The short answer
The Paris Pass is worth it if you’re an attraction-heavy traveler who wants to pack 2–3 paid sights into each day. If you’re the “one museum, then a long lunch and a walk” type, skip it — you’ll lose money. That’s the whole review in one sentence. The details that follow show our work, in plain English, with real 2026 prices converted to dollars so you’re not doing currency math on your phone.
⚡ Quick Facts — Paris Pass
⭐ What Is the Paris Pass: “The Paris Pass” is now sold by Go City, which offers three different passes. The one most travellers mean when they say “Paris Pass” is the All-Inclusive Pass Plus (it bundles attractions plus the Paris Museum Pass).
💵 Price By Type of Pass: Explorer Pass from €89 (~$103), All-Inclusive Pass from €99/day (~$115), All-Inclusive Pass Plus from €179 (~$208) for 2 days. (Rates move; €1 ≈ $1.16 as of mid-2026.)
🏆 Best For: First-time visitors with a packed bucket list, fast-paced sightseers, and anyone who wants one app instead of a dozen separate tickets.
⚠️ Skip It If: You’re taking a slow, relaxed trip, you only want one or two big sights your entire trip and you’re spending most of your time strolling, eating, and people-watching (which, honestly, is half the point of Paris).
👉 Want to check today’s live prices and pick your dates? See current Paris Pass prices on Go City →
Clearing up the confusion: which “Paris Pass” do you actually mean?
This trips up almost everyone, so let’s settle it. Below you will find an outline of the different “Paris Passes” and you will see they are not all the same thing.
|
Pass |
Who Runs It |
What It Covers |
Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Paris Pass / Go City Pass |
Go City |
Attractions, tours & experiences (Eiffel Tower climb, Seine cruise, hop-on-hop-off bus, food & wine tastings) |
Doing lots of experiences fast |
|
Paris Museum Pass |
Official (Paris museums) |
Free entry to 50+ museums & monuments (Louvre, Versailles, Orsay, Arc de Triomphe) |
Museum and history lovers |
|
All-Inclusive Pass Plus |
Go City |
The Go City attractions + the Paris Museum Pass, combined |
Travelers who want both big museums and experiences |
|
Paris City Pass / Passlib’ |
Paris tourist board |
A smaller curated bundle of activities |
Lighter sightseeing |
🇫🇷 Note:
For this review, “Paris Pass” refers to the Go City passes, because that’s where the original standalone “Paris Pass” brand now lives. Through our review we will point out exactly which version fits which kind of travel plan.
What you get with each Paris Pass (2026)
Go City sells three tiers. The big practical difference is how you’re billed — by number of attractions or by number of days — and whether the Louvre and Versailles are included.
1. Explorer Pass — “I want a few highlights, on my own schedule”
- You pick 3–5 attractions from a menu of around 19.
- Valid 30 days from your first visit, so there’s zero time pressure.
- From €89/$103 adult and €64/$74 child for 3 attractions.
- ❌ Does not include the Louvre, Versailles, the Arc de Triomphe, or the Notre-Dame towers.
This is the relaxed option. Great if you want, for example, an Eiffel Tower climb a Seine cruise, and a wine tasting spread across a leisurely week.
2. All-Inclusive Pass — “I want to see as much as possible, fast”
- Unlimited attractions across your chosen number of consecutive days (1, 2, 3, 4, or 6).
- Access to 43 attractions, tours and experiences.
- From €99/$115 adult and €59/$68 child for 1 day.
- ❌ Still does not include the Louvre, Versailles, the Arc, or the Notre-Dame towers (those live on the Museum Pass).
Each “day” runs until midnight regardless of when you start, so an early start is worth real money here.
3. All-Inclusive Pass Plus — the closest thing to the “classic” Paris Pass
- Everything in the All-Inclusive Pass plus a Paris Museum Pass, so now the Louvre, Palace of Versailles, Arc de Triomphe, Notre-Dame towers, and Opéra are included.
- About 54 attractions total across 2, 3, 4, or 6 days.
- From €179/$208 adult and €79/$92 child for 2 days.
This is the one we recommend for most first-time visitors, because a Paris trip without the Louvre and Versailles is rare, and buying those separately on top of an All-Inclusive Pass usually costs more.
A few honest “read the fine print” notes
- No public transit. Unlike the older Paris Pass, none of these include a metro/RER travelcard. Budget separately (a single Metro ride is €2.55 in 2026; a day pass is €12.30). Tap-to-ride with a contactless card or your phone is the easy move.
- The Eiffel Tower entry is the “2nd Floor Guided Climb” (a guided stair climb), not a summit elevator ticket. If reaching the very top by lift matters to you, you’ll book that separately.
- The pass doesn’t skip the reservation step. Big-ticket sites like the Louvre, Versailles, and the Notre-Dame towers still require a free timed reservation even with the pass. Book those slots the moment your pass is available in the app – slots book up quickly from April through October.
⭐ Is the Paris Pass worth it? The honest math
This is where most reviews get vague. Here’s the actual logic. A pass wins when the tickets you’d buy anyway cost more than the pass. The break-even depends entirely on your pace. Using approximate 2026 prices:
1. A relaxed day (one big thing + a wander):
- Louvre: ~€32
- Coffee, lunch, strolling the Tuileries: priceless, but free
- Total paid: ~€32. A pass makes no sense. Don’t buy one.
2. An “intense” sightseeing day (what the pass is built for):
- Eiffel Tower guided climb: ~€25
- Bateaux Parisiens Seine cruise: ~€18
- Big Bus hop-on-hop-off (1 day): ~€42
- Les Caves du Louvre wine tasting: ~€30
- Total paid: ~€115 — already at or above a 1-day All-Inclusive Pass, and you’ve simplified four bookings into one QR code.
Go City’s own example puts it at roughly €304 of tickets on a €164 pass for a busy 3-day itinerary — about 46% off. We’d treat any vendor’s savings figure as the optimistic end, but the direction is right: the more you cram in per day, the more you save.
Our rule of thumb:
- 3+ paid attractions per day → buy the pass. You’ll save money and time.
- 2 per day → it’s roughly a wash; buy it for the convenience, not the savings.
- 1 per day or less → skip it. Buy individual tickets and enjoy a slower trip.
🇫🇷 Les Frenchies Tip
Add a second packed day to your pass and it is worth it. With the Louvre (€32), Versailles (€35), and the Arc de Triomphe (€22) on the Plus pass if you plan to include these three in your two day itinerary (among other activities) you’re well past the €179 price — that’s the scenario where the pass clearly pays off.
Who should buy it — and who shouldn’t
We work with American travelers every day, so let’s be specific about you.
✅ Buy the Paris Pass (likely the All-Inclusive Pass Plus) if you:
- Are visiting Paris for the first time with a long bucket list.
- Like a full, efficient day and don’t mind an early start.
- Want one app and one QR code instead of juggling a dozen confirmation emails.
- Are traveling with the grandkids and want the hop-on-hop-off bus to cut down on walking.
- Value predictable, prepaid costs so you’re not pulling out a card at every entrance.
❌ Skip It (buy tickets as you go) if you:
- Are taking a slow, romantic, or repeat trip where the joy is the cafés, markets, and neighborhoods.
- Only have one or two must-see sights in mind.
- Plan to spend whole afternoons in the Marais, Montmartre, or the Jardin du Luxembourg (all free).
- Hate feeling “on the clock” — the consecutive-day passes can create a subtle pressure to get your money’s worth.
If you’re somewhere in between, the flexible Explorer Pass (30 days, no daily clock) is the low-commitment middle ground.
How the Paris Pass works (it’s genuinely simple)
- Buy online and you’ll get a confirmation email instantly.
- Download the Go City app and enter your confirmation number to sync the pass. This does not activate it — the clock only starts when you scan your first attraction.
- Pre-book the reservation-required sights (Louvre, Versailles, Notre-Dame towers) through the links in the app.
- Show your QR code at each entrance. That’s it — no paper tickets, no ticket lines for most sites.
- Plan an early start on day one, since each day ends at midnight no matter when you begin.
🇫🇷 Les Frenchies Tip
A small but reassuring detail for nervous planners: non-activated passes are refundable within 90 days of purchase. So if your trip shifts or you change your mind before you scan into your first attraction, you’re not stuck.
Paris Pass vs. Paris Museum Pass: which one?
This is the most common follow-up question, so here’s the clean answer:
- Choose the Paris Museum Pass if your trip is mostly museums and monuments — the Louvre, Orsay, Versailles, the Arc — and you don’t care about tours, cruises, or tastings. It’s cheaper and laser-focused.
- Choose a Go City All-Inclusive Pass if your trip is mostly experiences — the Eiffel climb, Seine cruise, hop-on-hop-off bus, food and wine — and you’re not fussed about the big museums.
- Choose the All-Inclusive Pass Plus if you want both in one purchase. For most first-time visitors, this is the sweet spot, because almost everyone wants the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower and a Seine cruise.
Pros and cons at a glance
PROS
- Real savings when you sightsee at pace (3+ paid sights/day).
- One app, one QR code — a huge stress-reducer for first-timers.
- Includes crowd-pleasers most people want anyway (Eiffel, Seine cruise, Big Bus).
- The Plus version folds in the Louvre and Versailles.
- 90-day refund on unused passes lowers the risk.
CONS
- No public transportation included (budget separately).
- The consecutive-day pricing rewards a fast pace — not ideal for slow trips.
- You still have to make free timed reservations for the Louvre, Versailles, and Notre-Dame towers.
- The Eiffel Tower inclusion is a guided climb, not a summit lift.
- A poor fit for travelers doing one sight a day.
Tips to squeeze the most value out of your pass
- Front-load the big-ticket items. Put the Louvre, Versailles, and the hop-on-hop-off bus on your busiest days.
- Start by 9 a.m. on a daily pass. A late start wastes a whole midnight-to-midnight “day.”
- Book reservation sights the instant your pass syncs — morning Louvre and Versailles slots vanish days ahead.
- Pair the hop-on-hop-off bus with a cruise day to cover a lot of ground without exhausting anyone.
- Match the duration to your stamina, not your trip length. A 6-day pass only pays off if you’re truly sightseeing all six days.
Frequently Asked Questions
❓ Frequently Asked Questions – Paris Pass Options
Is the Paris Pass worth it in 2026?
Yes, if you visit three or more paid attractions per day — you’ll save money and consolidate everything into one app. If you sightsee at one attraction a day, it’s not worth it; buy individual tickets instead.
How much does the Paris Pass cost?
In 2026, the Explorer Pass starts at about €89/$103 for an adult per day, and the All-Inclusive Pass Plus at about €179 (~$208) for two days. Multi-day passes lower the per-day cost. Prices update seasonally, so check the live rate before buying.
Does the Paris Pass include the Louvre?
Only the All-Inclusive Pass Plus includes the Louvre (and Versailles and the Arc de Triomphe), because it bundles the Paris Museum Pass. The basic All-Inclusive and Explorer passes do not.
Does the Paris Pass include the Eiffel Tower?
It includes a guided climb to the Eiffel Tower’s 2nd floor — not a summit elevator ticket. If you want the very top by lift, book that separately.
Does the Paris Pass include the Metro?
No. None of the current Go City Paris passes include public transportation. Plan to pay separately with a contactless card, your phone, or a Navigo card.
Can I get a refund on the Paris Pass?
Yes — non-activated passes are refundable within 90 days of purchase. Once you scan your first attraction, the pass is active and the clock starts.
Paris Pass or Paris Museum Pass — which should I buy?
Choose the Paris Museum Pass for a museum-focused trip, a Go City All-Inclusive Pass for an experience-focused trip, or the All-Inclusive Pass Plus to get both museums and experiences in one purchase.
The verdict
The Paris Pass isn’t a scam and it isn’t magic — it’s a pace play. For an American visiting Paris for the first time with a real bucket list, the All-Inclusive Pass Plus turns a stressful pile of separate tickets into one app and usually saves money on top. For a slower, savor-it trip built around cafés and neighborhoods, you’ll be happier (and richer) buying tickets one at a time.
Be honest with yourself about how many paid sights you’ll actually do per day. If the answer is three or more, get the pass. If it’s one, keep your euros for a good dinner — you’re in Paris, after all.
👉 Ready to decide? Check today’s Paris Pass prices and pick your dates on Go City →
👉 Prefer a Museum-Only Trip? See the Paris Museum Pass →
Prices and inclusions verified June 2026 and subject to change. We keep this review updated — but always confirm the live price and attraction list before you buy.
Disclosure: We sometimes earn a small commission when you book through links on this page, at no extra cost to you. It never changes our recommendation — we only point you toward passes we use ourselves or would send our own family on. — The Frenchies