Paris City Pass Comparison

Which city pass should you buy?

Latest update: April 21, 2023

Our recommendation for those in a rush: this is the best Paris city pass

In this article, we will describe each Paris pass in detail and show you the advantages and disadvantages that go along with each pass.

But if that’s too much for you, here is a quick overview of the passes which are, in our opinion, most worthwhile.

#1 The best Paris pass if you’d like to see as many attractions as possible in at least 3 days

Best choice: the Paris City Pass
This pass is ideal if you’re taking a trip to Paris for at least 3 days and would like to see as much as possible. More than 60 museums and attractions are included in the Paris City Pass. And so that you can easily get from one attraction to the next, public transportation is included too.

Besides this, you have priority entrance to the Louvre, Centre Pompidou, and Musée d’Orsay, which is definitely an advantage at such busy museums.

And for the ultimate Paris feel, a boat ride on the Seine is also included.

Get the Paris City Pass

#2 The best Paris pass if you want to see as many attractions as possible in 2 days

Best choice: the Paris Museum Pass
The least expensive of all the passes. If you’re only in Paris for 2 days, the Paris Museum Pass is a good option. It works just like the Paris City Pass, except that public transportation and the boat ride on the Seine are not included.

A day ticket for the bus and metro costs 8.50 euros, so you’ll still be saving money compared to the Paris City Pass. And as for the boat ride, if your focus is on museums and attractions, you wouldn’t have enough time in two days to do it anyway.

Get the Paris Museum Pass

#3 The best Paris pass, if you want to visit Disneyland too

Best choice: Go City Paris Explorer Pass 
If you only want to visit a few sights and also spend a day in Disneyland Paris, the Paris Explorer Pass is ideal for you. The Explorer Pass includes many museums and attractions, the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre and a boat trip on the Seine.

In addition, you can use the hop-on hop-off bus in Paris for one day with the Explorer Pass.

Public transportation, however, is not included in the Explorer Pass. But for about 8.50 euros per day, you can buy a ticket for public transport.

Get the Paris Explorer Pass

#4 The best Paris pass if you only want to visit a few attractions

Best choice: buy individual tickets
If you’d only like to visit the Eiffel Tower and a few other museums or sights, a pass isn’t worth it.

With a day ticket for 8.50 euros, you can inexpensively tour around the whole city using public transportation.

Before heading to the attractions you’d like to visit, you should buy individual tickets online, if possible. That way you’ll save a lot of time standing in line.

Is a Paris city pass even worth it?

Buying a pass has various benefits, but it’s still not worth it for every Paris visitor.

An important advantage of three of the four passes is that they already include the ticket for public transportation, so they’re an all around worry-free package.

Besides that, as a holder of a Paris pass, you gain priority entrance to a lot of museums and sights, through which you can save a ton of time on weekends or in the summer.

The entrance areas of many attractions are divided between visitors without tickets, visitors with single tickets, and visitors who have a Paris pass.

It’s practically impossible to use all of the offers covered in the passes, there are just too many. But because the entrance fees to the sights and museums in Paris are relatively expensive, a pass is often also financially worth it.

The Eiffel Tower is unfortunately not included in all of the passes. So if you decide to get a pass that does not include it, you will have to buy a separate ticket.

If you’re younger than 26 years old, a pass is generally not worth it for you. A lot of Paris museums and attractions are free if you’re under 18, and even for under 26 year olds with a European ID.

Also, all visitors with a disabled person ID card and their companion usually receive free entrance. In case you belong to one of these groups, the Paris passes are all unnecessary for you.

Choosing the right Paris pass

When choosing the right pass, you should first think about what you’d like to see and do, and then see which pass fits best to your plans.

Our tip: Don’t pack your day too full. You should give yourself at least two to four hours per attraction, and don’t forget that in between you also have to eat something.

Some of the included offers can also be planned for the evening hours. For example, the Montparnasse Tower and the Arc de Triomphe are open until late, and a boat ride on the Seine is also much more beautiful in the dark than during the day.

Some of the museums are open once a week until 9 or 10 pm, and you can visit the Centre Pompidou every day until 9 pm. So you don’t have to be done with everything  by 6 pm.

For those in a hurry: a quick overview of the passes

For a quick, first overview, We’ve made a compact summary of the passes and their services for you here in a table.

Further down, we will describe each individual pass briefly.

How do the passes work?

As in many other cities, city passes in Paris are offered especially for tourists. You pay a set price, let’s say for three days, and you can then use all the services included in the pass during those three days.

All passes are valid for a certain period of time, for example three or five days. When booking the passes, you don’t have to commit to a specific date yet.

Your pass is activated when you use it for the first time, either at the entrance of a museum or on a metro ride. From this day on, your pass is valid for the period you have chosen.

This period of time cannot be paused. A three-day pass that is activated on a Tuesday is valid for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

The days are counted as calendar days, not in 24-hours. If you use your pass for the first time at 5pm, that day counts as your first day. You’d then waste a lot of time, so, if possible, make sure to activate your pass in the morning.

The Paris All-Inclusive Pass, the Paris Explorer Pass and the Paris Passlib’ can be downloaded digitally to your cell phone. The Paris City Pass voucher can be sent to you by email, which you can then use to pick up the pass on site. You can also have the Paris City Pass sent to you by mail. You will have to pay shipping costs, but it is much more convenient. The Museum Pass has to be picked up in Paris as well.

Important: You have to provide identification when picking up your Paris Pass, so be sure to bring your ID.

#1 Paris City Pass (Turbopass)

The Paris City Pass, from the German pass provider Turbopass, is our personal favorite.

What does the Paris City Pass offer you?

The Paris City Pass offers an all around worry-free package for your stay in Paris:

• Entrance to over 60 museums and attractions
• Public transportation
• Boat ride on the Seine
• Visit to wine cellar with wine tasting
• Fly View Paris (a virtual flight above Paris)
• Various guided sightseeing tours of the city (often only English)
• Optional: Skip the line Eiffel Tower ticket

Attention: Guided tours don’t take place daily, so if you’d like to participate in one or more of the tours, be sure to take a look at the available dates while planning your trip. For some tours, you have to register on the website at least 24 hours in advance.

Here are some examples of included tours:

• City tour “Street art & flea market”
• Guided tour: artists’ quarter Montmartre with visit to Sacre Coeur Basilica
• Guided tour: football stadium Stade de France

How much does the Paris City Pass cost?

The Paris City Pass is available for various periods of validity. The longer the pass is valid, the lower the price is per day.

In the following overview are the prices for the Paris City Pass (without the Eiffel Tower):

In the following overview are the prices for the Paris City Pass (including access to the Eiffel Tower):

Advantages of the Paris City Pass

• Over 60 museums and attractions included
• Public transportation included
• Extensive offers
• In some cases priority entrance
• Various guided tours

Disadvantages of the Paris City Pass

• The Hop-On-Hop-Off-Bus isn’t included

Our conclusion on the Paris City Pass

In our opinion, the biggest advantage of this pass are the tours offered with it. Don’t expect a dry history lesson, but instead a relaxed tour in good company.

All tour guides speak English, so you don’t have to worry about your knowledge of French at all.

When using the pass for two days, you won’t notice too much of a price advantage. Even so, the Paris City Pass is a convenient one, and even for two days it’s affordable and an all around worry-free package.

If you stay for three days or longer, and you’re out and about a lot, you’ll quickly save money and time with the Paris City Pass.

We like the fact that it’s optional to include the ride up the Eiffel-Tower. So when buying your pass you can pick either option.

Get the Paris City Pass

#2 Paris Museum Pass

The Paris museum pass is solely an entrance ticket for attractions, without additional services like the metro or boat rides.

This pass is by far the cheapest and, just like the other passes, has the advantage that you can avoid some of the lines.

Even though the name suggests it, the Paris Museum Pass isn’t exclusively for museums, but also many other historical attractions.

If you’d like to organize your stay in Paris as inexpensively as possible and would like to dedicate it to art and culture, then the Paris Museum Pass is right for you.

What does the Paris Museum Pass offer you?

The Paris museum pass includes entrance to over 60 museums and attractions, for example:

• Musée du Louvre
• Musée de l’Armée and Les Invalides
• Centre Pompidou
• Musée du quai Branly
• Conciergerie
• Musée d’Orsay
• Panthéon
• Musée Rodin
• Sainte-Chapelle

How much does the Paris Museum Pass cost?

The Museum Pass is available for 2, 4 or 6 days. Prices are listed in the following overview:

Advantages of the Paris Museum Pass

• Low price
• Over 60 museums and attractions included
• In some cases priority entrance

Disadvantages of the Paris Museum Pass

• Public transportation is not included
• No further services included

Our conclusion on the Paris Museum Pass

The Paris Museum Pass is already worth it if you visit two attractions per day, even if it’s just for a two-day stay.

We’d suggest that for a four-day trip, you buy a pass for two days. That way, on the days the pass is valid, you can concentrate on the included offers, and then on the other days you’ll still have plenty of time for shopping, wine and the Eiffel Tower.

This way, you can really take advantage of the pass.

If you’re spending six days in Paris, the Paris Museum Pass is even more worth it. Even if you only visit one or two attractions a day, you’ve already saved money.

Get the Paris Museum Pass

#3 Paris Passlib’

The Passlib’ is available in four different versions: Mini, City, Explore and Prestige. The Mini version has the least number of included attractions, while the Prestige version has the most.

What does the Paris Passlib’ offer you?

• Different range of offers depending on the pass
• Boat trip on the Seine
• One audio tour of your choice (out of nine available)
• Eiffel Tower and Louvre tickets (included in City, Explore and Prestige passes)
• Hop-On Hop-Off bus (included in Explore and Prestige passes)

How much does the Paris Passlib’ cost?

There are several options with the Paris Passlib’.

If you buy the Passlib’ Mini you can pick three of the 23 available activities. The Passlib’ City includes 46 activites, of which you can choose five. If you get the Passlib’ Explore or Passlib’ Prestige you can choose six activities of the 54 or 79 available activites.

Prices are listed in the following chart:

Advantages of the Paris Passlib’

• Different prices with varying choice of attractions
• Valid for 1 year
• Wide range of offers
• Guided tours also included

Disadvantage of the Paris Passlib’

• Top sights, such as the Eiffel Tower or the Louvre, as well as more unusual offers only included in the more expensive categories
• Public transport not included

Our conclusion on the Paris Passlib’

The Passlib’ offers you plenty of variety. Anything from admission to museums and castles to tastings and even a sightseeing flight over Paris is included.

Depending on which option you choose, however, you’ll only have a limited selection of attractions to choose from. For example, you can’t visit the Eiffel Tower or take part in a workshop with the Mini version.

The cheaper pass versions are therefore a good choice if you only want to visit the more crowded sights from the outside and are more interested in exciting museums or impressive churches.

Another tip: A tour with the open roof, double decker bus is decidedly nicer in good weather than during rain or snow storms. If you sit in the lower level of the bus during rain, you’ll unfortunately see only half as much.

Get the Paris Passlib’

#4 Paris All-Inclusive Pass

The Paris All-Inclusive Pass is basically the next step up from the Museum Pass and the Passlib’ and includes even more offers. It’s the right pass for ambitious visitors who can’t get enough of Paris.

What does the Paris All-Inclusive Pass offer you?

• All the offers of the Paris Museum Pass
• Boat ride on the Seine
• 1 day Hop-On-Hop-Off-Bus
• Admission to Eiffel Tower
• 1 wine tasting
• Admission to Montparnasse Tower
• Admission to wax figure museum Musée Grévin
• Guidebook with city map

How much does the Paris All-Inclusive Pass cost?

You can get the Paris Pass for 2, 3, 4 and 6 days. The 3 day pass includes a museum pass for 2 days, while the other passes each include the museum pass for the entire length of validity.

In the following is an overview of the prices:

Advantages of the Paris All-Inclusive Pass

• Over 60 museums and attractions included
• Eiffel Tower included
• Very extensive and varied offer
• In some cases priority entrance
• Guided tours included

Disadvantages of the Paris All-Inclusive Pass

• Public transportation not included

Our conclusion on the Paris All-Inclusive Pass

We personally find this pass way too extensive for two days. To make it worth it for just two days, you would have to constantly rush from one place to the next.

If you’re in Paris for four or six days though, things look a little different. If you’d like to visit a lot of places, this pass provides you with a ton of possibilities during a longer stay, without letting it get too stressful.

Overall, the Paris city pass is a better choice if you’re only staying in Paris for 2 or 3 days, as it’s slightly cheaper than the All-Inclusive Pass but still similar in its offers. The Paris All-Inclusive Pass is the better option if you’re staying for four days or longer, as it is then cheaper than the Paris City Pass.

Get the Paris All-Inclusive Pass

#5 Paris Explorer Pass

Go City’s Paris Explorer Pass offers a wide range of museums, attractions and tours. The Explorer Pass also includes a one-day ticket to one of the Disneyland Parks (either Disneyland® Park or Walt Disney Studios®).

What does Go City’s Paris Explorer Pass offer you?

• Attraction-based pass
• Admission to over 40 museums and attractions
• 1 day at Disneyland Paris
• Hop-On Hop-Off bus for one day
• Admission to the Eiffel Tower
• Ticket to the Louvre
• Aperitif cruise with champagne on the Seine River
• Guided tour of the Lafayette Gallery

How much does Go City’s Paris Explorer Pass cost?

The price of the Paris Explorer Pass depends on the number of attractions you want to include.

In the following chart you can find an overview of the prices:

Advantages of the Explorer Pass

• Over 40 museums and sights are included in the pass
• Ascent of the Eiffel Tower
• Access to a Disneyland Paris Park
• Large variety of attractions
• Guided walking tours of Paris

Disadvantages of the Explorer Pass

• No public transportation included
• Only a limited number of Disneyland Paris tickets are available
• The Hop-On Hop-Off bus is considered an attraction

Our conclusion on the Explorer Pass

With the Paris Explorer Pass, you should take a good look at the attractions included and know in advance how many attractions you would like to visit. The pass is worth it if you choose attractions such as Disneyland, the Eiffel Tower, and the Hop-On Hop-Off bus.

Since there are many options included in the Paris Explorer Pass that would be quite expensive individually, the Explorer Pass is actually a great way to save some money.

Our tip: Disneyland Paris is very popular, so you should reserve your ticket as early as possible. Please note that you activate your pass with your order. Since the pass is only valid for 60 days, you should reserve your ticket no earlier than 6 weeks and no later than 1 week before your visit. You can find out how to do this in your confirmation email.

Get the Paris Explorer Pass

The differences of the Paris passes at a glance

You now know about each of the different passes in detail. So that you can directly compare the passes, you’ll find a compact overview of the offers included in each pass and how they all differ below.

These differences lie exclusively in the included offers. Apart from that, all of the passes work the same way.

Even though the passes essentially include the same offers, such as the Louvre, Arc de Triomphe and Musée d’Orsay, they do differ quite a bit from each other if you look closer.

You can see exactly where these differences are in the following table:

Our tip: Make a list of the museums, sights and activities that you definitely want to have on your itinerary in Paris. Then compare your list with the table to see which pass includes all your favorites.

Which pass works best for whom?

Unfortunately we can’t give a general answer to this question, because everyone has their own idea of the perfect Paris trip. So, we identified two motivations that might have led you to consider searching for a Paris pass:

1. You’d like to save money
2. You’d like to treat yourself to a worry-free, complete package

Motivation #1: Saving money

If you’d like to make your Paris visit less expensive by buying a pass, the Paris Museum Pass, Paris Passlib’ or the Paris City Pass could all be an option for you.

By far the cheapest pass is the Paris Museum Pass. If you’d simply like to save money with your pass whilst discovering the art and culture of Paris, then it’s perfect for you.

Here’s an example: What do you have to visit in two days to make the Paris museum pass worth it?

• Louvre (19 euros)
• Arc de Triomphe (12 euros)
• Musée d’Orsay (14 euros)
• Centre Pompidou (15 euros)
• Total price of individual tickets: 59,50 euros
• Paris museum pass for 2 days: 57 euros

As you can see, you’ll save a couple of euros with the museum pass. The savings are definitely not huge, but you’ll also save time that would otherwise be spent standing in line.

If you want to see more than two attractions or museums per day, the financial savings will become even greater. But then it’d also be a quite stressful itinerary.

Get the the Paris Museum Pass

Motivation #2: The worry-free complete package

You don’t want to worry about your metro tickets any more than you do about the outrageously long lines?

Then you should rule out the Museum Pass, because besides admission to the included museums and attractions, it doesn’t provide any further services.

But the other three passes are all potential candidates for you, so the choice is yours. All three include many exciting sights and a boat ride on the Seine. Only the Paris City Pass includes public transportation.

Here’s an example for four days with a Paris City Pass for 4 days:

• Riding the metro for four days (30 euros)
• Day 1: city tour (22 euros) + Arc de Triomphe (13 euros)
• Day 2: Centre Pompidou (14 euros) + Versailles (20 euros)
• Day 3: Sainte-Chapelle (11.50 euros) + wine tasting (35 euros)
• Day 4: Louvre (17 euros) + boat ride on the Seine (21 euros)
• Total price of individual tickets: 183.50 euros
• Paris City Pass for 4 days: 169.90 euros

In this example you would save 13 euros with the pass, compared to the individual tickets.

Get the Paris City Pass

Paris without a city pass

A Paris pass doesn’t have to be a given, you can visit everything just as well with individual tickets! It just depends on how many ticketed attractions you’d like to visit.

But because Paris is a well visited city and there are often long lines for museums and attractions, we definitely suggest that you order tickets online.

That way you can enter right away without waiting and no valuable time is wasted at the entrance. In this table we’ve given you another overview of how much the Paris attractions cost:

Our conclusion

So that the passes are worthwhile, you should concentrate on the included offers on the days that the pass is valid.

We personally like the Paris Museum Pass, the Paris City Pass and the Explorer Pass best. Which one you choose in the end depends most on what exactly you’d like to do and what your priorities are.

If you’d rather wander through the streets of Paris and you don’t want to visit the well-known attractions and museum, we’d do it without a pass.

FAQs

To conclude, here are a few answers to some frequently asked questions about the Paris passes.

Are there discounted passes for children and youth?

Yes, partly, but they’re completely redundant. A lot of the museums and attractions are free for all under 18 years old and all under 26 years old with a European ID card or passport.

If you’re under 26 years old, a pass isn’t worth it for you.

How do I get my pass?

The Paris All-Inclusive Pass, the Paris Explorer Pass and the Paris Passlib’ can be downloaded to your cell phone.

There are two options how to get the Paris City Pass. You can either have the voucher sent to you by email and then pick up the pass in Paris, or you can have the pass sent to you directly by snail mail. You will have to pay for shipping costs, but it’s definitely more convenient.

The Museum Pass has to be picked up in Paris too.

Are the passes cheaper on site in Paris?

No, the prices are the same online as on site.

Is the Eiffel Tower included in any of the passes?

Yes, the Eiffel Tower is included in three of the five passes: It’s in the Passlib’ (City, Explore and Prestige), Paris All-Inclusive Pass and the Explorer Pass. You can also optionally add the Eiffel Tower to the Paris City Pass.

Is a visit to Disneyland included in any of the passes?

Yes, Disneyland is included in the Paris Explorer Pass.

Now you should have all the information you need to find the best Paris city pass you. Do you still have questions or have you already had experiences with one of the passes yourself? Then we look forward to your comments.