Are Day Passes/Card Worth It?

[asian77]

Hi again

I was just wondering...

Most city/country websites mention a day pass/card which offer free or discounted entrance to musuems and attractions usually at 25Euro or more...from your experience is it worth it to purchase these cards or just buy regular tickets?

thanks!

[herrbert]

It depends. If you were already planning the things they give you a discount on, it can be worth it. But my experience is that under normal circumstances it's better just to get tickets for the underground. That gives you more freedom, to do what you want to do.

What good is it that you get a discount, on things you were not intended to visit in the first place? Also please notice that in London (and also other places) a (lot of the) museums don't charge money.

[rchua]

in my experience the paris museum pass is worth the money! we bought a two day pass for about 30 or so euro and we got to see most of the museums/sites in paris. you got to remember that the louve, versaille, and a few others cost about 5-8 euros each or more. this didn't include the eiffel tower though. another bonus is that you get to skip the lines and just go in. most of the other tourists that we saw had to wait in line for an hour to get into major sites but my friend and i just walked to the door. the was pass was definately a time saver since we were only in paris for 4 days.

[hyzenthlay]

if you want to see all the sites in a given city, it will definitely be worth the price. all the entrance fees add up so you could definitely save some money by getting the tourist pass.

as for the metro, get the daily ticket in big cities where you plan to move around a lot, such as rome. for smaller cities and towns or for places you will walk more, it is unnecessary.

[madamtrashheap]

A big OUI to the Paris Monuments & Museums Card - you can really get your money's worth on the two-day pass if you plan your visits well (take note of Museum closures in Paris on Mondays and Tuesdays).

Herrbert's point about London is good - most main Museums are free and depending on how long you're staying there, you have a few choices in Travel Cards (these cover underground, busses and main rail travel) for London. Just go to any station (train or underground) and have a look at the options, or jump on their website to start your decision process (http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/fares-tickets/2006/index.shtml).

Vienna has something called the ViennaCard (imaginative title!) - can't remember if you're going there, but it may be of use as it offers discounts to museums and on transport. But it's not as good as the Paris one.

Rome is a whole other story - there are only 2 Metro lines...Linea A and Linea B (Linea C has been promised for ages - damn ruins keep getting in the way! ) and you'll find that you walk everywhere in the centre anyway as the Metro can't go through the historical centre of the city. A day pass (B.I.G) costs Euro4 and works for Metro and most busses, so you can decide on the day. Most of the places you want to go to are controlled by seperate organisations (no, not THAT organisation) so don't have a very good combined reduction ticket. Except the Colosseum and Palantine Hill - if you buy your ticket at Palantino entrance (near the Col) you used to be able to get a good discount - haven't done it for a while though so can't confirm.

I recall Herrbert posting about the Strippenkaart in another forum - but it's a good choice for Amsterdam public transport (except the train to Schiphol Airport).

I can't think of any other cities to include at the moment - will give it some thought.

[mango]

A friend was telling me about the Berlin museum pass card thing, I got bored listening so I missed all the details but the main point was it was a good deal and cheaper than going to each of the museums individually.

[jennifer]

Well, same opinion here : It depends.

I found the Salzburg card MORE than worth it. Nürnberg too. The Prague card was great for the price. It all depends. I recommend using the card when you plan on doing a lot in one day. If you plan on just walking around, then it might not be worth it

[Jules80]

rome archaeologia pass definately worth it. its good for 7 attractions including colisseum and palatine... we used it for 3 total. it was totally worth not having to wait an hour in the sun for the colisseum tho! while i've never looked into the london one, yes many crown museums are free but most attractions are not and are quite expensive (westminster, tower of london, london eye) but i have no idea what is included in this card.

Jules

Jules