Purchasing museum tix ahead -- not using Museum Pass

Hi Everyone,

I%26#39;m trying to decide whether to buy museum tickets ahead of time at an FNAC shop. Museum Pass doesn%26#39;t work for me because my museum visits will be too spread out.

Several questions:

1. Do tickets purchased in person at FNAC stores cost the same as those purchased online?

2. If a ticket has a specific time on it (say for the Warhol exhibit at the Grand Palais) can you arrive any time AFTER what is printed on the ticket? Are you limited to a certain amount of time in the museum? At my local museum you just can%26#39;t enter BEFORE the time printed on the ticket.

3. I%26#39;ll be in Paris the last week of May and the first week of June. If I arrive at the Louvre, Pompidou, D%26#39;Orsay, etc, before they open what are the chances of an extremely long line?

I%26#39;d rather not be locked into specific days/times for museum visits, but if it spares me from crazy long lines it would be worth it. I really appreciate any advice!

Thanks,

Lili

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we are usually in Paris in May -- we have never had a line at the Pompidou

We have only once in 12 visits had a significant line at the Louvre. Enter through the Carousel and not the Pyramid and the security line is usually fairly short (a dozen or less) and there are many ticket booths and machines in side, again with little wait in our experience.

the D%26#39;Orsay often has long lines -- so stop by early in the visit and buy a ticket ahead at the little office to the left of the main entrances -- this ticket is good for a year, just day of purchase

we then use it on a rainy day and can just walk in skipping the line

the Orangerie usually has a line -- but most small museums don%26#39;t

so we don%26#39;t bother with tickets ahead

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Someone correct me if I%26#39;m wrong about any of this, but I%26#39;d buy tickets online at FNAC. I think they charge 1,30 per ticket. With a pre-bought ticket at any of these museums, you can use the %26quot;group%26quot; entrance, and no one will care about your %26quot;timed%26quot; entrance.

This avoids long lines to get in, but I%26#39;d take advantage of the %26quot;late nights%26#39; at the Louvre (Wednesday and Friday), the Orsay (Thursday) and every night is late at the Pompidou (until 11pm). Most tourists seem not to know about this - or maybe they must have dinner at a certain time.

-- Steve

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Thanks for the input, everyone. In answer to my own questions, it seems like:

1. FNAC tix probably cost the same whether purchased online or in person.

2. Buried in the depths of the Grand Palais%26#39; website:

- Can I leave the museum and go back in again using the same ticket?

Your ticket is valid for the whole day.

So, I don%26#39;t see how it could matter if you arrive well AFTER the time on your ticket.

3. It seems that most museums should not have a huge line at this time, however, L%26#39;Orangerie and the D%26#39;Orsay might. For the L%26#39;Orangerie I%26#39;m just going to see how the line is when I%26#39;m in the area and if it%26#39;s not bad I%26#39;ll go, since I don%26#39;t feel I HAVE to see it. For the D%26#39;Orsay I might buy the tickets ahead at the museum itself, as Graceh9 suggested, since I%26#39;m not sure when I want to go there. For Versailles, I%26#39;m going to buy tix direct online and print at home. For the Grand Palais you can do print at home tix through FNAC, for an extra charge, and I think I%26#39;ll do that since I%26#39;m probably going there later in the day and I%26#39;m concerned about being able to get in. I%26#39;ll let you know how it works out!

Thanks,

Lili

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I%26#39;m trying to get tkts ahead of time for L%26#39;orangerie %26amp; getting nowhere! The FNAC site is only in French which I can not decipher. Also would like to know if they have English speaking docent tours?

Any help or advice? We are going there in Sept. Gave up the last time we were there as the line was horrendous %26amp; it was raining!

TIA, Kay