Paris Pass

The Louvre, the Pompidou, the Musée D'Orsay, the Musée Rodin, the Eiffel Tower, the Opéra Garnier, Versailles, Notre Dame, the Sacre Coeur, the Arc de Triomphe? There is so much to see, that the Paris Pass can be a great help!

Tourist Card

Paris Pass: Entry to 60+ Attractions and Hop On Hop Off Bus Tour

The best attractions in Paris, at the best price

Perfect if you are eager to discover the monuments and museums of Paris while saving time and money by getting tickets

From $ 128 at Hellotickets

Tourist cards are passes that you can hire for a certain number of days to access transport and the main tourist attractions of the city at a reduced price. The Paris Passes is the main card of Paris and also one of the most profitable.

With this card, you get access at the best price to the most popular attractions in Paris, such as the Louvre, the Arc de Triomphe, or the Paris Opera. In addition, public transportation is included and you can also hop on the tourist bus and take a cruise on the Seine River - a complete package!

Why I recommend the Paris Pass: if you want to make the most of your trip visiting the most emblematic monuments and museums, you can save time (the Paris Pass lets you skip the queues at the ticket office) and money, as it will give you access to the attractions at a fixed, cheaper price.

You can get the Paris Pass from $ 156 at Hellotickets. The first thing you need to know is that the price of the Paris Pass depends on the number of days for which you book the card. You can book the Paris Pass for two, three, four or six days.

During the time you have it active, you can access as many of the included attractions as you want without paying anything extra and without waiting in line (many museums have an entrance reserved exclusively for members of this card).

Pick-up

Once you have purchased the Pass, you can choose from the following delivery methods:

Activation

Once you buy your Paris Pass it will be valid for one year and will be activated the first time you use it at an attraction or on the Paris public transport (which is also included). Please note that activation is by calendar days and not by hours, so it is not advisable to use your Paris Pass for the first time at the end of one of the days of your trip, but at the beginning of the day to take advantage of it throughout the day.

The Paris Pass pack is divided into three parts: a pass for the tourist attractions, a pass for the museums (this is the Paris Museum Pass and can also be purchased separately), and a card to use public transport. In addition, the Paris Pass gives you access to a range of discounts in selected stores and restaurants and you also receive a guidebook and a map of the city.

Attractions and activities included

Attractions not included

As you can see, there is a big absence in this list: the Eiffel Tower climb is not included in the Paris Pass as neither is the entrance to the catacombs, the entrance to Disneyland or the Moulin Rouge show. These are experiences that you will have to pay for separately, but considering all that this tourist pass covers, I can assure you that it is still cost-effective.

There is no exact answer, it all depends on what you are going to use it for and what kind of traveler you are. If you make the most of it, with the Paris Pass you will save money and time (remember that the Paris Pass includes skip the line entry and this in places like Versailles or the Louvre becomes a great advantage), that's for sure.

When does the Paris Pass pay off?

• If you are interested in culture and don't want to miss the main landmarks, make a list of their prices separately, add them up and compare it to the price of the pass.
• The Paris Pass comes with the Museum Pass included, which makes it the most cost-effective option to visit the maximum number of attractions and museums in the city (and there are many!).
• If you have in mind to take a Cruise on the Seine, it is also included.
• If you are going to move around Paris a lot, using the public transportation will come in handy.
• If you feel like taking an excursion to Versailles, the entrance fee is also included.
• In general, if you visit Paris during the very cold or rainy season, this card will be useful to skip the bad weather inside its wonderful museums and places of interest.

When does the Paris Pass NOT pay for itself?

• If you are going to be in Paris for a very long trip you don't need to pack all your sightseeing into a few days, so the Paris Pass will not be cost-effective and you are better off enjoying the culture of Paris at your leisure.
• If you also don't love the idea of visiting the museums or the attractions inside, you won't get much out of it either.
• If you don't have in mind to use the public transportation of the city, you won't use this to your advantage either.

Ana's Traveller Tip

Make a list of the museums and attractions you want to see in Paris and calculate how much the tickets would cost separately to see how much you would save with the Paris Pass.

If you have decided to purchase the Paris Pass, don't miss the opportunity with this card to take a tour of Paris from a bus with scenic views. Bus tours are often underrated as a "too touristy" option, but I advise you to get rid of your preconceptions because this tour is very enjoyable.

Keep in mind that the size of the city makes it impossible to visit it "at a glance", something that the Big Bus tour of Paris does provide. The fact that visiting a city from a vehicle is not the ideal option does not exclude the possibility of enjoying an excursion with commentary included to enjoy its main points of interest before or after visiting them in depth.

The duration of the complete tour is one hour and a half and you can learn more details about the route and what you will see in this article on Hop on Hop off Bus Tours.

Although the Paris Pass is the most in demand, there are other tourist cards for visiting Paris. They are all quite similar in terms of use, number of attractions included, and conditions. However, there are subtle differences between them that may make you choose one or the other.

Paris Passlib

The Paris Passlib card is very similar to the Paris Pass, but will suit you if you are looking for a 5 day option which is the only one that the Paris Pass does not have. It is priced a little lower, so it may be a good option if you are not interested in seeing the Paris Opera, climbing the Montparnasse Tower, or doing the wine tasting thing.

These three tourist attractions are the main difference with the Paris Pass, so if you are not interested in any of them, the Paris Passlib may be a better option. Also, with the Paris Pass if you pay a little extra you can get access to a tour on the second floor of the Eiffel Tower.

Go Paris Pass

The main advantage of the Go Paris card is the price. With a duration of two days (there is no possibility of adding more days as in the rest of the city passes) includes all the attractions and main museums of Paris for a lower price than other tourist cards.

However, keep in mind that with the Go Paris Pass you will not be able to use public transport in the city, so if you are staying outside the historic center of the city, it may not be worth it.

Paris Museum Pass

The Paris Museum Pass is a very good option if your main interest is the Paris museums. The difference with the Paris Pass is that most of the visits included are to museums. For example, unlike the Paris Pass, the Paris Museum Pass does not include wine tasting, visit to the Paris Opera, walking tours, or the climb up the Montparnasse Tower.

It does however include the climb to the Arc de Triomphe, the visit to the Sainte Chapelle, the entrance to Versailles, or the climb to the towers of Notre Dame (the latter is currently unavailable due to the 2019 fire). It also includes a one-hour cruise on the Seine with live commentary during the tour. If you purchase online this card you have the option of delivery to your Paris hotel, but not to a private residence within the city.

The Paris Museum Pass is included in the Paris Pass, but please note that as there is no three-day option with this card, if you purchase the Paris Pass for three days you will receive the Paris Museum Pass for two days.

Ana's Traveller Tip

If you opt for the Paris Pass, activate the attractions card first and then the Museum Pass so that you can accumulate more time between the two cards.

Plan

Any pass will pay off if you are going to visit all the places you can in a short period of time, but that does not mean rushing from one place to another. With good planning you will be able to access a greater number of tourist attractions (and therefore save money) without giving up calm and tranquility.

Before you start your trip, make a list of the things you want to see and organize yourself according to the zones in which they are located; in many of these areas you will also have the opportunity to take a free walking tour, so don't think that buying the Paris Pass means spending the whole day visiting closed sites.

Book a day for the museums

The day you visit the Louvre or the day you go to see Versailles you will spend quite a bit of time (although with this card you will avoid the queues), so they will be days when you will not be able to see many more sites. However, Paris has many small and beautiful museums that you will visit in less time; for example, the Rodin museum or the Dali space are terribly underrated as they usually go unnoticed by most tourists.

Keep in mind the opening hours

Before activating your card check the opening days and opening hours of museums or tourist attractions. Some are closed on holidays or special days. If your trip coincides with one of these days, do not activate the card for that day or take the opportunity to take the Seine river cruise, wine tasting, or visit Versailles.

Find out about discounts and guided tours

You may be touring the Paris Opera district and not know that your Paris Pass has a guided tour included. Before planning a visit to an attraction check that the Paris Pass does not include a guided tour of the area.

Also, ask at the stores or restaurants you go to if you have discounts with this card as you can not only save a considerable amount on visits, but also in local restaurants or souvenir stores.

In the case of the Paris Pass and the Museum Pass, activate first one card and then another

The Paris Pass is three cards in one: the one for transportation, the one for tourist attractions, and the one for museums. I recommend activating the attractions card first and doing the activities that are exclusive to it, and the next day activate the museums card. With this simple trick, you will be able to save time and visit even more attractions without having to invest in a superior card.

Also, note that the time on this card runs by calendar days of use and not by hours; if you arrive in Paris in the afternoon spend that day touring the city and activate your Paris Pass the next morning so you don't lose time of use.

With the Paris Pass, there are very few things you will have left to see in Paris as it includes almost everything. After a few days using this card, you will have very few things left to see in the city, but there are a few things like the Eiffel Tower which you have more information about here: Eiffel Tower Tickets.

Monuments apart, in Paris there are shows worth seeing. One of the best known is the Moulin Rouge show and you can also buy separate tickets to complete your visit to Paris and learn more about the show in this other article on Moulin Rouge Tickets.

Finally, one of the most frequent questions you may have when reading about the wide range of museums included in the Paris Pass will be how to choose. I have written this other article about Museums Tickets which you can take a look at to make up your mind.