48 Hours in Paris: The Paris Pass Review

“Paris is always a good idea.” – Audrey Hepburn How did you fit so much in?  This is probably the number one question I got when I returned home from Paris last month because my three days in France were go-go-go but the main answer to that question is the Paris Pass.  If you have thought about going to Paris likely within the first 10 minutes of Googling you came across something mentioning the Paris Pass which is usually an excellent choice if you want to see everything the French capital has to offer – offering free entry to many of the main museums, monuments, and other attractions.  In two days I visited eight different places with my pass, take a look: 

On the first day I picked up my Paris Pass bright and early and then headed to three terrific museums – The Louvre, The Musée d’Orsay, and Musée Rodin.  I had been to the Louvre when I visited Paris 17 years earlier and remember it quite vividly so I did not spend too much time there but it was as gorgeous as I remembered.  My favorite of the three was likely The Musée d’Orsay where I spent a few hours and was thrilled when I learned their was a special exhibit on Edgar Degas, one of my favorite artists.   After that exhibit I wandered through the floors taking in pieces from my favorite painters including Édouard Manet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Claude Monet,  and it was an added treat to see one of Vincent Van Gogh’s self portraits from only a few feet away! 

My third museum of the day – which I also got  into free with the Paris Pass, are you sensing a theme? – was The Musée Rodin in Paris.  It featured so many wonderful pieces by the French sculptor Auguste Rodin but the most famous is probably The Thinker.  The massive statue is in the garden  and I spent a few minutes admiring it from all angles before escaping the cold (it was hovering right around freezing) and into the mansion where I took in more gorgeous works like the white marble statue, The Kiss. 

The last stop of my first day in Paris was my late after wine tasting Les Caves du Louvre.  I had the chance to try some delicious whites and reds while standing in the tunnels underneath the Louve which was an incredible experience but made for a poor photography space. 

After the cooking class I went to the The Panthéon located in the Latin Quarter in Paris and as soon as I stepped inside the Corinthian columns reminded me of my study abroad in Rome many years ago – that makes sense as it was modeled after Pantheon in Rome. The dome ceiling was absolutely breathtaking and I loved the pendulum swinging in the middle of the building. Oh, and if you don’t know by now I love grabbing a brochure or guide everywhere I go and was fascinated to learn that  The Panthéon is the burial place of some extremely famous french men and women including  Voltaire, Marie Curie, Rousseau, and Victor Hugo!

Next up it was the Musée de l’Orangerie which has a variety of art but is definitely most well known for the eight massive water-lily paintings by known as the Nymphéas.  They are extremely hard to photograph as the two oval rooms where the eight paintings are displayed are massive and crowded but I tried my best to capture their beauty! 

Which Paris attraction would you want to visit most from this Paris Pass Review?