How to Get Skip the Line Tickets for Paris Attractions

Should you get skip-the-line tickets for the most popular Paris attractions?

Yes. With well over 20 million tourists coming to the City of Lights to see its famous attractions each year, ticket lines get long - very, very, long. Don't waste your time in Paris by standing in ticket lines when you don't have to.

Skip-the-Line Tickets to Popular Paris Attractions

Which Paris attractions, museums, and monuments offer skip-the-line admission? All of the most popular places in Paris known for their long lines:

Louvre Museum Timed-Entrance Ticket - Walk past the long lines and get expedited entrance
Eiffel Tower Entry Ticket with Optional Summit Access - The most popular options
Eiffel Tower Stairs Tickets - Get a unique perspective of this archtectural wonder (and work off all the calories from your breakfast croissants)
Orsay Museum - Bypass the long lines on your way to see Van Gogh & other Impressionists
Notre Dame Cathedral - Reservations for specific dates/time slots are free; without a reservation, you'll squander your precious time in Paris in a slower-moving longer line
Catacombs - Lines here are long and slow-moving - so always get skip-the-line entry here
Versailles Skip the Line Tour & Garden Access - Includes transportation from Paris & a guided tour
Arc de Triomphe rooftop terrace - Bypass the long ticket lines
Disneyland Paris - Get fast entry to the Magical Kingdom
Paris Opera House (Opéra Garnier) - Absolutely dazzling!
Sainte Chapelle - Skip the notoriously slow ticket lines (although you'll still need to queue for security)

Skip-the-line (also called "fast-track" or "priority") tickets that let you reserve a specific date/time slot are almost always worth getting and are easy to buy online before you travel.

In addition to skip-the-line entrance tickets, you have two other ways to avoid waiting in long lines while getting a better touring experience:

1. Guided tours always include skip-the-line priority access; a few even give you access to private areas not available to most visitors. The expert guides who lead these tours will enrich your experience by telling and showing you things you might miss on your own.

Some skip-the-line guided tours for destinations outside of Paris such as Versailles, Giverny, and Disneyland even include transportation - another time and stress saver, especially if you're traveling with kids. (If you're traveling to these places on a train and your kids are seen putting their feet on the seat, you can be fined 65€. If your kids are like mine were at certain ages and you're on your way to Disneyland, for example, good luck with getting them to sit properly for a prolonged period of time when they're practically jumping up and down with excitement.)

2. The Paris Museum Pass lets you skip the line at many top museums and monuments by reserving a specific date/time slot. This works well for almost all attractions - but for the very most popular destinations such as the Louvre, Versailles, and a few others, you should be aware that a guided tour will be somewhat faster because guides get to use a special entrance, so if you're on a tight schedule, you might want to consider a guided tour (which of course offers other advantages as well).

To be clear, none of these ticket and tour options let you skip security lines, which are mandatory. The good news is that security lines normally move much more quickly than the slower ticket lines, which is what you do get to skip.

For the most popular destinations such as the Eiffel Tower, Versailles, and Disneyland Paris, you should order your skip-the-line tickets or book your tour as soon as you know your travel dates. The tours and tickets for these top attractions sell out faster than you might expect, especially for peak travel periods. Don't be left standing in line!

Top photo: Ticket lines in front of Versailles Palace in July

Louvre Museum Skip the Line Tickets

Ticket line at the Louvre winding around the courtyard; nearby signs warn of a 2+ hour wait

Home to the Mona Lisa - perhaps the most famous painting in the world - and countless other treasures filling its vast spaces, the Louvre Museum attracts massive crowds.

During peak seasons, getting through the regular ticket line can take up to three hours or more. (My own worst-ever record was in the "more" category: almost 4 hours.) Don't risk being stuck in this line, or not getting in at all: get a skip-the-line ticket with timed entry for a reserved date/time slot in advance.

At this time, the Louvre is struggling to accommodate huge crowds of visitors but they do have a new system in place where they try to get visitors with timed entry skip-the-line tickets admitted within half an hour of arrival.

In my own recent experiences with a skip-the-line ticket in hand, the Louvre hasn't quite achieved the 30-minute mark - it's been more like 40-45 minutes from getting in line to passing through the entrance - but that sure beats the alternative.

However, there's an even faster way to get in that I'll tell you about in a moment.

Check availability:

Paris Discovery Guide's Louvre Skip-the-Line Picks

Although you can use your Paris Museum Pass to get into the Louvre, you'll still have the same wait as everyone else with a skip-the-line admission ticket. So as promised, I'm going to tell you about an even faster way.

For the Louvre (and also Versailles, but more about that in a moment), joining a guided tour is usually the most reliable way to get in fast. That's because guided tours get to enter through a special tours-only entrance in the Richelieu passage where there's never a wait aside from the couple of minutes required to get through the security check.

Sure, tours cost more but you do get other benefits and if you have limited time (or, like me, limited patience for wasting time in lines when you don't have to), a tour is the way to go. I'm normally happy to save money but since my time in Paris is always limited, I do my best to make every minute count - even if some of those minutes involve relaxing at a Paris cafe with a drink and enjoying excellent people-watching.

Here are some good choices, especially if you're visiting the Louvre for the first time.

Louvre Museum Masterpieces Tour - Discover the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, and Winged Victory on this popular guided 3-hour tour, which also includes Greek and Roman antiquities, other iconic Italian masterpieces, the Apollo Gallery with the Crown Jewels, and Napoleon III's lavish apartments. This is a long tour - about 3 hours, and even longer if you choose the wine and cheese tasting option - but if you want a reasonably comprehensive intro to the Louvre, it's an excellent choice.
Best of the Louvre Guided Tour - This small group tour includes the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, and other highlights but is only 2 hours long
Priority Access to Louvre with Host: Direct to Mona Lisa - This option gives you 4 things: 1) Priority access to the Louvre through the fast tours-only entrance, 2) a "host" who leads you straight to the Mona Lisa, 3) access to the rest of the Louvre to explore on your own, if you wish, and 4) an audioguide. What you don't get is a guided tour. But if all you really want to see is the Mona Lisa, this is the easiest and fastest way to do it. You can look around the rest of the museum if you want - or if not, leave and get on with the rest of your day. No judgment either way.

In addition to giving you fast entry, these tours help you navigate the huge crowds, show you more of the Louvre's magnificent art than you might discover on your own, and share interesting insights about this palace-turned-museum.

After the tour, spend as much time as you want to see even more on your own.

More about Louvre Museum guided tours

Eiffel Tower Skip the Line Tickets & Other Fast Entry Options

The Eiffel Tower is another top Paris attraction where a skip-the-line ticket can mean the difference between getting in - or not.

During peak seasons, getting through the regular ticket line just to buy your ticket can take up to three hours or more. Don't risk being stuck in it, or not getting in at all: get a skip-the-line-ticket with optional Summit access for a reserved date/time slot in advance.

Getting Tickets on the Eiffel Tower Website

Tickets go on sale on the Eiffel Tower's website about 60 days in advance but during the busiest seasons, they sell out quickly so you need to book as far in advance as possible.

Even with a skip-the-line ticket, you do have to stand in line for a security check and also (usually) another line to board the elevator to the top of the Eiffel Tower.

Sometimes these lines move fairly quickly, but at other times, they don't.

Getting in Faster with a Tour Group

You can speed up the entry process by booking a guided or "hosted" Eiffel Tower tour because these groups usually go through a tour-only security line and elevator which reduces your wait time.

These tours are also a good option when the regular tickets are sold out for the date or time you need.

They do cost more, but can also save you some stress and hassle, especially if this is your first visit.

You meet your guide offsite near the Tower and walk over together. Your guide will share interesting information about the Tower's history and what you'll see, but the biggest advantage (aside from the faster tour-only security line and elevator) is that they will guide you through the crowds and give you tips about how to stay safe from pickpockets.

Here's the most popular guided option:

Skip-the-line tickets or tours are well-worth getting for the Eiffel Tower if you want to make the best use of your time, but there are even more ways such as dining in one of the Tower's restaurants, enjoy a classical concert on the first floor above ground level (one of my own favorite ET experiences, especially around the Christmas/New Year holidays), or climbing up the stairs (all 674 steps) to the 2nd floor.

More about other the ways to get Eiffel Tower tickets

Versailles Palace & Gardens Skip the Line Tickets - A Must!

Especially during spring, summer, and early fall, skip-the-line tickets for entrance to Château de Versailles, famous for its Hall of Mirrors and beautiful gardens, can save you up to 3-4 hours of wait time in the long, long ticket lines.

PDG's Versailles Palace Skip-the-Line Picks

Versailles Skip-the-Line Half-Day Tour & Hotel Transfer - Experience the lavish palace and gardens enjoyed by French kings and queens, including Marie Antoinette as an expert guide shows you the famous Hall of Mirrors, State Apartments, King's Bedroom, and more.
Skip-the-Line Versailles Palace Tour by Train from Paris - For this 3-hour small group tour of Versailles and its gardens, a guide meets you in central Paris, escorts you by RER train to Versailles, whisks you through the priority entrance, and takes you on a 3-hour-guided tour through the palace and its gardens. Depending on the day of the week you choose, you'll also enjoy a Musical Gardens or Fountain Show. Explore more on your own before taking the train back to Paris (your guide will give you the tickets).

More Versailles Skip-the-Line Tour Choices

Catacombs Skip the Line Tickets & Tours

Some Paris guide books describe the Catacombs, former quarries repurposed as a burial ground for millions of Parisians, as a little-known but cool Paris attraction.

But nothing could be farther than the truth, as you can attest if you get stuck for 2-3 hours or more in the slow-moving regular ticket line. Although you used to shorten your wait by arriving before opening time or late in the day, that hack no long works because everybody tries it.

The Catacombs' tunnels can hold only 200 visitors at one time, which adds to the line's slowness. To avoid the long wait, you should always get your priority reserved date/time slot Catacombs tickets in advance:

Another option is to get tickets for a small-group guided tour, with an expert guide to share information, insights, and stories - plus, you'll get to see some special "exclusive" areas!

Disneyland Paris Skip the Line Tickets & Transport

Parks Full sign at Disneyland Paris — The dreaded "Parks Full" sign at Disneyland Paris

Disneyland Paris has almost no "slow" season other than a short period during January, as rolling school vacation weeks in France and elsewhere in Europe means happy kids and their families almost always fill the park - it competes with the Eiffel Tower as the most popular tourist destination in the Paris region.

There are actually two parks: Disneyland and Walt Disney Studios. You can get tickets for a full-day pass to one or both (based on which option you choose), with round-trip transportation on a luxury express bus from central Paris included.

During the busiest seasons (May through mid-September, school vacation periods, major holidays), the park may actually be closed to anyone who doesn't have a reserved ticket for a specific day.

More Disney Ticket and Transportation Choices

Musée d'Orsay Fast Access Tickets & Skip the Line Tours

Famous for its superb collection of Impressionist paintings, including Van Gogh's Starry Night, the Orsay Museum is not nearly as huge as the Louvre, but don't be fooled - it's crammed full of treasures, many of which can be easy to miss, and like the Louvre, it's usually packed with people due to its popularity.

Admission lines can be long and slow - an hour or more in the queue is not unusual. To avoid this wait, get a reserved access ticket or use your Paris Museum Pass.

For a special experience, take a small-group Orsay Museum tour with an expert guide who can help you understand the context and history of the fabulous art you're seeing and appreciate it at a whole new level. (The guides are also ususally quite good at maneuvering you into a good position in front of the most popular paintings.)

More about what to see & do at the Orsay Museum

Notre Dame Cathedral Skip the Line Tours

Ever since Notre Dame Cathedral reopened after the fire, tout le monde wants to visit - understandably, of course (I'm right there among the crowds).

To control the flow of visitors, Notre Dame has implemented a free reservation system that allows you to book a time slot on a specific date. You can reserve your place on the Cathedral's website. Again, no charge - admission is totally free.

If anyone approaches you outside the Cathedral and tries to sell you a ticket, it's a scam. Just ignore them. I'm not sure if this is still happening but it did initially.

You can also get in (eventually) if you don't have a reservation - but it's a longer line and moves more slowly than the line for people who have reservations. On a recent visit with a ticket in hand, my line was quite long moved fast (there is a quick security check at the door, so that takes a few extra seconds). From reaching the end of the line to passing through the door took about 5 minutes.

The "no reservations" line moved only about half as quickly as my line, and was at least twice as long.

Arc de Triomphe Rooftop Terrace Skip the Line Tickets

Go straight to the front of the admissions line at Arc de Triomphe with a skip-the-line ticket - for the same price you'd pay at the gate but no wasted time in line, it's a sure bet, and the views of Paris, Champs Elysées, and the Eiffel Tower from the terrace at the top of the Arc will thrill you.

More about visiting the Arc de Triomphe

Paris Opera House (Opéra Garnier) Skip the Line Tickets

Get a reserved-access ticket reserved access ticket and feel happy as you walk past the often long and slow-moving line to explore the spectacular Paris Opera House, widely considered the most flamboyant opera house in Europe.

See all the magnificent art, costumes, and sculptures in this Baroque masterpiece, and be dazzled by the over-the top display of gold, mirrors, and sparkling crystal chandeliers.

For Opera and Ballet performances, of course, you always need tickets (you'll find them listed in PDG's monthly concert schedules).

More Paris Attractions Where Skip the Line Tickets Save You Time

At the following Paris attractions, you'll sometimes encounter slow-moving lines, and at other times, you can breeze right in. Although longer lines typically happen during prime tourist season, special exhibitions throughout the year can attract crowds and crush your hopes for a speedy entrance.

All of them offer online tickets giving you priority access for the same price as the tickets you'd stand in line for, so even if you save yourself only 5-10 minutes line time, the advance tickets are well worth getting.

Picasso Museum

"Priority" tickets let you go to the front of the line at the popular Picasso Museum, located in a gorgeous mansion in the Marais neighborhood. Only a limited number of these tickets are available each day due to the museum's smaller size, and they go fast.

Alternately, book a private tour with a Picasso expert as your guide.

Sainte Chapelle

Soaring stained glass windows make visiting the medieval Sainte Chapelle a memorable experience like no other. Skip-the-line tickets with priority access are worth getting in advance because the chapel can accommodate only a limited number of visitors at one time.

Even with a skip-the-line ticket, the passage through the security checks can be painfully slow. Don't doom yourself to an even longer wait by not having an advance ticket in hand when you arrive.

Get your tickets

Money-saving combo skip-the-line tickets for Sainte Chapelle and the nearby Conciergerie, first a royal palace and then a prison where Marie Antoinette spent her final days during the French Revolution are also available. Get combo tickets

Another value-packed option is an affordable 45-minute small-group walking tour of Île de la Cité (the small island in the Seine River where Sainte Chapelle is located) that includes a skip-the line-entry ticket for Notre Dame Cathedral for your self-guided experience inside the newly restored cathedra.

More about Sainte Chapelle visits, tours, & concerts

Batobus

I love exploring Paris while using the Batobus - Paris's hop-on, hop-off Seine River passenger boat - to get from one side of the city to the other.

With 9 stops at attractions such as the Louvre, Eiffel Tower, Jardin des Plantes, Musée d'Orsay, and Saint-Germain, it's a pleasurable and quite affordable way to get around.

Although theoretically you can buy an all-day ticket at any of the stops, in reality that's not always so easy, fast, or even possible: the ticket agent is taking a 15-minute smoking break or bathroom break, or a 2-hour lunch, or too busy helping people on and off the boat.

So do what I do before walking down to the river - always get your Batobus ticket in advance.

Grevin Wax Museum

Truly a fun experience as you wander through creatively staged rooms and pose next to 200 or so life-like wax figures, the fantastic Hindu temple and light show in the Hall of Mirrors, and fascinating historical re-creations.

The line here can be long and seem unreasonably slow (I learned this the hard way), so an advance ticket is always a good idea.

Get your skip the line tickets

Galerie Dior

Advance skip-the-line tickets have been essential at Galerie Dior ever since it opened due to this beautifully-curated space's tremendous and unflagging popularity.

But what you need to also know is that you also need to make them at least two and sometimes three weeks in advance.

Although Galerie Dior's website mentions that a few tickets are available for purchase every day and "there may be a wait," what the website doesn't tell you is that your wait may be hours long. I recently asked a few people in the ticket purchase line how long they'd been waiting and they said almost three hours.

So don't risk squandering that much of your time in Paris waiting in a ticket line - get your tickets several weeks before your visit.

Espace Dali

Espace Dali, located in the scenic Montmartre neighborhood in Paris, boasts the largest collection of surrealist artist Salvador Dali's work in France. Skip-the-line tickets let you enter without waiting and cost about the same as those sold at the door. Get your tickets

Frequently Asked Questions: Skip the Line Tickets

Q: How soon before my trip should I get skip-the-line tickets?

A: For the most popular destinations such as the Eiffel Tower, you should order your skip-the-line tickets as soon as you know your travel dates. The tickets do sell out, especially for late spring and summer dates - sometimes as much as several weeks in advance.

Q: Do you pay more for skip-the-line entry tickets compared with regular tickets that you'd stand in line to get?

A: It depends. Museums such as the Louvre typically offer skip-the-line tickets purchased in advance at the same cost as regular tickets. Other attractions such as the Catacombs and Eiffel Tower sell skip the line tickets at a premium price, whether you buy them on the attraction's website (if available) or through a ticket booking website.

Q: I've heard you still have to go through a security line. True?

A: True - you cannot skip the security line. But many of the biggest attractions now have special expedited security lines for people with skip the line tickets, so they usually move fast. Typically, the longest wait in a security line might run about 5 minutes.

Q: Should I get skip-the-line tickets even if my trip to Paris isn't during the busy summer months?

A: Currently, due to the pandemic, many attractions require that you buy your tickets online. Even before the pandemic hit, buying skip-the-line tickets online before going saved lots of time and trouble. Why waste even 5-10 minutes of your time in Paris by standing in line when you don't have to?

Q: Why do you show skip-the-line tickets on Paris Discovery Guide from GetYourGuide and other ticket distributors instead of directly from the attractions?

A: GetYourGuide, Viator, and other ticket distributors offer secure ticket booking platforms and offer tickets for many different attractions, tours, and experiences in one place - usually a much more convenient way to find out what's available, compare offers, and quickly book tickets, and, when necessary, reschedule or get refunds. Their websites are also easier to navigate.

GetYourGuide lets you book in your own currency, which can save you conversion fees. They do not add booking or service fees of their own; on the rare occasions when an attraction charges an online booking fee, GetYourGuide tells you the amount up front. They also pass on small discounts to you when available. If you need to change a date, cancel a ticket, or get help with something else, they provide customer support in English and other languages.

Alternately, in many cases you can purchase tickets directly from the attractions' or tour guides' websites - just remember to convert Euros to your own currency to get an accurate idea of your ticket cost. If you have to book your tickets in Euros instead of your own currency, use a credit card that doesn't charge extra currency conversion fees (beyond the 1% that almost all cards charge) if possible.

Paris Museum Pass: Another Way to Skip the Lines

The Paris Museum Pass gives you free skip-the-line admission to 60+ top museums and monuments in Paris and the nearby suburbs for a fixed period of time - you choose 2 days, 4 days, or 6 days when you buy the card.

The Paris Museum Pass includes fast track skip-the-line access to most of the popular attractions mentioned above: Sainte Chapelle, the Louvre Museum, Conciergerie, Musée d'Orsay, Pompidou Center, the Arc de Triomphe, and Versailles Palace. It also covers plenty of others for which skip-the-line options are not normally available, such as the Branly Museum, Cluny Museum (Musée National du Moyen Âge), and the Air and Space Museum located north of the city.

Not every museum in the city is included in the Pass nor are attractions such as the Eiffel Tower, Disneyland Paris, Catacombs, or the Paris Opera House.

But if the Paris Museum Pass includes enough of the places you want to visit and if you can compress your visits into 2, 4, or 6 days, it can save you money - and of course also time, due to the skip the line feature.

An enhanced version called the Paris Pass is also available for 2-6 days. It bundles the Paris Museum Pass with other benefits such as free travel on the Paris metro, buses, trams, and trains, a Seine River cruise, a Paris Opera House guided tour, additional attractions such as the Grevin Wax Museum and the Chocolate Museum, Hop On Hop Off sightseeing buses, a wine tasting experience, and discounts on still more attractions.