Paris Pass Review 2024: Is It a Good Deal For You?
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Paris Pass Review 2024: Is It a Good Deal For You? Is the Paris Pass worth it? In this Paris Pass review, we explain the features of the pass, explore what it costs, and discover if it’s a good value for your travel plans.
Paris is one of the most incredible cities in the world. It is also one of the most expensive.
Similar to visiting New York City, prices in the city’s tourist areas can be ridiculous. At the most popular attractions, ticket lines are usually outrageously long. So, when it comes to sightseeing in Paris, a discount card is often a great way to save tons of time and money. That’s where the Paris Pass can help!
Over the past few years, the Paris Pass has undergone some major changes. In addition to a new look, the pass now offers more attractions, more savings, and more value.
Paris Pass Review 2024: Is It a Good Deal For You? Pass review will dive into what the card offers and help determine if the revamped Paris Pass is right for you. We’ll also compare it to the city museum pass, so you know exactly what you’re getting.
We’ve got a lot to cover, so let’s get started!
The Paris Pass: How It Works
The Paris Pass is an all-inclusive sightseeing pass that includes entry to up to 80+ of the best museums and attractions in Paris. It simplifies the sightseeing experience for visitors and strives to save them time and money in the process.
The Paris Pass comes in a few different options, ranging from 2 to 6 days in length. This pass works on a consecutive calendar day basis, which means the clock starts ticking the moment you use it, regardless of the time of day. For example, if you activate your pass at 3 p.m. on Day 1, it still counts as one day. Keep that in mind before you activate your pass at the first attraction.
Unlike most sightseeing passes, however, the Paris Pass combines two of the city’s best tourist cards into one easy-to-use pass. With your purchase of a 4- or 6-day Paris Pass, you’ll receive access to both:
- Paris Museum Pass
- Paris Attractions Pass
Paris Pass Review 2024: Is It a Good Deal for You?
Paris Pass Review 2023: Is It a Good Deal For You? Yes, you read that right. That’s two passes in one! (Please note that Paris Passes shorter than 4 days do not get access to the Paris Museum Pass.)
Similar to other combination cards (such as the Vatican & Rome Card), the Paris Pass actually includes the city’s official museum pass. The attractions pass provides access to an additional 35+ tours, attractions, and experiences.
The Paris Pass is also easy to use. Don’t worry about standing in line to buy tickets. Simply present your Paris Pass or Paris Museum Pass at the included attractions, and you’re in! Easy peasy.
Editor’s Note: Some sights and attractions require reservations, while other attractions, like the hop-on, hop-off bus tour and river cruise, may require a valid ticket. (Please visit the attraction pages on the Paris Pass website for current information.)
Top Paris Attractions Included on the Paris Pass
The Paris Pass includes free entry to up to 80 of the top attractions in Paris. The city museum portion of the pass includes:
- Louvre Museum: €17
- Palace of Versailles: €18
- Musée d’Orsay, €16
- Arc de Triomphe: €13
- The Army Museum (Napoleon’s Tomb): €14
- Château de Fontainebleau: €13
- Pantheon: €11.50
- Sainte-Chapelle: €11.50
- La Conciergerie: €11.50
- Basilica Cathedral of Saint-Denis: €9.50
- Picasso Museum: €14
- …and many more
Paris Pass Review 2023: Is It a Good Deal For You? The Paris Pass also includes entry to the following attractions, which are not offered on the official Paris Museum Pass:
- Eiffel Tower Guided Climb: €38
- Les Caves du Louvre Wine Tasting: €35
- Notre Dame and the Archeological Crypt Experience, €36
- Bateaux Parisiens River Cruise: €18
- Big Bus Paris Hop-on Hop-Off 1-Day Tour: €45
- Montparnasse Tower: €21
- Hidden Gems in Le Marais Walking Tour: €36
- Parc Astérix: €59
- Aquarium de Paris: €26
- Montmartre & Sacré Coeur Walking Tour: €36
- Ballon de Paris Generali: €18
- Dali Exhibition: €14
- Grévin Wax Museum: €26
- …and many more
Editor’s Note: Prices are current as of April 26, 2023. Some attractions require reservations. (Please check the Paris Pass website for attraction hours and days of operation.)
Find the complete list of Paris Pass attractions here.
Paris Pass Pricing
Now that you know what’s included, let’s talk about pricing. The Paris Pass offers 2, 3, 4, and 6-day packages. Here is the current pricing structure:
| Passes | Adult Price (ages 18+) | Child Price (ages 2–27) |
|---|---|---|
| 2 Day Paris Pass | €104 | €69 |
| 3-Day Paris Pass | €129 | €79 |
| 4-Day Paris Pass | €199 | €84 |
| 6-Day Paris Pass | €229 | €89 |
| *Current as of April 26, 2023 | ||
SAVE BIG IN PARIS: With the Paris Pass, you’ll enjoy entry to up to 80+ of the best museums and attractions in Paris. Plus, you’ll save time and money while you do it! Learn more here.
Is the Paris Pass worth it?
We already know Paris isn’t the cheapest place to visit, so can the Paris Pass help you save money? After a major overhaul during the pandemic, the pass provides a lot more value than it did previously. With that said, it still isn’t right for everybody.
To understand whether the Paris Pass is worth it for your trip, let’s break down the cost of an adult pass on a per-day basis:
- 2-Day Pass: €52.00/day
- 3-Day Pass: €43.00/day
- 4-Day Pass: €49.75/day
- 6-Day Pass: €38.17/day
In general, the longer the pass, the more per-day value you get from the card. With that said, there is a bit of a per-day jump from the 3- to 4-day pass. Remember, though, that the 2- and 3-day passes do not include the Paris Museum Pass. With the 4-day pass and the Paris Museum Pass, you’ll actually get access to many more of the top museums in Paris. This alone is worth the extra per-day cost.
With that said, you’ll still need to visit enough sights each day to make the pass worth it.
Paris Pass Review 2024: Is It a Good Deal For You?
In my opinion, first-time visitors and moderate to heavy sightseers should easily be able to get their money’s worth from the Paris Pass, provided they visit 2-3 attractions per day. Additionally, you’ll want to ensure that you visit some spots that are only included on the attractions card and not the official city museum pass. If you do, you are likely to save money.
Paris Pass Review 2023: Is It a Good Deal For You? Here’s an example: Let’s assume you purchase the 4-day Paris Pass. Using your city museum card, you visit one museum per day – including the Louvre, Palace of Versailles, Musée d’Orsay, and the Army Museum (€65 value). You also use the attractions pass to visit one attraction per day – including the Eiffel Tower tour, wine tasting, Le Marais walking tour, and the Montmartre & Sacré Coeur walking tour (€145 value).
In our example above, you’ve visited just 2 attractions per day and gotten a total of €210 in value (per adult) from your 4-day pass! That means you’ve saved €11 per adult, which isn’t terrible. Throw in the river cruise and the HOHO Bus and you’ve saved another €63 for a total savings of €74 per adult. Now we’re getting somewhere! Plus, every attraction you visit beyond those we listed means saving even more!
Don’t forget, the Paris Pass not only saves you money, it also saves you time. With the pass, you’ll enjoy fast-track entry to the busiest sights, saving you hours of standing in line. So, if your travel style is a good fit, the Paris Pass will almost certainly be worth it for you.
Save Time and Money in Paris: Visit up to 80+ of Paris’s best sights at a big discount with the Paris Pass! Learn more here.
Top Reasons to Get the Paris Pass
Save Money
Paris Pass Review 2023: Is It a Good Deal For You? In the past, users may have struggled to get value from the pass. No more. The new version of the pass helps users save big, provided you visit some of the attractions not included on the city museum card.
Convenience
What’s the best reason to get the Paris Pass? In a word, convenience.
The Paris Pass combines the Paris Museum Pass and the Paris Attractions Pass to help you enjoy the best sights and attractions in the city. Additionally, it makes buying tickets simple. Instead of purchasing your tickets separately, up to 80+ of the top attractions in Paris are included on the card, which is perfect for first-time visitors and those who plan to do a lot of sightseeing.
Fast Track Entry
Speaking of convenience, waiting in line isn’t just frustrating; it’s also a waste of time. When traveling, time is practically as valuable as money.
Unfortunately, lines at the most popular spots in Paris can often mean waiting for over an hour. With the Paris Pass, you’ll skip the ticket lines at many attractions and save yourself valuable sightseeing time. (Please note: You may still have to queue with others who bought advanced tickets.)
Guided Tours
Paris Pass Review 2023: Is It a Good Deal For You? One of my favorite additions to the reimagined Paris Pass are the guided tours.
I think guided tours are a wonderful way to learn about any city, especially a city brimming with rich history like Paris. The addition of guided tours – like the Montmartre & Sacré Coeur walking tour and the Le Marais walking tour – add a ton of value to this pass.
Notre Dame and Archeological Crypt Experience
Paris Pass Review 2023: Is It a Good Deal For You? I am super excited for this addition to the Paris Pass!!!
As you probably know, the magnificent Notre Dame Cathedral caught fire on April 15th, 2019. I was in the airport that day and saw it on a TV screen prior to boarding a flight. Like others who have visited the cathedral, it’s hard to describe how sick I felt watching this magnificent building succumbing to the flames.
Thankfully, the twin bell towers, the South Rose Window, the organ, and much of the art inside the cathedral survived. Unfortunately, the spire and the incredible wooden roof (some of which dated back to the 13th century) are gone.
Obviously, due to the extensive damage, the inside cathedral is still closed to visitors until further notice. However, you can now take a lovely one-hour guided tour around the outside of the cathedral.
Paris Pass Review 2023: Is It a Good Deal For You? During the tour, your guide will share stories about what was lost and saved during the fire, provide commentary on Notre Dame’s bell towers and gargoyles, and explain where Point Zero is – the geographical center of Paris. After the guided tour, you’ll be brought to the entrance of the crypts, where you can explore the original city of Paris underneath Notre Dame on your own.
Hop-On Hop-Off Bus Tour
A hop-on, hop-off bus tour is another excellent way to familiarize yourself with Paris. It’s also a good way to get from one sight to the next.
Paris Pass Review 2023: Is It a Good Deal For You? The tour makes 10 stops throughout Central Paris and features audio guides in 11 different languages. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, buses ran every 8–15 minutes during the summer (10–15 minutes in the winter). Currently, buses are running about every 40 minutes.
Please be aware that, once activated, the HOHO Bus Tour is only good for one day.
Other Benefits of the Paris Pass
- Seine River Cruise: This one-hour cruise allows you to enjoy the beauty of Paris while floating under some of the city’s most iconic landmarks and bridges. The cruise also comes with an audio guide that’s available in 13 different languages.
- Wine Tasting: This guided wine tasting tour is unique to the Paris Pass. At the end, you even get to take home a bottle of wine! (Please note that this tour is adults only and reservations are required.)
- Free Guidebook: Your purchase of the Paris Pass includes a guidebook to help you plan your trip. It’s great for checking opening/closing times and for reference during the day.
Skip the Lines in Paris! Don’t waste precious time in Paris! With the Paris Pass, you can skip the ticket line at many of the city’s best attractions. Get your Paris Pass here!
Where the Pass Falls Short
In the past, you may have struggled to get your money’s worth from the Paris Pass. However, the recent improvements to the pass have added a ton of value. The savings are still more modest than some passes in other cities (like the London Pass), but users can now expect to receive a good return on investment, provided they use what it has to offer.
With that said, if you have zero interest in the “attractions” portion of the card, you probably shouldn’t get the pass at all. Instead, you’ll save more with a simple Paris Museum Pass.
Paris Pass Review 2023: Is It a Good Deal For You? For example, the 4-day Paris Museum Pass costs just €70. If all you want to see are museums and monuments, that’s a significant savings over the Paris Pass. Of course, you’ll miss out on the guided Eiffel Tower climb, the Seine River cruise, several walking tours, and the wine tasting, but that may not be your thing anyway.
Paris Pass Review 2024: Is It a Good Deal For You?
Also, keep in mind that the Paris Pass does not include entry to the Paris Opera House. This beautiful building served as the inspiration for “Phantom of the Opera,” and it’s one spot you don’t want to miss! Whether you buy the Paris Pass or just the museum pass, these tickets must be purchased separately.
Hiding in plain sight is the fact that neither the 2-day nor 3-day Paris Pass includes the Paris Museum Pass. In the past, all of the Paris Pass options included a Museum Pass, so this is a bit of a disappointment. Additionally, the museum pass must be used on consecutive days. So, you’ll need to make sure you visit all the museums you want on back-to-back days.
Paris Pass Review 2024 Finally, it is important to note that the Paris Pass now comes with purse value limits. This means you are limited in the total amount of value you can get from the card based on the regular admission pricing of the attractions. The purse value limits are high (i.e., €520 for a 4-day pass, €660 for a 6-day pass), so these are unlikely to affect you. However, we’re simply opposed to putting purse value limits on an all-inclusive pass.
Who is the Paris Pass good for?
First-time visitors to Paris: The Paris Pass is a good option for most first-time visitors. The card is super convenient, and it simplifies your experience by including most of the attractions you’d want to see anyway.
Visitors who want to do as much sightseeing as possible If you’d like to visit 2-3 sights per day, you’ll probably get a good deal with the Paris Pass.
Those who get tired of museums: Paris Pass Review 2024 For those who don’t want to be stuck inside a museum or monument every day, the Paris Pass provides some nice options for other activities. The walking tours, river cruise, and wine tasting are all fun experiences to break up your museum hopping. Parc Astérix is also a fun theme park that the entire family can enjoy.
Anyone wanting to avoid ticket lines: Ticket lines are almost always long at Paris’s busiest attractions. The fast-track entry feature helps you avoid those queues.
Who Should Avoid the Pass?
Visitors interested ONLY in museums: If you’re not interested in the “attractions” portion of the pass (think walking tours, river cruises, wine tastings, etc.), skip the Paris Pass and just get the Paris Museum Pass instead.
Extreme value seekers and those uninterested in museums If you’re on a really tight budget or don’t plan to visit the museums, skip getting a pass all together.
Paris Pass Review: Tips for Using the Pass
- Buy the Pass on Sale: In addition to visiting multiple attractions per day, the easiest way to get even more bang for your buck is to buy the Paris Pass on sale! This pass goes on sale fairly often, sometimes for as much as 20% off. If that’s the case, you’re going to get a great deal. Check if it is on sale right now by clicking the link above.
- Plan for Closures: Many of the major museums in Paris are closed on either Monday or Tuesday.Paris Pass Review 2024 Be sure to plan your travel itinerary around these closings!
- Start early. Remember, the Paris Pass works on a consecutive-day basis. While getting an early start each day helps you see more, it’s especially important to start early on Day 1. You don’t want to jump on the river cruise at 5 p.m. and activate your card. You’ll essentially lose a whole day of sightseeing!
- Get a Travel Credit Card You’ll want to have a credit card with you, preferably one that doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees. The top travel cards can even help you get flights, hotels, and other travel-related perks for less. Find our list of the best travel rewards credit cards here.
- Group Your Sightseeing By Area To get the most value from your card, it’s best to visit two museums or monuments and one attraction per day. It also helps to plan your sightseeing around activities located in the same general area. Otherwise, you’ll waste valuable time crisscrossing town on the way to your next stop.
How to Buy the Paris Pass
Getting your Paris Pass is quick and easy. Just follow this link to buy your Paris Pass online.
Collecting your pass is also fairly easy. After making your purchase, you’ll receive an email with your Paris Pass. You can then download the app to use the pass digitally, or you can print a paper copy off at home.
Paris Pass Review 2023: Is It a Good Deal For You? To collect your Paris Museum Pass, you’ll need to visit the redemption center upon arriving in central Paris. Once you’re there, simply show your Paris Pass, and you’ll receive a physical Paris Museum Pass card.
Here is location information for retrieving your included Paris Museum Pass:
Big Bus Information Center
11 Avenue de l’Opéra
75009 Paris
Wrapping Up: Is the Paris Pass Worth It?
And now for the question you’ve been waiting for: Is the Paris Pass worth it?
Likely, yes.
If you’re a first-time visitor to Paris, a sightseeing pass is an efficient way to make the most of your time there. Having a pass simplifies things (no getting individual tickets, standing in line, etc.), plus it helps prioritize your sightseeing.
A Paris Pass may also be a good fit for those who plan to do a lot of sightseeing and want to do it as cheaply and efficiently as possible. Buying the pass while it’s on sale can also help you get even more bang for your buck.
On the other hand, if your plan is to visit museums only, getting the Paris Museum Pass may be a better fit. Paris Pass Review 2024 You’ll still get to skip the ticket lines, but you won’t get access to certain attractions like walking tours, wine tastings, or the river cruise.
If visiting museums isn’t on your itinerary, you probably don’t need a pass at all, although you’ll miss out on some of the world’s best art and sightseeing!
Determine your travel style and decide what you want to experience during your trip to Paris.Paris Pass Review 2024 If sightseeing and museums are in the mix, the newly improved Paris Pass could likely save you a lot of time and money.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this Paris Pass review, and please let me know if you have questions. Above all, have a great time in Paris. Until next time, happy traveling!