The Paris Insiders Pass – The Smart Traveler's Advantage

There's a lot to do and see in Paris — that's a given. So, you're going to need an easy way to get to the things that interest you. One of the best tools any visitor to Paris can have is the Paris Insiders Pass. It gets you into the top museums and monuments for free; it lets you bypass the line-ups, going right to the entrance doors; and it gives you unlimited ride frees on the Metro as well as other perks.

Let's put our knowledge of Paris to work to review what a visit to the city is really all about, to investigate what the Paris Insider Pass offers, and then to calculate what kind of money you can save. At the same time we'll evaluate the non-monetary benefits of the pass, like skipping the long lineups at Paris museums, and getting access to fascinating small museums you might not otherwise think of going to. On top of all that, we've arranged an extra discount for you.

Paris as a Destination

Paris is very popular… and very busy. What this means to you is that there are going to be a lot of other people doing what you want to do, and at the same time. We hate standing in lines and we are always looking for ways to avoid the crowds and skip past queues. That's goal number one for us.

Next point — Paris is a compact city and very walkable, but you're still going to be using public transportation. Paris has one of the best and easiest-to-use systems anywhere. Instead of buying tickets every time we ride the Metro, we prefer to have a transportation card in our pockets that allows us hop on the Metro (and the buses, the RER, the tramways) whenever we want, wherever we are.

Those, then are our two primary goals in Paris — avoid standing in long lines and easy access to the Metro. It you add that we also like saving money whenever we can, that sounds a lot like what the Paris Insiders Pass offers. Let's examine the offerings.

9 Things You Get With the Paris Insiders Pass

1. Get into Museums for Free

Paris Insiders Pass gets you museum access — not just for a few museums, but for virtually every museum in Paris. Think The Louvre, the Arc de Triomphe, Palace of Versailles, and over sixty other museums and monuments — the ones you really want to see. And along with the big museums, you also get access to small, intimate museums that take you off the major tourist route. (The pass doesn't include the Eiffel Tower, unfortunately.)

2. Fast Track Entry

You also get to bypass the long ticket lines at almost all of the museums and monuments in Paris. To our way of thinking, the time you save not standing in lineups is alone worth the cost of the pass. We'd use a Paris Insiders Pass even if we didn't save money, just to skip the lines, it's that important. The line at the Louvre can be well over an hour, the same for Chateau de Versailles. That's a long time in line.

3. Ride the Metro for Free

The best way to get around Paris is on the Metro and the Paris Insiders Pass provides unlimited travel. We know from long experience that it's a great convenience to have a Metro pass. Instead of buying a ticket or a carnet (packet of 10 tickets), you use your pass to hop on a Metro train, city bus, tramway, even the Montmartre funicular. If you're using the Metro a lot — like we do — a pack of 10 tickets will go quickly.

4. Save Money

The Paris Insiders Pass is a one-time purchase, and everything you do with it is free. So, the more activities you do and the more museums you visit, the more you will have saved. How much can you save? Based on a busy 5-day itinerary in Paris, something like $100.

In addition to that kind of savings, you can also save by using our readers-only discount code. Get an extra 5% savings off the 2-day and 5-day passes. Remember to use this discount code when placing your order — INSIDERS5.

This pass was seriously the best! We were blown away by all the museums we were able to get into using the pass! You walked right up to the front of each line and didn't have to wait. As an art lover I was blown away with the Palace of Versailles, a must-see! Loved this pass!
– Traveler 5-Star Review

5. Free Entry to the Palace of Versailles

It's hard to imagine a trip to Paris without including a visit to the opulent Palace of Versailles. Now listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it's also, overall, the most-visited attraction in France. Wander the Hall of Mirrors, the original French gardens, the Grand and Petit Trianon and the magnificent fountains. It's definitely worth skipping the lines here.

6. Free Seine River Cruise

A free Seine River cruise is included with every Paris Insiders Pass. And, if you've never been to Paris, this is an activity you won't want to miss. Cruise down what we think is the most romantic river in the world on an hour-long riverboat ride. The bateaux takes you past the best of Paris — famous bridges, the Musee d'Orsay, the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame Cathedral. You'll instantly see how the river divides the Left Bank from the Right Bank and how close the monuments really are to each other.

7. Hop-On-Hop-Off Bus Tour

If you've never been to Paris, the open-air bus tour will give you an instant overview of the city. There are nine stops that take you from the Eiffel Tower to Notre Dame to the Louvre Museum. Sure, maybe it's a bit touristy, but we still love it — it gives you a fun, quick, visual understanding of the city. Worth it.

8. Visit the Small, Intimate Paris Museums

We hinted about this above, but what we really like about the pass is that it takes you to places you might never normally come across — the museums and monuments that are smaller, more intimate, less visited. The places where you'll see locals enjoying their city.

These include the stunning La Sainte Chapelle and the peaceful Rodin Museum (shown in the photo above). Both are hidden in plain site — La Sainte Chapelle is in the middle of Île de la Cité and the Rodin is a near-neighbor of Les Invalides. Other small museums include Museum of Gustave Moreau, the Cluny Museum of the Middle Ages, and the Guimet Museum of Asian Arts. There are loads more.

9. There's a Generous Cancellation Policy

If you change your mind, you can cancel your Paris Insiders Pass purchase up to 3 days before you travel. That's really generous, and makes buying the pass pretty much worry free.

What's Included With the Paris Insiders Pass

1. The Paris Museum Pass

If you're planning visit the great Paris museums, this pass gets you into the top 60 museums in Paris. Even though it's called a Museum Pass it also includes monuments. Here's a sample of where you can go for free — Louvre, d'Orsay, Arc de Triomphe, the bell towers of Notre Dame Cathedral, Palace of Versailles, La Sainte Chapelle, Centre Pompidou. The Paris Museum Pass is included with the Paris Insiders Pass.

• Guide to the Paris Museum Pass…

2. The Paris Metro Pass… Plus!

Paris Visite is the name of the Paris transportation card, and it's also included with The Paris Insiders Pass. This lets you ride the public transportation system for free — Metro, RER (but not to Charles de Gaulle airport), buses, trams, the Montmartre funicular.

• Guide to the Paris Transportation Card…

3. Bateaux Parisiens Seine River Cruise Ticket

There's nothing like this boat trip along the most beautiful river in the world.

• Guide to Seine River Cruises…

4. Paris L'OpenTour Hop-On Bus One-Day Pass

Unobstructed, second-level views of the iconic monuments and historic building.

• Guide to Hop-On Bus Tours…

Who Should Buy a Paris Insiders Pass?

If this is your first trip to Paris, or if you visit infrequently, the Paris Insiders Pass is a good solution. It takes a lot of guesswork out of planning, makes it easy to get around and get in, and takes you to places you otherwise wouldn't discover.

The pass is perfectly suited to visitors who want to experience a lot of things in a few days. The Paris Insiders Pass runs consecutively, so once you first use it the clock starts ticking. If you're in Paris for a week we suggest you buy the 5-day pass (which includes a 5-day Metro pass and a 4-day museum pass), see everything you want, and save a few days at the end of the week to take it easy and to revisit areas that resonated with you. And, if you do buy a Paris Insiders Pass, be sure to use the discount code to save an additional 5% — INSIDERS5