Paris museum pass: save on art museums in Paris

Useing a Paris museum pass - Louvre

What is the Paris museum pass and how can you make the most of it?

On my last trip to Paris, I got a chance to see more art exhibitions than I could humanly process… I left the city full of inspiration.

Paris is famous for its art scene and rich cultural heritage. It truly is an art lover’s paradise.

Paris is home to some world-famous museums, such as the Louvre, which is the most visited museum in the world, the gorgeous Musée d’Orsay, and museums dedicated to beloved artists like Rodin Museum, Picasso Museum, and Delacroix Museum.

Admission fees for museums in Paris are currently in the range of about €10-20. When you include skip-the-line tickets (highly recommended), audio guides or guided tours, prices can get much higher.

So what can you do if you want to enjoy all that art that Paris has to offer without breaking the bank?

How to save on museums in Paris

(1) First Sunday of the month: Plan your trip so that you can take advantage of the museums’ free days.

The main drawback of visiting on the free days is that they’re very popular and attract even more tourists than usual. You have to book a time slot in advance and often stand in line. The top museums are often very crowded.

(2) Paris museum pass: A convenient and cost-effective way to see many museums in Paris and in the nearby region.

What is a Paris museum pass and how does it work?

Musee dOrsay in Paris - one of the top museums to visit with a Paris Museum Pass
Musée d’Orsay

A museum pass is a card that lets you enter many museums in a city within a certain time period.

Entry is either free or discounted.

When you want to make the most of your time on a short visit, a museum pass can save you money.

In an expensive city like Paris, it’s one of the best tips to make your visit a bit more affordable.

Passes often come with additional perks, such as free or discounted admission to other attractions in the city.

I also use these passes as a general guide to the city’s art and culture scene. Each pass has a list of all the main museums and galleries in the city, as well as some lesser-known ones.

It’s very useful when you’re not familiar with the city, because it gives you a great overview of the art map.

Where to get the Paris Museum Pass?

The Paris Muesum Pass is available online.

This museum pass gives you unlimited access to 60 museums and monuments in Paris and in the Paris region.

It is valid for 2, 4, or 6 days and prices vary accordingly.

Some of the museums included in the pass:

  • The Louvre Museum
  • Musée d’Orsay
  • Palace of Versailles
  • Panthéon
  • Musée Picasso Paris
  • Centre Pompidou
  • Musée des Arts et métiers
  • Musée du quai Branly
  • Musée Rodin
  • Sainte-Chapelle
  • Find the full list here

At some of the museums, you’ll get priority access (skip-the-line). In my own experience, it can be a huge time saver in Paris.

Is it right for you? This Paris museum pass is great value if you’re visiting for a few days and want to save both time and money.

Have a look at the museum list to make sure it includes the ones you want to visit.

The top 3 art museums in Paris

Instead of a Paris museum pass, you can buy individual tickets to the most famous art museums in Paris. These are:

I personally don’t miss out on any of them when I visit Paris.

For art lovers, these are the ultimate Paris art museums to visit, covering a range of styles and periods.

They have world-famous, iconic permanent collections and first-rate temporary exhibitions.

The Louvre is massive and you can’t see everything in one visit, so don’t expect to. It’s best to plan your visit, read about the works of art you want to see and avoid the FOMO.

Musée d’Orsay and Centre Pompidou are large and have a lot of art to see, but I managed to visit both of them on the same day, so it’s doable.

Located in a former train station, Musée d’Orsay is worth visiting for both the art and the architecture.

Its speciality is 19th and 20th-century art, including works by the most prominent Impressionist and Post-Impressionist artists, such as Monet, Renoir, and Van Gogh.

Centre Pompidou is dedicated to modern and contemporary art. It features some new names you may have never heard of, alongside works by artists such as Picasso, Matisse, and Warhol.

I recommend getting skip-the-line tickets, so you don’t spend time queuing for these super popular Paris museums.

That’s especially in peak season; the lines can be so long that you’d feel like your vacation time is going to waste.

If you’re on a very short visit and these art museums are (as they should be) on your classic must-see Paris bucket list, then this is the right option for you.

Tips on how to make the most out of your Paris museum pass

Here are some tips that I have found helpful while exploring the museums of Paris:

  • Decide which museums you actually want to see out of the lists of museums included in each Paris museum pass.
  • Consider the length of your trip and how much time you want to dedicate to the museums in Paris.
  • Once you have a museum pass, plan your itinerary in advance:
    • Check the opening hours of the museums you want to see (museums in Paris are often open late at least one day a week);
    • Consider how much time you want to spend at each museum;
    • Check the map to plan an ideal route.
  • Take a break from time to time. It can be exhausting to visit too many museums in one day. Every museum has a cafe. You can also take some time to sit in a nearby park or by the Seine River for a bit, before heading to the next museum on your itinerary.
  • Get an audio guide. I find that for art museums especially, it can really transform your experience. Some museums also have a website with text and audio that you can access through scannable QR codes when viewing the artworks.
  • If you have more time in Paris and want to explore smaller galleries and independent art spaces, you can take a self-guided gallery walk in Le Marais. I also recommend using the Galleries Now website to find exhibition listings and opening nights. It’s a handy resource that also includes an interactive map.

Make your own museum pass

If you only want to see a few museums in Paris, then a combined ticket can be a good alternative to the official Paris Museum Pass.

It’s like a DIY museum pass that saves you money on the museusm you want to visit.

You can buy combined tickets for some of the leading museums and attractions in Paris, such as:

With these combined tickets, you need to check the price to see if there’s a discount offered at the moment; it will show you how much you’re saving (usually 5-10%).

Even without the discount, a combined ticket will still save you time with skip-the-line options.

How to get around Paris

When you use a Paris museum pass, you’ll be visiting several museums each day.

You’ll find yourself having to move around the city a lot, getting from one museum to the next, sometimes on a tight schedule.

Some museums are within walking distance from each other, so I recommend you plan your itinerary to include some walkable distances.

Otherwise, public transport in Paris is quite convenient, if you use the metro in the city centre. Buses can get pretty crowded and their timetables are less reliable in my experience.

I used Google Maps to plan my routes in Paris, but you can also use other transport apps.

To find details in English on the travel tickets and passes currently available in Paris, have a look at the official RATP website.

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Paris museum pass - The Louvre
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