Skip-the-line ticket + smartphone audio guide: my review
Verdict: a recent offer, with no reviews published to date, which I describe based on what it includes and what I know about this type of application. It combines a timed ticket and room-by-room commentary on your own phone, to download before you arrive. It's the intermediate product between the bare ticket and the guided tour, for those who want explanations without a group schedule.
What the app does
After booking, you receive a link to an app to install on your phone. It includes a room-by-room tour, maps, and offline audio commentary, which is useful in the basement. Eight languages are offered: French, English, Spanish, Italian, German, Russian, Chinese, and Portuguese. The ticket itself works like a regular ticket: a time slot, the « Ticket holders entrance », security check, and the obligation to arrive within the chosen hour.
What it doesn’t do is equally important. It doesn’t comment on temporary exhibitions. It doesn’t provide headphones or a phone: without headphones, you’ll disturb the oval rooms, where silence is requested. And it must be downloaded before arriving; the museum’s Wi-Fi exists, but downloading at the entrance, during a tight time slot, is a bad way to start.
Included
- Timed entry ticket, "visitors with ticket" entrance
- Multilingual audioguide app, maps and room-by-room navigation
- Comments available offline
- Free cancellation up to 24 hours before
Not included
- Live guide
- Commentary on temporary exhibitions
- Headphones and smartphone
- On-site assistance in case of app issues
What reviews say
Nothing, for now. The offer is new on GetYourGuide and no visitor has left a rating or comment yet. I prefer to write this rather than fill this section with reviews of other products. What I can say comes from the reviews of the skip-the-line ticket, whose access is identical: the timed entry works, the 9 a.m. slot is the best, and the only recurring disappointment is the crowd in the middle of the day. On the app itself, I will update this page as soon as the first reviews are published.
What works
- Explanations at your own pace, no group schedule
- Eight languages, including French, usable offline
- The same time slot guaranteed as the booked ticket
- Free cancellation, unlike the regular ticket
To know
- No reviews published yet: you're the first
- To download before you come, with your own headphones
- Temporary exhibitions are not commented on
- A dead phone leaves you with a bare ticket
Who it's for, and who it's not for
Who it's for: solo visitors or couples who want to understand level -2 without following a group. Those who travel in one of the eight languages and struggle to read the French labels. Those who like to revisit a painting and re-listen, which a guide doesn't allow.
Who it's not for: those who don't want to manage an app or don't have headphones, for whom the reserved ticket is enough. Those who want to ask questions, for whom the guided tour for six remains unmatched. The details of the offer are on the audioguide page, and the route the app follows is similar to the one described in what to see.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I download the app before arriving?
Yes, at home or at the hotel, the day before. The comments then work offline, even at level -2. Arrive with earphones and a full battery; what you can bring into the rooms is detailed on backpack and cloakroom.
Why doesn't this product have a rating?
Because it's new and no one has left a review yet. It's neither a good nor a bad sign, it's a lack of information. Other products are compared, with their ratings, on the reviews page.
How much time should I plan with the audio guide?
About an hour and a half if you listen to the essentials, more if you follow each track on level -2. The timing room by room is on how much time to plan.