Paris Museum Pass FAQ

Online in advance is the best option — you get instant digital delivery, pay the same official price, and can buy weeks or months before your trip. Buying online also means you don’t need to collect the pass on arrival, which saves 20–40 minutes at a tourist office or airport desk. See our full where to buy guide for authorised resellers. The pass is also available from Paris tourist offices and at CDG and Orly airports, but both require in-person collection.

The 2026 prices are €90 for 2 days, €109 for 4 days, and €139 for 6 days. These are fixed adult prices — the same regardless of where you buy. There are no student, senior, or group discounts on the pass itself. See our full 2026 price guide including price history.

No. The Paris Museum Pass is only available in 2-day, 4-day, and 6-day versions. There is no annual pass, no monthly pass, and no multi-visit option. Each pass is valid for consecutive calendar days from first use only. If you visit Paris regularly, you would need to purchase a new pass for each trip.

No legitimate discount codes exist. The Paris Museum Pass is sold at a fixed official price — any website claiming to offer a discount code is either misleading or selling counterfeit passes. All authorised resellers charge exactly the same amount. The only genuine saving is buying online versus at an airport kiosk, where some unofficial sellers charge above the official price.

For most visitors, digital is the better choice — instant delivery, same price, and recoverable from email if you lose access to your phone. The physical card is an option if you prefer something tangible or are not comfortable using a phone at museum entrances, but it requires a trip to a tourist office or airport desk to collect and cannot be replaced if lost. See our full digital vs physical comparison.

No. The Paris Museum Pass is not sold at individual museum ticket windows. Arriving at the Louvre expecting to buy one there will leave you disappointed. The pass is available online, from Paris tourist offices, FNAC stores, and CDG/Orly airport desks only.

The pass activates on your first use, not your purchase date. You can buy the pass months in advance with no effect on its validity. The consecutive-day clock starts the first time you present it at a museum entrance. This means you should choose your activation day carefully — don’t activate on an arrival or departure day if you won’t be visiting museums.

No. Each covered museum allows entry once per pass, per person. The pass is designed for breadth across many venues, not repeat visits to the same one. If you want to return to the Louvre for a second full day, you would need to purchase a separate ticket for that visit.

Yes — for several major venues. The Louvre, Versailles, Sainte-Chapelle, and a handful of others require a separate timed entry reservation even with a valid pass. The pass covers the entry fee but not the time slot. Importantly, you do not need to have your pass in hand to book time slots — book them as soon as your itinerary is confirmed, well before travel. See the full mandatory reservations list.

It lets you skip the ticket purchase queue — you go directly to the pass holder entrance without waiting to buy a ticket. However, at venues requiring timed entry (like the Louvre), you still need to enter at your booked time slot. The pass doesn’t grant priority over security queues, which at busy venues can still take 15–30 minutes. Arriving early remains the best strategy at the Louvre and Versailles.

No. The pass is strictly non-transferable and covers one person only. Each adult in a group needs their own pass. Staff check at major venues, particularly the Louvre. Attempting to share one pass will be noticed when the second person tries to enter using a QR code or card that has already been scanned.

For digital passes — retrieve your QR code from your email inbox on any device. This is one of the key advantages of buying digitally: the pass is recoverable. For physical card passes — there is no replacement and no refund. A lost physical card is gone. See our lost pass guide for full details.

No. The pass covers museum and monument entry only — it does not include Paris public transport. You will need a separate metro or transport card for getting between venues. The Paris Visite travel pass or a Navigo Easy card are common options. This is one of the most searched questions about the pass and a common source of confusion.

No. The Eiffel Tower is not covered by the Paris Museum Pass. You need to book Eiffel Tower tickets separately — ideally 2–3 months in advance for peak season. Eiffel Tower tickets sell out extremely quickly and are difficult to get last-minute.

The cathedral itself reopened in December 2024 and entry is free for all visitors — no pass required. However, access to the towers requires a separate booking through the “Duck the Line” app. The pass does not cover tower access. Simply walking into the cathedral to see the restored interior is free and requires no booking.

The Centre Pompidou is currently closed for a major renovation and is not accessible. It is expected to reopen around 2030. It was previously included in the pass and will likely be included again upon reopening. For a full list of what’s currently open and closed, see our not included guide.

Yes — Versailles Palace entry is included, including the State Apartments and Hall of Mirrors. However, the Gardens are not included on Musical Fountain show days (weekends April–October), when a separate gardens ticket is required. The Trianon palaces and the Petit Trianon require separate tickets. A timed entry reservation for the palace is required and should be booked well in advance.

No. The pass covers permanent collections only. Temporary and special exhibitions at covered venues typically require a separate paid ticket, even if you have a valid pass. Always check the specific museum’s website before visiting if you have a particular exhibition in mind.

Calendar days, not 24-hour periods. A 2-day pass activated at 3pm on Monday expires at closing time on Tuesday — not 48 hours later on Wednesday. This is an important distinction. If you activate late in the day, you lose that partial day’s value. Plan to activate your pass early on your first museum day to maximise it. See the full explanation in our how it works guide.

Yes. Once activated, the pass runs for consecutive calendar days with no gaps. A 4-day pass activated on Monday expires at closing time on Thursday, regardless of whether you visited any museums on Tuesday or Wednesday. You cannot pause, split, or skip days. Choose your activation date carefully.

The 4-day pass at €109 is the best value for most visitors. It costs just €19 more than the 2-day pass but gives twice the coverage — the upgrade essentially pays for itself with one additional mid-size museum visit. The 6-day pass makes sense if you’re spending a full week in Paris and plan to visit 8+ venues. Use our worth-it calculator to run the numbers based on your specific itinerary.

Unused days have no monetary value and are not refundable. If you buy a 4-day pass and only use museums for 2 days, the remaining days simply expire. This is why choosing the right duration matters — don’t overbuy.

Digital passes (e-tickets) do not have a pre-activation expiry date — you can buy now and use on any future trip. Physical cards may have a printed validity period, so check the card on purchase. In both cases, the pass only begins counting days on your first museum visit.

Children under 18 who are EU residents enter all French national museums free of charge and never need a pass. For non-EU children, policies vary by venue — many museums offer free entry to under-12s regardless of nationality, but this is not universal. Check each venue individually. For a full breakdown see our children and under-26 guide.

EU and EEA nationals and residents under 26 enter all French national museums free — no pass needed, just show proof of residency or nationality. Non-EU visitors under 26 pay standard adult prices and may benefit from the pass just as any other adult would. See the full under-26 guide for which venues apply.

It depends on your children’s ages and nationalities. If your children are EU residents under 18, they don’t need a pass at all, making the pass an adults-only purchase. Non-EU families with children under 12 may still find many venues offer free child entry anyway. The pass is most valuable for adult visitors planning 4+ covered venues. See our families guide for a full breakdown.

The price is identical everywhere — all authorised sellers charge the same official rate. Buying online is not cheaper, but it is more convenient: instant delivery, no collection queue, and a digital pass you can recover if lost. Buying in Paris at a tourist office or airport desk costs the same but requires travel time and often a queue.

Rick Steves has historically recommended the pass for visitors planning multiple museums, and the core advice remains sound. However, his guides may reference older prices — 2026 saw significant price increases (the 2-day pass rose from €62 to €90). Always verify current prices before purchasing. His general guidance on planning your itinerary around the pass still applies.

Two to three museums per day is a comfortable pace for most visitors. The Louvre and Versailles each deserve a dedicated half-day to full day. Smaller venues like Sainte-Chapelle (1 hour), Conciergerie (1–1.5 hours), or Musée Rodin (2 hours including the garden) can be paired efficiently on the same day. Over-scheduling leads to museum fatigue and rushed visits — a focused itinerary with two major and one smaller venue per day is usually ideal.

Both — they alternate. The Louvre closes on Tuesdays. The Musée d’Orsay closes on Mondays. This catches many visitors out. Always check the closing day of every museum in your itinerary before activating your pass. Activating on a Monday when you planned to visit the Orsay, or a Tuesday when you planned to visit the Louvre, wastes a pass day. A full list of opening days is in our opening hours guide.

Yes, if you plan to visit at least 4 museums. On a 2-day trip, visiting the Louvre (€32), Musée d’Orsay (€16), Sainte-Chapelle (€22), and Musée Rodin (€14) would cost €84 individually — just under the €90 pass price. Add one more venue and you’re in profit. Use our worth-it calculator to check your specific plans. For visitors only planning 2–3 venues, individual tickets may work out cheaper.

Many national museums offer free entry on the first Sunday of each month. On those days, using your pass to enter is technically valid — but there’s no financial advantage since entry is already free. The pass still has one benefit on free Sundays: at venues where pass holders use a separate entrance, you may be able to avoid the considerably longer queue that forms for free-entry visitors. That said, activating your pass on a free Sunday is generally not recommended — you’re burning a day without gaining the cost benefit.