The Paris Pass®: 40+ Attractions Including Eiffel Tower

The Paris Pass® turns Paris sightseeing into a menu of choices: climb the Eiffel Tower, cruise the Seine, taste wine beneath the Louvre, join a Montmartre walk, or hop aboard the Big Bus. I like the wide mix of major sights and small local-style activities, and I like that you can use the pass for a short, packed visit or spread it across six days. The main catch is simple: you need to keep moving to make the math work.

I also like the Go City app, which gives you attraction details, opening hours, itinerary planning, and booking instructions in one place. But read the fine print before you go. The Eiffel Tower option is a guided climb by stairs, not a lift visit, and some activities require a reservation or offer only narrow time slots.

Key points

• Climb the Eiffel Tower by guided stair route: The included Eiffel option is not a lift ticket, so plan around the physical effort.
• Pair major sights with local activities: Add a Seine cruise, Montmartre walk, wine tasting, French breakfast, or chocolate museum to the big-name attractions.
• Upgrade for the Louvre and Versailles: The Paris Pass Plus adds the Paris Museum Pass, with access to 50+ museums and monuments.
• Use the app before activating the pass: Reservations, opening hours, and attraction instructions can affect your schedule.
• Pack a charged smartphone: Your pass is digital, and you may need both the Go City pass and a separate museum pass for some visits.
• Aim for three or four activities a day: That is the pace at which the pass is most likely to feel like good value.

What the Paris Pass actually includes

The Paris Pass is a digital sightseeing pass valid for 1, 2, 3, 4, or 6 consecutive calendar days. It includes entry to 40 or more attractions, tours, food stops, and activities. The current listed price is $91 per person, though the cost depends on the pass length and booking availability.

The pass activates the first time you visit an attraction. Its days are calendar days, not rolling 24-hour periods. If you scan in at 4 p.m., that still counts as day one, so activate it early in the morning whenever possible.

You may visit each included attraction once. That matters if you are planning a relaxed return visit to the same museum or activity. This is a sightseeing pass for variety, not a museum membership.

You can download the pass to the Go City app, which also works as your planning tool. A PDF guide is available too, but the app is more useful for checking current hours and finding reservation links. Attractions can change without notice, so do not build a tightly packed plan several weeks ahead and assume every stop will remain available.

Eiffel Tower climbing, not lift access

The Eiffel Tower guided climb is one of the pass’s headline attractions, but you need to understand exactly what you are booking. The included visit is a climb by stairs. It is not a standard lift ticket, and that distinction matters for anyone with bad knees, limited mobility, or little interest in a substantial stair climb.

The reward is a close look at the tower’s iron structure and a different way to approach Paris’s most familiar landmark. You also avoid treating the tower as a quick photo stop. Still, if you want lift access, you will need to arrange that separately.

Reservations may be needed for the Eiffel Tower and other popular activities. Check the app before activating your pass, especially if the tower is a must-do. A pass does not guarantee an open time slot.

Seine cruise and Big Bus orientation

The one-day Big Bus Paris Hop-On Hop-Off Tour is useful at the start of a visit. It gives you a broad look at the main sights without asking you to master the Metro on your first morning. Use it to spot areas you want to revisit, then get off and explore on foot.

The Seine River Cruise with Bateaux Parisiens offers a different view of Paris. From the water, you can connect the city’s major monuments and bridges in one sitting. It is also a welcome break after several hours of walking.

Neither activity replaces exploring on foot. The bus can be slow in traffic, and a cruise gives you views rather than long stops. I would use the bus early in a short trip and save the river cruise for late afternoon or evening, though the exact departure times should be checked in the app.

Transportation to and from attractions is not generally included. The bus tour is an included attraction, but your regular journeys between activities are your responsibility.

The Paris Pass’s best small experiences

The pass works best when you combine expensive headline sights with activities you might not buy separately. That is where the choice becomes more interesting than a basic list of museums.

At Les Caves du Louvre, the French wine tasting is a particularly good fit for a Paris visit. It gives you a food and wine stop tied to the city rather than another indoor sight. The activity was singled out as a favorite, and it is easy to see why: it offers a change of pace while still feeling distinctly Parisian.

Other food options include a Parisian breakfast at Café Louise, a croque monsieur with a Champagne cocktail by the Seine, French sweet crepes near the Arc de Triomphe, and a French apéro in Saint-Germain-des-Prés. These inclusions can add value, but check exactly what each voucher covers. Food and drinks are not generally included unless the specific activity says they are.

The Perfume Mini Workshop by Fragonard and the Gourmet Chocolate Museum Choco-Story offer hands-on or taste-focused breaks from monuments. The Fashion Show at Galeries Lafayette adds a different angle on French style. These are useful choices on a rainy day or when your group needs something less demanding than another major museum.

Montmartre, Saint-Germain, and the walking tours

The pass includes several walking tours, and these can be among its most rewarding choices. Montmartre and Sacré-Coeur, Saint-Germain-des-Prés, the Latin Quarter, Le Marais, covered passages, Montparnasse, the River Seine bridges, and women of Paris all offer a more personal way to understand the city.

The Montmartre options include a walking tour and a Champagne Gourmand activity. Montmartre is hilly, so wear comfortable shoes and allow extra time between stops. A guided walk also gives structure to an area that can otherwise feel like a collection of crowded viewpoints and souvenir shops.

The Saint-Germain and Latin Quarter walks focus on two central neighborhoods with very different moods. The Le Marais tour and covered passages walk are good choices if you prefer streets, architecture, and small details to large museum rooms. The Père Lachaise tour, focused on scandals and love affairs, offers a more unusual angle on Paris.

These tours often run at fixed times. Do not assume you can arrive whenever you like. Read the booking instructions in the app, and leave breathing room around each walk.

Notre Dame and other central Paris sights

The Notre Dame and Archaeological Crypt Experience connects the cathedral area with the remains below the square. The wording matters: this is not simply a guided tour inside Notre Dame. It is an area-based experience that ends at Notre Dame, with the crypt as an important part of the visit.

The Opera National de Paris self-guided tour gives you a chance to see one of Paris’s grand performance buildings at your own pace. Tour Montparnasse, meanwhile, is about the view. Since the tower is outside the historic core, combine it with the Montparnasse neighborhood walking tour if the schedules line up.

The Aquarium de Paris, Grevin Paris wax museum, Paradox Museum Paris, and Rex Studios offer alternatives for families or anyone who wants a lighter day. Parc Astérix is also included, though it is a major outing rather than a quick central Paris stop. PanoraMagique at Disney Village and the Stade de France Tour likewise require you to think carefully about travel time.

The pass gives you many options, but not all options belong in the same day. A central walking tour, wine tasting, and river cruise can fit together. Parc Astérix, Versailles, and a museum-heavy schedule need separate planning.

Why the Paris Museum Pass upgrade changes the calculation

The standard Paris Pass includes 40 or more attractions, but the Paris Museum Pass is the important upgrade for many first-time visitors. Paris Pass Plus adds access to 50 or more museums and monuments, including the Louvre, Palace of Versailles, Arc de Triomphe, Orsay Museum, Sainte-Chapelle, Orangerie Museum, Picasso Museum, and Rodin Museum.

For a museum-focused trip, the upgrade makes more sense than trying to fill every day with smaller activities. The Louvre alone can take much of a day, and Versailles is not a quick add-on. You will need to account for travel time, opening hours, and the energy required for both.

The museum pass is separate from the regular Go City digital pass in practical terms. For the 2 and 3-day Paris Pass Plus options, you receive a 2-day Paris Museum Pass and must follow the reservation portal instructions to download it before sightseeing.

Keep both passes available. A common mistake is arriving with the attraction booking but not the museum pass, or with the museum pass but not the attraction ticket. Some operators need both items scanned.

The museum pass can also help with lines at certain sites, but it does not remove the need to reserve a timed entry when one is required. The Louvre is a good example of why you should plan early. It is possible for preferred times to fill before you have activated the main pass.

Working out the value at $91

The advertised saving can reach 50 percent compared with buying individual tickets, but that figure depends on how you use the pass. The published saving is based on sample itineraries, not a guarantee for every visitor.

At $91 per person, I would not buy the pass for one major attraction and a casual walk. I would consider it for a day with a bus tour, Eiffel Tower climb, Seine cruise, and one or two paid activities, provided the schedules work.

For a two or three-day pass, aim for roughly three or four activities per day. That was the pace that made the pass feel worthwhile, while also leaving room for meals and walking. You do not need to choose the most expensive sights every time. A breakfast, wine tasting, or guided neighborhood walk can fill a gap without feeling like a forced purchase.

The one-day pass demands the most discipline. It is useful for a concentrated sightseeing day, but you will spend much of that day watching the clock. A four or six-day pass gives you more room to use the smaller experiences and take breaks.

The pass does not include normal transportation, and food and drinks are excluded unless specifically stated. Add those costs to your plan. Also remember that each attraction can be visited only once.

How to plan your days without racing across Paris

Start with the attractions that require reservations. Put the Eiffel Tower, timed museum entries, walking tours, and fixed food activities into your calendar first. Then add flexible choices nearby.

A practical two-day pattern could look like this:

• Day one: Big Bus, Eiffel Tower climb, Seine cruise, and a central food stop.
• Day two: One museum or monument with the Paris Museum Pass, followed by a neighborhood walk and wine tasting.

That is still a full schedule. For three days, add Montmartre, the Opera tour, Saint-Germain, or a second museum day rather than trying to squeeze all of them into the first two days.

Use the Go City app’s itinerary planner, but treat it as a guide rather than an automatic route. Check travel time between locations. Paris looks compact on a map, yet a trip from a central museum to a distant attraction can cost more time than expected.

Keep your smartphone charged. The pass is digital, and you may need it at several entry points during the day. Download the museum pass before you set out if your package includes it.

Who should buy the pass

I would recommend the Paris Pass to first-time visitors who want a busy sightseeing schedule and appreciate having many choices in one purchase. It suits people who want to mix landmarks, tours, food stops, and lighter attractions rather than spend every day inside museums.

It is also a good fit for families or mixed-interest groups. One person can choose a walking tour, another can visit a museum, and the group can meet later for a cruise or food activity. The wide menu helps, though each person still needs to follow the same reservation rules.

I would be more cautious if you prefer slow mornings, long café stops, or repeat visits to favorite museums. The pass rewards activity. It is less useful if you plan to see only two or three sights over several days.

Mobility is another consideration. The Eiffel option is a stair climb, and some walking tours involve extended time on your feet. The pass offers many choices, but you should check each activity before building your schedule.

Booking advice and cancellation

The pass is valid for one year from purchase, but it does not begin counting down until your first attraction visit. Once activated, it runs for the consecutive number of calendar days you purchased.

You can cancel for a full refund up to 24 hours in advance. Reservations may be required at individual attractions, and included options can change without notice, so check the app shortly before your trip.

There is no fixed group meeting point for the pass itself. You receive a digital pass after booking and go directly to each attraction or tour, following any reservation instructions.

Should you book the Paris Pass?

Book it if you want to see Paris at a quick pace and can plan around reservations. The strongest value comes from combining the Eiffel Tower climb, Big Bus, Seine cruise, a paid tasting or food stop, and several tours or museums.

Choose Paris Pass Plus if the Louvre, Versailles, Arc de Triomphe, Orsay Museum, and other major museums are central to your trip. Skip the pass if you prefer a loose schedule or only want a few attractions.

My practical rule is to map out your desired visits first, count the individual prices, and then compare that total with the pass. If your plan reaches three or four activities per day, the $91 price can make good sense. If not, buying separate tickets may leave you with more time and less pressure.

FAQ

How many days is the Paris Pass valid?

You can choose a pass valid for 1, 2, 3, 4, or 6 days.

Does the Paris Pass include the Louvre?

The standard Paris Pass does not list the Louvre among its included attractions. You can upgrade to Paris Pass Plus, which includes the Paris Museum Pass and access to the Louvre.

Does the pass include Versailles?

Palace of Versailles access is included with the Paris Museum Pass upgrade, not the standard Paris Pass attractions.

Is the Eiffel Tower lift included?

No. The included Eiffel Tower activity is a guided climb by stairs. Lift access is not included in this option.

Do I need a smartphone?

Yes. You should bring a charged smartphone because the pass is digital and is accessed through the Go City app.

Can I visit an attraction more than once?

No. Each included attraction can be visited only once.

Does the pass include public transportation?

Transportation to and from attractions is not included unless specifically stated. The one-day Big Bus Paris tour is an included attraction.

Can I cancel the Paris Pass?

Yes. You can cancel up to 24 hours before the activity for a full refund.