City passes are marketed as a way to save money and skip queues. The reality is more complicated. Most city pass buyers do not get their money's worth, because they do not actually do four full days of paid attractions. Here is how to decide honestly.

The Basic Maths Test

A city pass saves money if and only if you would have paid more for the individual attractions than the pass costs. Before buying, make a list of every attraction you realistically intend to visit, look up the individual entry prices, and add them up. If the total exceeds the pass price, you save money. If not, you do not.

Most three-night city breakers visit two or three paid attractions. Most city passes require four or more to break even.

Amsterdam: I Amsterdam City Card

The I Amsterdam City Card costs around £75-80 for 24 hours, £105-115 for 48 hours, and £130-140 for 72 hours (prices vary by season — check iamsterdam.com).

It includes: Rijksmuseum (£22), Van Gogh Museum (£22), Stedelijk Museum (£18), Amsterdam Museum, and many smaller museums, plus unlimited public transport.

The 48-hour pass is worth buying if you plan to visit the Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh Museum, and two other paid museums, and you intend to use public transport daily. That is a realistic itinerary for a focused museum trip.

Skip it if you are spending most of your time in the Jordaan, cycling around the canals, and doing one museum. You will not break even.

Prague Card

The Prague Card costs around £45 for 2 days, £55 for 3 days, £65 for 4 days. It includes Prague Castle, the National Museum, public transport, and around 60 other attractions.

Prague Castle alone costs £18-22 to visit comprehensively. The Old Town Hall Tower is £12. The Mucha Museum is £14. If you are planning a sightseeing-heavy trip to Prague, the 3-day card is genuinely good value.

Worth it in Prague more than most cities because individual attraction prices are meaningful relative to the pass cost, and the pass includes transport.

Barcelona Card

The Barcelona Card costs £38-70 depending on duration (2-5 days) and includes unlimited public transport plus discounts at major attractions.

Important: the Sagrada Familia is NOT included in the Barcelona Card. Neither is Park Guell. These are the two most popular paid attractions in the city. The card gives discounts at secondary attractions most visitors skip. Unless you are visiting the Picasso Museum, the Fundacio Joan Miro, and multiple other listed attractions, the Barcelona Card rarely saves money.

The T-Casual transport card (10 trips, around £11) is usually the better buy for transport only.

When City Passes Genuinely Win

You are doing a focused museum trip and plan five or more paid attractions in three days. You want unlimited public transport bundled and would otherwise buy individual tickets. You value queue-skipping at busy times (some passes do genuinely skip queues, others just give a discount at the desk). You are travelling in peak summer when attraction prices are high.

When to Skip Them

Short trip with flexible plans. You know you want one or two major attractions and the rest will be street-level exploration. Free attractions dominate your itinerary (parks, markets, neighbourhoods). You are visiting during shoulder season when attraction prices are lower and queues shorter.