after your comment, I’m not sure it’s worth the £90 pounds to get in! We are there for the Mozart De L’Opera concert on the Friday evening. The Stadie des Sportes on the Porte des Versailles I think. What zone is that in please? I plan the HoHo bus and Seine river tour on Friday. I’m really only interested in the Eiffel Tower, Arc, the Louvre, and maybe Notre Dame and Sacre Coer (which is within walking distance of our hotel anyway.) Are any passes or travel tickets necessary for this or shall we be better off walking and pay as you go? We both leave Paris on Sunday evening. I have a return flight from Orly at 8.55 pm.
Many thanks if you can answer these q’s.
Anna
Anna,
I’m especially happy to hear that you found answers to some other questions in the article and other comments above. My goal is to try to answer questions that relate to the article above, or some general advice if I feel confident in the answer. Many of your questions I’d need to Google myself, though you can actually find answers to several of them on the Paris wikitravel page, which is always updated. For example, there are at least 3 or 4 different ways of getting from Orly into the city center, and I don’t know your preferences well enough to recommend just one of them.
It’s also unclear if you are considering a Paris Pass or not. It sounds like it might not be a great fit for you, although many of the things you are planning are obviously included so it could still save you time and money. As for getting around, you’ll want to take the Metro between most things because there are stations every few blocks, and traffic can make walking longer distances a bit of a headache. In the Montmartre area there is little traffic, so you’ll enjoy just strolling around, especially in the evenings when the lighting is amazing. And yes, I’ve actually not been inside the Moilin Rouge myself, mostly because it’s long had a reputation as a tourist trap that no real French person has visited in decades.
Best of luck, and I’m happy to help more if you have a question that is more up my alley. -Roger
I just wanted to know if there was a train or bus from the airports to the centre or where our hotel is. Or what the best way was, bearing in mind it will be late in the evening by the time I get outside the terminal! I am also on a very tight budget. I am happy doing anything. Also on the Expedia UK website, there is shared or private transport to the hotels from the airports, but none of their links work when you click on them, so I was unable to get more information, or book anything. Thanks anyway for your answer. I was considering a pass and or the travel pass, but it seemed cheaper to just pay for what I wanted to see rather than a lot of extras I didn’t actually want. I am trying to get an idea of how much money I need to spend and or budget for. I also have to eat, so some ideas of fairly cheap eateries would be good. Thanks again.
Anna
Hi Roger
My parents, brother, and I will be staying in Paris for 2.5 days, starting from August 11 at 2pm to end of August 13. We are leaving on August 14 in the morning. We will stay at the 13th district near Chinatown. It’s our first time here so we want to see all the top attractions as well as the cruise. Do you recommend to get this Paris Pass? I was 100% positive that I would get it until I have read some posts that mention about how they do not help much with the queue. We are not very into museums, we just want to see the main/popular attractions that the city has.
In case we’re not getting this pass, what attractions do you recommend? Is there any way to pass through the lines quicker (with no Paris Pass), like buying tickets online ahead of time etc? Also, where do we buy the cruise ticket, at the boat or online? Do you recommend buying the HOHO bus? Would it be better if we take the metro to the attractions, instead of the HOBO bus?
Thank you so much for your time. Your reply would help us greatly.
Trisha
Trisha,
August is a peak month for tourists in Paris, even though many locals take the whole month off and go elsewhere. Seeing as how you are going in the busiest month, and you have such a short time, I really do recommend the Paris Pass as the best way to see a lot in a hurry. The 2-day version should be perfect, and you can validate it for August 12 and 13, which will allow you the first afternoon and evening to walk around and soak in some general atmosphere. The pass really should save you time in those ticket queues if you want to see the top attractions, which it sounds like you do.
I highly recommend the hop on hop off bus tour for the first morning of your pass, and probably the Seine cruise later that day. Between those two things, you’ll be able to see most of the main sights from the outside, including all the key neighborhoods and gorgeous park areas. If you opted to go without the Paris Pass, you’d spend quite a bit of time sorting out all the little details that are included in the pass.
You aren’t staying too close to the center, so you’ll be riding the Metro quite a few times, but it’s very easy to use once you’ve been down there once and had a look at the map. There are Metro stops literally every few blocks in the main areas, so every hotel and attraction is close to a Metro station. Oh, and while I highly recommend the HOHO bus as a tour and orientation, I don’t think it’s useful as transportation. As a result, I recommend taking the whole route once and then going between attractions by Metro. Not only does the bus move slowly in street traffic (good for a tour, bad for transport) but they can often be packed, so people trying to get on at a random stop might not even fit or they’d have to share seats with others. It’s best to start at the first stop, or the stop in front of the Paris Pass ticket office, because plenty of people will be getting off at those.
Best of luck, and I’m sure you’ll have a great time. -Roger
Thank you for your recommendation.
I do have 1 more question. Do you think I should save 1 day for the Palace of Versailles, and 1 day for HOHO bus, Eiffel Tower, Arc of Triumph, Seine cruise, Louvre, and Notre Dame? In this case, I wouldn’t need to buy the Paris Pass, right? Do you recommend doing that? Do you think we can go through them in 1 day?
Again, thank you so much for your help.
Trisha
Trisha,
Yes, that plan you have in mind would work, but on such a short trip I’m not sure I would dedicate a whole day to the Palace. It’s true that you have to get there by RER (surburban rail), though it’s under an hour each way, so you could do a 3 or 4-hour Versailles visit and still have half a day to see a couple of the sights within Paris. Trying to do all of those other ones in a single day would be very busy, especially if you had to wait in the ticket queues.
So I really do think a Paris Pass would work well for your goals, but it’s an amazing city and I’m sure you’ll have a great time no matter what you decide. It sounds like you are well organized, and that’s really the key on a short visit. You’ll do fine either way. -Roger
Hi,
The reason why I plan on not to use the pass is because I am not sure if I have enough time to get in those attractions, so I might just look at it from the outside especially the Eiffel Tower, Arch of Triumph etc. So it could be a waste if I don’t utilize the pass.
Sorry, 2 more question.
1. Should I buy the Paris Visite Travelcard, can I get to most attractions from my hotel without paying extra?
2. Where can I buy the cruise ticket? Do you recommend buying in person or online?
Thank you so much! I really appreciate it.
Trisha,
1. You’ll be riding the Metro many times in those days you are in Paris, so a Visite Travelcard will come in handy and I’d recommend it even without a Paris Pass. And yes, all of the main attractions are within the city center that is covered by the Travelcard, except for the Versailles Palace, which is a bit farther out.
2. You can buy a cruise ticket in person, or online at the official site. Other travel websites sell those same tickets, often for higher prices, so stick with the official one or just buy when you get there. -Roger