City Pass Discount

One Low Price, No Ticket Lines

The New York Pass sometimes is available at discounted online rates. One-day adult passes are $75 USD (children $55) and two-day passes are $99 (children $81). Check the site for additional time options and frequent sales on the regular prices. The deal includes 40 top New York attractions and almost always pays for itself by the second or third admission. For example, if you want to go to the top of the Empire State Building, take a Circle Line River Cruise and go to the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art, admission for those three alone is likely to cost as much as the one-day pass. Each pass also comes with a guidebook and discounts for shopping and Broadway tickets.

The Philadelphia Pass sometimes is available at discounted online rates. One-day adult passes are $55 USD (children $35) and two-day passes are $67.50 (children $49.50). Check the site for additional time options and discounts. There are more than 30 participating attractions, and you'll see right away that some are better known than others. For example, the Betsy Ross House and USS New Jersey Museum are joined on the list by Strikes Bowling Lounge and the QVC Studio Tour. But there's enough here to plan several days of sightseeing and save in the process. The Web site says if you could take advantage of every eligible feature of the pass, it would be worth $350.

If you're a movie buff, the Hollywood CityPass will help you see some of Hollywood's most fascinating attractions. You can take a behind-the-scenes walking tour of Hollywood history, see the stars' homes, and visit the Hollywood Wax Museum. The cost is $59 USD per adult and $39 per child (ages 3-11). The total value of all the admissions you can receive is $110.85. Note that some of the attractions are tours that depart at various hours, so it's probably not practical to try to see everything in one day. The pass is good for nine days from first use.

The Go San Diego Card is sold in time increments. A card valid for one day is $60 USD, two days for $90, three days for $120, five days for $160 and seven days for $190. Once in San Diego, you take an e-ticket you have downloaded after purchase and a photo I.D. to one of two locations to receive the card. There are 40 valid attractions at which you will pay no entrance fee and bypass the ticket lines. Among them: The San Diego Zoo, the Zoo's Wild Animal Park, Legoland, Birch Aquarium, Discovery Science Center, whale watching and Tijuana excursions, and 18 area museums. You may visit any attraction once each day while the card is valid, and some of the tours require reservations. The average savings per card purchase is advertised at $34.

These Go Card USA offers cover a variety of locales, including Boston, Chicago, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Maui, Miami, New York, Oahu, Orlando, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle and Toronto. If you choose to leave the city, there is even a card for the Blue Ridge Mountains.

The London Pass is available for one day at £39 ($64 USD); two days at £52 ($86 USD); three days at £63 ($104 USD) and six days at £87 ($144 USD). Rates for children are discounted. An enhanced pass is also sold for more money that adds underground, buses, trains and even some airport transportation for online buyers. There is fine print in all of this, so read the exceptions carefully. If you'll be in London for a week, the six-day pass averages £13/day. That's roughly the price you'll pay for one major London admission. Visit two a day and, in theory, you'll get double your money back on the initial cost. There are 55 participating tourist attractions They also throw in a free guidebook.

The Paris Pass is available for two days at €89.00 ($128 USD); four days at €129.00 ($185 USD); or six days at €159.00 ($228 USD). Discounts for teenagers and young children are significant. At first glance, these prices seem quite high. But in addition to gaining entry for 55 Paris attractions, free use of the Metro also is included -- something for which most visitors purchase separate passes anyway. The network is so extensive, it takes you nearly anywhere you'd want to visit. With the Paris Pass, you also gain entry to world-class museums such as Musée d'Orsay and Musée du Louvre. River cruises, tours of Notre-Dame and other must-do experiences are covered. Check carefully to see your favorites are included.