Paris Museums and Pass

[bs1313]

So we leave for our trip in 2 weeks and I am working on my final itinerary, like what we are going to see while we are there and I realized that it is actually going to cost a lot more than I thought so I am trying to think of ways to cut down a bit. One of the ways I have thought of is to get the 4 day museum pass instead of the 6 day pass. The extra days we will have to just hang out and rest and see free things. Since we have to cram so many things in 4 days I was wondering what are the absolutely can not miss museums that we can fit in 4 days??

Thanks,

Bret

[Eagle]

Bret, the four day Museum Pass is probably a good idea, especially if you're trying to reduce costs a bit. I'd probably be really tired after six days of touring Museums! I believe they used to have a three-day Pass? Too bad that was discontinued.

It's difficult to recommend specific "can not miss" Museums, as I have no idea what you're most interested in. I suspect that with a four-day Pass, you'll have to plan the visits carefully to ensure that you maximise your time.

I can't recall all the sites covered by the Pass, but a few of the "essential" Museums would probably be:

> The Louvre - this is an extensive site, and you could use a lot of your Pass time just touring here. You might consider limiting your visit to the Denon Wing, as that's where the Mona Lisa and the Venus di Milo are located (as I recall).

> Musee d'Orsay - this is one Museum that I think I enjoyed more than any of the others. The Impressionist art was wonderful, and the atmosphere in the Museum seems quite relaxed compared to the Louvre (in terms of taking photos and so on). It used to be a train station and there's an elegant Ballroom on one of the upstairs floors, as well as a beautiful and very fancy restaurant.

> Arch de Triomphe - I believe this is also covered by the Pass and I found this worthwhile as it has an incredible view of Paris from the top. There was a Museum being constructed inside when I was last there, and that should be finished now. Climbing the stairs is a bit of a chore, but certainly no worse than the 432 stairs in the Duomo in Florence!

If you haven't bought your Pass yet, have a look at the "official" website to make note of places where you can buy these in Paris.

Hopefully the others can provide a few suggestions as well.

Happy travels!!!

[pointofnoreturn]

Of the 4 nights I spent in Paris, I used a 2-day Museum Pass. I found it extremely useful and cost-efficient. I used the pass for the "more expensive" museums and in general, the bigger ones that would have more lines. If I can recall, I remember using the pass for Versailles (doesn't include the gardens, etc - just the main house), Louvre, d'Orsay and a whole bunch of places.

Truth be told, we used the pass on the last two days of our trip (which worked out well because we were getting over jet lag for the first two days) and it was really rushed, in our opinion. I'd do it again though!