Save Time and Money with Special Destination Passes

Story and Photos by Mary Gallagher

One of the best things we can do in making our travel plans to save time and help stay on budget is to check out your destinations special passes for visitors. I've used some of these programs in most every city listed below. Not waiting in line is just one of the great advantages many offer. 

Here is just a sampling of opportunities available in France , the United Kingdom and New York City . Information on other cities in Europe is at www.europeancitycards.com .  The official tourism websites for US cities feature similar information. 

Since so much of Washington DC 's attractions are free the pass offering of benefit to most visitors is Metro's daily/ multi-day passes. Daily passes for unlimited rides after 9:30 am are $6.50. You can buy them at any Metro station in the vending machine... the advantage is both cost and convenience..  
  

The United Kingdom : Britain , Scotland , Wales , York , Glasgow, London, Cardiff

The  Great British Heritage Pass enables visitors to explore Britain 's acclaimed historic sites by allowing them unlimited entry into nearly 600 castles, stately homes and gardens in England , Northern Ireland , Scotland and Wales .  The pass costs $50 for four days, $75 for seven days, $95 for 15 days, and $130 for 30 days and provides travelers with exceptional savings to these historic attractions. www.visitbritain.com/usa

The  London Pass grants tourists complimentary entry to 50 attractions, as well as special offers such as discounts at restaurants and theaters.  The pass also enables travelers to avoid lines at popular attractions.  The pass has an option for sightseers to secure complimentary access to public transportation on buses, tubes and trains.  The one-day pass costs £29 (or approximately $54). www.londonpass.com

The  Edinburgh Pass provides travelers on short vacations with complimentary access to participating attractions and public bus transportation around Edinburgh and the Lothians.  The pass also gives tourists exclusive discounts in shops, restaurants, theaters, as well as a guidebook outlining special offers. The pass costs £20 (or approximately $37) for one day (two and three day passes also available).  www.edinburgh.org/pass

The  Cardiff & Capital Region Card offers visitors unlimited discounts to top attractions, restaurants and shops in Cardiff , Wales .  The card also enables tourists to travel around Cardiff and Penarth.  www.visitcardiff.com/Information_Centres/Cardiff--Region-Card.html

There is also a pass available for the city of York — www.yorkpass.com

A Mackintosh Trail pass is available for the city of Glasgow which covers the Charles Rennie Mackintosh related attractions - www.crmsociety.com

France

The kinds of passes are somewhat limitless. In Paris alone there is the Carte des Musées (Museum and Monument Pass), the Paris Visite Pass (which is the same thing but with Métro included) and the Paris Tourist Office also has books of coupons that they give out upon request ( www.parisinfo.com ). The first two passes can be purchased through Rail Europe as well— www.raileurope.com . Rail Europe does rail passes, including 2 country passes such as France ‘N Italy, France ‘N Switzerland, France ‘ N Spain . The complete list of their

products is available on their website.

Museumpass.com has museum passes and French Experience ( http://www.frenchexperience.com/ ). Gray Line (which owns Cityrama) also does bus tours that are available in 2-day or 3-day increments – hop on hop off tours. They are a great way to consolidate and often include entrance to certain attractions. ( www.grayline.com )

Nearly every French city's tourist office does some kind of museum/attraction pass.

Lille in Nord-Pas-de-Calais http://www.viator.com/destination/tours/Europe/France/Nord-Pas+de+Calais/Lille/City+Pass/fr/

Marseille in Provence http://www.marseille-tourisme.com/servlet/otcm?LANGUE=2&dist=1GP

Nantes in Western Loire http://www.nantes-tourisme.com/51244746/1/fiche___pagelibre/

The Strasbourg City Pass , which is sold at the Office of Tourism in the city, allows for 3 days of free entrances to attractions and museums along with other reductions of 10-50% for 10.90€. For more information on the City Pass or visiting Strasbourg , visit http://www.ot-strasbourg.fr/htm_uk/pages/presentation_visite.php

The Lyon City Card offers more than 30 leisure facilities and services. A veritable cultural passport, it is an ‘access all areas' pass for two days of museums, guided tours, concerts, public transportation, shopping and other leisure time activities.  www.en.lyon-france.com . 

Twenty-four sites in the Var Region of Provence -- abbeys, museums and gardens – now offer visitors the opportunity to discover their history and traditions with “Pass Sites”. 

For more information on the Var Region visit www.tourismevar.com .. 

New York City

$54 for a 1 day New York Pass includes: Admission to over 40 top attractions in New York City, including: Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, American Museum of Natural History, The Guggenheim, Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum, Intrepid Sea.Air.Space Museum, Brooklyn Museum of Art, NBC Studio Tour, Circleline Sightseeing, Radio City Music Hall Stage Door Tour, The United Nations Tour, Madison Square Garden All Access Tour, and more. 140-page comprehensive guide book, discounts at 25 top restaurants and retailers, Line-skipping privileges at select attractions.

For more information go to:  http://www.newyorkpass.com/  

CityPass

See Manhattan 's most loved attractions, and save time and money. Your ticket to six unforgettable New York City attractions is an itinerary for the Best of the Big Apple. This booklet of tickets provides free admission, helps you bypass ticket lines and has loads of helpful information, including transportation, hours, insider's tips and more.

http://www.citypass.com/city/ny.html  

Brooklyn Pass

Enjoying Brooklyn 's many incredible cultural spots is now made easier thanks to Brooklyn Tourism's Brooklyn Pass , a 2-day passport to the borough's top attractions for a low fare ($25 for adults, $15 for children). The Pass also provides value-added features at Brooklyn landmarks like Deno's WonderWheel (one free wonder wheel ticket with the purchase of one wonder wheel ticket), Prospect Park Lakeside Snack Bar (free picnic lunch), Junior's (a free slice of cheesecake), Brooklyn Brewery (free tour and one beer), Brooklyn Center for the Urban Environment ($2 off any walking tour and $5 off any cruise), Barge Music ($5 off any ticket on Thursday or Friday evenings), Brooklyn Historical Society (1/2 price admission) and BAM (10% any ticket for a BAM-produced event on day of show). Planet Hollywood in Manhattan is also a participating retailer. Purchase of the Brooklyn pass includes a guidebook with information in English, French and Spanish. The Brooklyn Pass can be purchased at www.brooklynpass.com or the Brooklyn Tourism & Visitors Center at Borough Hall ( 209 Joralemon Street ).