Museum cards
I love visiting museums, I love getting to learn about history and I also love getting to reflect on the art I’m seeing. I currently have 3 different subscriptions, which personally I think are worth it. Sometimes I like to write an article after visiting so that I really take the time to think about it, you them here here.
National Monuments (passion monuments)
I have the duo national monument card (passion monuments) which has over 80 monuments inside France. I opted for the duo card, because it’s often a place I go to with a friend, so this allows me to get another person in for free. I subscribed for the year, starting from the 25th April 2024. The solo subscription costs 45€ and the duo costs 70€.
One of the great things about this card, is you’re able to skip the queues, this extra cool in places like Sainte-Chapelle which always have a long queue.
Has it been worth it?
| museum | cost | total saved | date |
|---|---|---|---|
| arc de triomphe | 16€ (x2) | 32€ | 26/04/2024 |
| Maison des Jardies | 7€ | 7€ | 02/05/2024 |
| arc de triomphe | 16€ (x2) | 32€ | 08/08/2024 |
| la Conciergerie | 13€ (x2) | 26€ | 02/11/2024 |
| Sainte-Chapelle* | 13€ (x2) | 26€ | 02/11/2024 |
* you can but a twin ticket for la Conciergerie and Sainte-Chapelle which costs 20€ instead of 26€.
I went to Maison des Jardies as part of my day trip to Ville d’Avray, and I’m not sure if I would have known about this museum if it wasn’t for this card. I followed the guided tour and it was so good.
total saved so far: 123€
Within a few month of having the card, I’ve already saved money! I’ve had a great time visiting the arc de triomphe with a friend (I hadn’t been in years) and I loved the guided tour of Maison des Jardies à Sèvres. It’s been helpful with my alphabet of Île-de-France project. This card is great because it’s not specific to Paris or Île-de-France. It’s great when I have friends visiting because it allows me to take them to some of the tourist locations with needing to pay for tickets on the day.
Paris museum card
Since the 18th February 2024 I have had the solo card to the Paris Museums which cost 40€. I opted for the solo card for the museums, because often I go to museums alone so that I can go at my own pace. This is my second time having this card however my previous hard was the under 26 which was cheaper.
These are the exhibitions that I’ve been to and what their full price ticket costs:
| museum | exhibition | ticket price | date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Musée Carnavalet | La Régence à Paris | 13€ | 22/02/2024 |
| Musée d’Art Moderne | Présences arabes | 12€ | 08/05/2024 |
| Musée d’Art Moderne | Jean Hélion | 15€ | 23/06/2024 |
| Petit Palais | Théodore Rousseau | 12€ | 26/06/2024 |
| Musée d’Art Moderne* | Présences arabes | 12€ | 24/07/2024 |
| Musée d’Art Moderne | Présences arabes | 12€ | 06/08/2024 |
| Musée Carnavalet | Paris 1793-1794 | 13€ | 27/11/2024 |
| Musée Bourdelle | Rodin / Bourdelle - corps à corps | 10€ | 17/12/2024 |
Total saved so far: 87€ so I’ve now made my money back (and there’s still more to see!).
I wrote a blog about both Jean Hélion at the MaM and Théodore Rousseau at the Petit Palais.
All of these museums have a free permanent collection.
* I wanted to see this exhibition with a friend, but we couldn’t get to the museum because it was in the grey zone for the olympic opening ceremony. We needed a QR code but we didn’t receive it on time. I am not counting this in the total saved.
BNF (Bibliothèque Nationale de France)
I bought the year subscription to the BNF which costs 24€ because I was looking for a place to work from - the city libraries are great but I find they often have weird opening hours, and don’t always have power sockets that are accessible (I do sometimes work from the city libraries). BNF have different locations in Paris, but I would say the two mains ones are Francois-Mitterrand and Richelieu.
It’s free to work from Richelieu, but finding a place is hard. The oval room is really beautiful but it’s almost always full. I usually work at Francois-Mitterrand, I’ve always been able to find a space, the tables are big, all have power sockets at the wifi works. Entry to work here costs 5€ per day, or free entry after 5pm. You can see how long the security line is on the app Affluences as well as how busy each of the rooms are. I’m actually writing this article from Francois-Mitterrand.
I have definitely got my 24€ back with the about of times I’ve worked from the library.
They also have exhibitions here, which don’t seem to be that known. I recently went to the exhibition “La France sous leur yeux” which I enjoyed a lot. Entry was included in the BNF subscription (full price ticket is 10€). I wrote my thoughts on the exhibition here
Other subscriptions
There are a number of other subscriptions to other museums in Paris such as Amis de Louvre which gives access to the Louvre and reduced entry to other museums including Institut du monde arabe. This subscription costs 80€ full price (with some reductions if you’re under 30). Personally, I don’t think I need another subscription because I don’t have the time to visit museums all of the time. Depending on the type of museums you like, depends on the best subscription for you.
I also love that most museums are free if you’re under 26, and some have free permanent collections like the MaM. I went to a lot of museums when I was an au pair because they were free and I think it’s great that culture is accessible.
Get in contact
Do you have a museum card that you would recommend? What is your favourite museum in Paris? I would love to chat all things museums, you can reach me via instagram at @abisummers
published date: 17th May 2024
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