We've written here before about City Pass and others of its ilk, voucher books intended to help you save money on admission fees to museums and other attractions, and most of them also to save you the time standing in line to buy tickets. (The lines at New York City's Empire State Building are especially notorious for their length.) Here's the latest scoop on the subject of passes.
Leisure Pass
An outfit named Leisure Pass Group has a London Pass and a London Business Card, and the holders of either will be able to claim special rates at the fancy T. M. Lewin shops, including their flagship store on fashionable Jermyn Street in the British capital. From November, just show your pass, the group says, and you get over 50% off all men's and women's shirts plus men's suits and silk ties, and a free pair of silk knot cufflinks. Lewin is one of the oldest shirt makers on Jermyn Street, the narrow roadway famous for its expensive men's clothing shops.
The prices on all men's shirts will be £27 ($49) each, normally £59 to £79 (up to $143), & on ladies' shirts £24 ($43) each, normally £57 to £69 (up to $125). The London Pass starts at £23 ($42) and is available as a 1-, 2-, 3- or 6-day pass and with or without transport. You can buy through www.londonpass.com or by phoning 011/44 (0) 870/242-9988.
The London Business Card, starting at £10 ($18), can be bought at www.londonbusinesscard.com. The pass scheme has been going since 1997, and includes also vouchers for Dublin, York, New York, Philadelphia, and more. More information on these and other passes can be had at www.leisurepassgroup.com.
City Pass
Nine destinations in North America are the purview of City Pass, which gives you a booklet of vouchers for each place's attractions, allowing you not only discounted admission charges, but in most cases the opportunity to avoid standing in line. The booklets cover Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, Seattle, Hollywood, New York, San Francisco, Southern California and Toronto, and range in price from $30 to $166, depending on location.
The pass is valid for nine consecutive days from the first day you use it, except in Hollywood, where it is good for 30 consecutive days, and in Southern California, where it runs for 14 consecutive days. Tickets are void if removed form the booklet, so you just show the booklet at the first attraction you enter, and the agent will tear it out. Tickets include helpful information such as hours of operation, transportation and best times to visit.
A typical City Pass is for New York City, which costs $48 and includes these attractions: American Museum of Natural History, Guggenheim Museum, Museum of Modern Art, Intrepid Sea Air Space Museum, Circle Line Sightseeing Cruises, Empire State Building Observatory & NY Sky Ride. If purchased separately, the price for these six would have been $97.50, they say. A Youth City Pass (ages 6-17) is also available for $34 (separate price would have been $70.50, they say).
NOTE: If you start using your City Pass between now and November 19, 2004, the price is only $42. This reflects the fact that the MOMA (Museum of Modern Art) closed its temporary facility in Queens on September 28 and re-opens at its original and enlarged Manhattan site on November 20, 2004, so is out of the picture during that time. I suppose you could purchase as late as November 12, 2004 at the lower price and still get into the new MOMA, if you are careful in planning.
You can buy the City Pass at the attractions themselves or by going to www.citypass.com.