My review of the audio tour
Verdict : a recent offering that combines the necropolis ticket with an audio commentary listened to on your own phone via the WeGoTrip app. It meets a real need: arriving at 2 pm without wanting to wait for the 3 pm guided tour. However, it only has one published review, with five stars. A perfect rating from a single review isn’t a rating: it’s one happy person, and I won’t treat it as a consensus.
How it works
You book, you receive the admission ticket to the necropolis and access to an audio tour in the WeGoTrip app. Download it before you come, at home, on Wi-Fi: this is the point you must not get wrong. Arriving at rue de la Légion d’Honneur with the app not installed means spending ten minutes on the square downloading instead of looking at the façade. Headphones are not provided. In a church where services may begin, listening to commentary without headphones is in any case not an option.
The rest is comfortable: you move at your own pace, you go back to the tomb of Louis XII if the transi scene stops you, you pause to read a label. Allow about 1 h 30, which is the same duration as the free guided tour. Cancellation is free up to 24 h before, which is the good news about this product: you can book it and then change your mind if the guide’s schedule turns out to be compatible.
Included
- Admission ticket to the royal necropolis
- An audio commentary to listen to on your phone
- A completely flexible pace, with pauses and the ability to go back
- Free cancellation up to 24 h before
Not included
- Headphones: bring your own
- A human guide who answers questions
- On-site download: do it before you leave
- A history of reviews to assess the quality of the comment
What comes up in the reviews
Nothing comes up because there’s only one review. I’d rather state it clearly than stretch a section over a sample of one person. The displayed rating is 5.0 and it’s based on this single review: it could drop to 4.0 with the second, rise again with the third, and currently means nothing solid. Compare with the 442 reviews for the single ticket or the 4 575 for the Paris Museum Pass: at these volumes, an average describes something. With one review, it doesn’t.
What I can say, however, is what visitors of the single ticket think of the recorded comments in general, and in this case, the sample exists. Régis (France) writes: « Remarkable guided tour. Skip the audio guides and wait for the free tour. » Armande (Belgium) thanks the guide, specifying that it’s free. These two reviews aren’t about the WeGoTrip app, and I won’t make them say what they don’t; but they indicate a clear preference for human interaction when the choice is available. It isn’t always: departures are at fixed times, and not everyone arrives at 11 a.m.
What works
- The commentary starts whenever you want, without waiting for a fixed departure time
- Pause, rewind, and a duration comparable to that of the guide
- Free cancellation up to 24 hours before, no justification needed
- Useful for visitors arriving in the middle of the afternoon
Good to know
- Only one review published: impossible to assess the quality of the commentary
- Headphones not provided, and essential in an active church
- The app and the tour are downloaded beforehand, not on the square
- The guided tour in French included in the standard ticket remains the benchmark
For whom, and for whom not
For whom: those whose schedule doesn’t align with 11 a.m. or 3 p.m. and who don’t want to walk past the recumbent figures without understanding anything. Those who dislike groups and prefer to stop for twenty minutes in front of a single tomb. Those visiting with a teenager: a phone in hand sometimes works better than a guide.
For whom not: those who can adjust their visit to the free guided tour, whom I advise to do so, as explained in with a guide or alone. Those who don’t want to manage an app, a battery, and headphones during a visit. Those who want to ask a question about the fate of the remains in 1793: no app answers, and the answer is on the 1793 desecration. The standard ticket is compared to the audio guide ticket on the audio-guided tour page.
Frequently asked questions
Why isn’t the 5.0 rating reassuring ?
Because it’s based on just one review. This is a recent offering: one person gave it five stars, and the average will change as soon as the second review is posted. To compare with volumes that mean something, see the review of the necropolis ticket, rated across 442 reviews.
Do I need to download anything before coming ?
Yes : the WeGoTrip app and the tour itself, at home, before you leave. Also, bring your own headphones, which are not provided, and make sure your battery is charged. The full process is on the audioguided tour page.
Audio or free guided tour ?
The guided tour in French is included with all tickets and lasts about 1 h 30 : if you can be there at 11 a.m. or 3 p.m., take it. The audio tour is useful when the timing doesn’t work out. Both options are compared on with a guide or alone.