Buying tickets to the Louvre before your visit is a must. This is a requirement for all visitors as Louvre tickets aren’t actually sold at the door.
If you don’t know which is the best way of buying tickets to the Louvre, don’t worry. I have been to Paris many times and this is one of my favorite museums in the world, and in this post I will explain everything you need to know to plan your visit and have a smooth experience.
The Louvre Museum is one of the best places to visit in Paris and easily one of the best museums in town. This is also one of the world’s most visited museums, and an exceptional art gallery where you could easily explore for days on end!
Now, continue reading to discover everything you need to know before visiting the Louvre.
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How To Get Tickets To The Louvre
Looking for how to buy tickets to the Louvre? Continue reading to discover the various solutions and pick the best one for you, based on your interests and budget.
Best overall options
Before sharing my detailed guide on how to buy tickets to the Louvre, let me share the best overall options – if you are in a rush, this is what you need to read:
LOUVRE TICKETS OFFICIAL WEBSITE – If you want plain tickets and no frills, this is the only site you need to visit.
LOUVRE TICKETS VIA THIRD PARTY SITES– this is the overall best way to buy tickets to the Louvre.
GROUP TOUR OF THE LOUVRE – this is the best option if you feel you need some guidance during your visit. It’s one of the best tours available online.
GUIDED TOUR OF PARIS – the best option if you have limited time in the city and want to visit many attractions on the same day.
PARIS PASSLIB– this is the only Paris Pass that includes access to the Eiffel Tower.
LOUVRE RESERVED ACCESS AND ONE HOUR CRUISE – one of the best combo options around. You get access to the Louvre as early as 9:00 am and can go on your Seine river cruise within 6 months of purchase or on the same day.
Now, let’s go into more details on how to get tickets to the Louvre.
Buy Louvre tickets on the official website
This is the official website to get tickets to the Louvre.This is where to buy Louvre tickets if you want the most basic and straightforward option.
You can get tickets via the official website up to three months in advance.
Booking the tickets is incredibly easy: pick a day, pick a time slot, pay €22 per adult visitor and that’s done. If you want an audioguide, that’s an extra €6.
All visitors – including those entitled to free visits – are required to book a time slot. Be punctual! The Louvre management is very clear in saying that if you don’t arrive within your allocated time slot, you will have to get in line to get new tickets!
You will need to print the ticket and take an ID with you as tickets are nominative and you may be asked to show your ID upon entering. These are not skip-the-line tickets, but you will be guaranteed access to the Pyramid within 30 minutes of the time shown on the ticket.
Something very important to keep in mind when getting Louvre tickets on the official website is that these tickets can’t be cancelled or modified. You can ask for a refund of the ticket if you made a “honest mistake” when purchasing, or for delays in accessing the site caused by the management; but other than that you won’t be eligible for a refund.
Requests for refunds must be sent by email to assistance-billetterie@louvre.fr. You must include the order number and specify the reason for the reimbursem*nt.
Buy your Louvre tickets via a third-party site
Third party booking sites such as GetYourGuide are how to buy tickets to the Louvre for a completely hassle free experience. Louvre tickets on these sites cost €3 extra compared to those sold on the official site.
Much like on the official website, you can book your tickets up to 90 days in advance, and depending on the day of your visit you actually get a special discount too.
My go to third-party booking site for plain Louvre tickets is GetYourGuide: the booking experience is incredibly easy and they have a great customer service.
Tickets for the Louvre bought on third party sites are not refundable and can’t be modified.
Take a guided tour of the Louvre
This is one of the best ways of visiting the Louvre – it’s how I did it and I wholeheartedly recommend it. There is no shortage of companies that offer great guided tours of the Louvre.
Guides are knowledgeable about the museum, they know where to go so you won’t have to worry about looking at the map, and they will answer your questions and entertain you with quizzes, trivia and lots of other interesting facts.
Tours are easy to book – you just have to pick a preferred date and time, and the company running the tour will arrange everything else with the museum. They will even print the tickets for the Louvre for you – all you need to do is get the mobile voucher, and show up at the meeting point on time.
Tours can last anything between 1.5 hours and 3 hours, after which you are free to stay at the museum and explore by yourself.
When it comes to tours of the Louvre, you have the option of joining a group tour (usually of no more than 20 visitors), or a small or private group tour, which would obviously be more expensive. There even are family-friendly tours perfect in case you are traveling with children.
Group tour prices are in the range of €50 to €70, depending on how long the tour lasts. Private tours are more expensive and in the range of €100, though some are priced per group.
I recommend this Louvre guided tour with a local licensed guide – it’s one of the best reviewed options. The tour lasts 2 hours and takes you to the highlights of the museum.
Another option is this 3 hour Louvre tour which is going to be a bit more comprehensive and perfect if you want to get a more in depth understanding of the museum history and the art on show.
If you are taking your kids to Paris, I recommend this family friendly tour – the guide will do his / her best to keep your children entertained and make the experience interesting for them too.
Get the Paris Pass
The Paris Pass is a great way to get tickets to the Louvre – and to many other museums in Paris. It also has the advantage of allowing you to get discounts for many other attractions in the city, and it normally comes with a public transportation pass too.
Once you get the pass, you will have to make separate reservations for each and every attraction you intend to visit. This is where you have to book your time slot for the Louvre if you have a Paris Pass.
The price of the pass varies depending on its duration. The most convenient one starts at €65.
If you want a Paris Pass that includes access to the Eiffel Tower, you will have to get the Paris PassLib, which is the most comprehensive option.
You can also get your Paris Pass on GetYourGuide – keep in mind this Paris Pass does not include access to the Eiffel Tower.
Get a combo ticket to the Louvre + Seine River Cruise
A cruise on the Seine River will afford you some of the best views of Paris, and it can be combined with one or more Paris attractions, including the Louvre.
Cruises generally last one hour and include an audio-guide, but if you want an audio-guide for the Louvre Museum that will be an add on.
You will first visit the Louvre and then hop on the boat for memorable views of the Eiffel Tower, Pont Alexandre and Notre Dame.
I have found two options of combined Louvre tickets and Seine River cruise which are both great:
Louvre reserved access and one hour cruise – You can access the Louvre as early as 9:00 am and enjoy the Seine river cruise within 6 months of purchase – or, quite simply, at the end of the day. It’s perfect if you are spending a long time in the city
Skip the line Louvre Museum and Seine River cruise – a great combo that is very conveniently priced. You will be visiting the Louvre at 2:00 pm and go for the cruise immediately afterwards. In this case, there isn’t much time to enjoy the Louvre but if you have limited time in Paris it’s still very convenient.
Take a guided tour of Paris
If you only have a day in Paris, you may want to consider joining a guided tour that takes you to all the most famous attractions – including the Louvre Museum.
The obvious benefits are having a live guide that shows you around, so you don’t have to worry about getting lost; and having to just make one booking. In other words, this is very easy. The main downside is that it’s not cheap – we’re looking at €150 for an eight-hour tour as a minimum.
When it comes to full-day tours of a city, I always book with Take Walks because they have the best planned tours and excelent local guides. I recommend this Paris in a Day tour by Take Walks. The tour also includes a visit of Montmartre, one of the most charming neighborhoods of Paris; a guided tour of Orsay Museum, and a Seine River cruise.
Buy Louvre Paris tickets on FNAC website
FNAC is a massive online retail store where you can buy all sorts of things, including tickets to events and attractions.
To be fair, the website tends to be confusing, and it is not very user friendly. Upon navigating you will see that only the main page is in English, but you can ask Google to translate the other pages.
If you can go over these obstacles, FNAC is a great website to get tickets for the Louvre and other attractions in Paris.
Tickets on this site cost a bit more as they usually include access to a special exhibit or event, and you can pick up your physical ticket at one of the many FNAC location in Paris – I am sure there is one close to where you are staying.
Q&A For Visiting The Louvre Museum
How much are tickets to the Louvre?
These are the official prices of tickets to the Louvre:
- ADULTS – €22 when purchased online
- ADULTS – €20 when purchased at the door (very limited availability).
- AUDIOGUIDES – €6.
- EU STUDENTS BETWEEN 18 AND 25 – Free
- ANYONE YOUNGER THAN 18 – Free
- DISABLED VISITORS – Free
Tickets bought on the official website can’t be modified or refunded.
Free tickets to the Louvre
Free admission is available for a number of categories:
- Visitors who are under 18 years of age (proof of ID required);
- EU citizens and residents between 18 and 25 living in the EU (proof of ID required);
- People with disabilities and the person accompanying them.
A time-slot must be booked even for visitors entitled to free admission.
The museum is free for all visitors on Bastille Day (14 July).
Louvre Museum opening hours
The Louvre is open from Wednesdays to Mondays, from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm. On Fridays, it closes at 9:45 pm. It is closed on Tuesdays, on 1 January, 1 May and 25 December.
How far in advance can you buy tickets to the Louvre?
You can get advance tickets to the Louvre via the official website up to three months in advance.
The museum works on a time-slot system and there is very limited availability of Louvre tickets at the door. You will be much better off booking your visit in advance – whether your trip is a last minute one, or you’ve been planning it for months.
Can you buy tickets to the Louvre at the door?
I often get asked “can I buy tickets to the Louvre at the door?” or “do you need to buy tickets to the Louvre in advance?”
You can indeed buy tickets at the door, and they are €2 cheaper, but I do not recommend trying this.
Availability is usually very limited, and since you have so many easy options to get Louvre Paris tickets online, why take any chance? If the Louvre is on your list of must-see in Paris, simply plan your visit and book a time slot.
Is the Louvre always packed?
In 2019, more than 9.6 million people visited the Louvre. That’s almost four times the population of Paris city, and that means that – were the museum open every day (which it isn’t) the average number of people visiting each day would be roughly 26,300.
In 2022, 7.9 million people visited. Booking Louvre tickets in advance – complete with a time slot for your visit – is now more than ever a requirement.
You can get Louvre tickets on the official website or, for an easier to use site, I recommend getting your Louvre ticket on GetYourGuide – the price is just slightly higher than on the official site.
The basic tickets allow you to spend as much time as you want in the museum (you’ll probably need a full day to see a portion of the museum), but they don’t include a guide or an audio-guide, which is actually of great help in exploring the museum.
What to do if tickets to the Louvre are sold out
The first tickets that get sold out are those on the official site. If you can’t find tickets for the day you wish to visit, you can try one of the many third-party booking sites that sell attraction tickets. These sites buy tickets in bulk so they will often have a spare one.
You can find last-minute tickets for the Louvre on GetYourGuide – this is one of my favorite third party booking sites.
Another option may be to get a guided tour. Since these are a bit more expensive than plain skip-the-line tickets, your chances of finding a spot last minute are higher.
You may want to consider this 3-hour small group guided tour of the Louvre – it’s a fairly in depth tour so you are guaranteed a great experience.
Entrances to the Louvre
The Louvre Museum has four entrances (you can see them on the official map you can download here):
- Pyramid – for individual visitors;
- Port des Lions – normally used by guided groups;
- Louvre Carrousel – for all visitors, it is accessed directly from the Metro Line 1 (yep, super easy) and – since it is underground – provides shelter in case of rain;
- Passage Richelieu – only for groups.
How to get to the Louvre
You will find the Louvre Museum on Rue de Rivoli and at the very end of the Jardin de Tuileries, past the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel. Getting there is fairly easy and you have several options.
By metro
Various metro lines stop right by the Louvre or nearby. Lines 1 and 7 stop at Palais-Royal Musée du Louvre and line 14 stops at Pyramides.
By bus
The buses that stop by the Louvre are numbers 21, 24, 27, 39, 48, 68, 69, 72, 81, and 95.
By hop on hop of bus
If you are interested in doing a tourist round of Paris, you can get there by hop on hop off bus.
You can get your hop-on hop-off bus ticket here.
By Batobus
The Batobus is a hop on hop off boat service with several stops, including one near the Louvre.
You will have to get off at Quai François Mitterrand – there will be someone announcing the stop so you can rest assured you won’t miss it.
Other stops include the Eiffel Tower and and Place de la Concord. You can get a ticket which is valid for one of two days.
You can buy your Batobus ticket here.
Is The Louvre Worth It?
Are you still wondering “is the Louvre worth it?” Oh yes, it is!
You simply can’t go to Paris and skip the Louvre. Together with Musee d’Orsay, the Louvre is one of the most visited places in the French capital. This is the biggest art and archeology collection in the world.
There are over 380,000 pieces, of which more than 35,000 pieces of art on display. There are pieces that have made art history such as the Mona Lisa and the Virgin of the Rocks, the Wedding at Cana, the Venus de Milo, the Winged Victory, the Coronation of Napoleon (pictured above), and the Seated Scribe to name a few.
Housed in what used to be a fortress built upon orders of Philip Augustus on the right bank of River Seine in the 12th century, throughout time the building saw many changes and enlargements.
Francis I, king of France from 1515 until 1547, was a lover of art. He was the one who, in 1546, ordered the original structure to be demolished and to build his royal residence on top of it. That’s how the part that nowadays corresponds to the southwestern bit of the Cour Carrée was built by architect Pierre Lescot.
Subsequent kings of France such as Louis XIII and Louis XIV added to the structure and to the collection, as they acquired lots of art. So did Cardinal Richelieu, prime minister during the reign of Louis XIII.
Once Louis XIV moved the court and his residence to Versailles Palace in 1682, the Louvre stopped being a royal residence. However, it was not turned into a museum until the 18th century.
In 1793 the revolutionary government that ruled France after the revolution opened the Louvre Museum to the public. At the time, it was named Musée Central des Arts and it occupied the Grande Galerie, which was built by comte d’Angiviller.
Napoleon Bonaparte ordered the construction of the rest of the Cour Carrée and of another wing on the north along the rue de Rivoli. During the 19th century, two other wings were completed and inaugurated during the reign of Napoleon III.
In the 1980s and 1990s an underground complex was created, with shops, toilets and restaurant facilities that would make the visitors experience to the museum even better.
The famous glass Pyramid designed by Chinese architect Pei Cobb upon request of the (then) French President Mitterand was inaugurated in 1989, on the 200 years anniversary of the beginning of the French Revolution.
This immediately attracted lots of criticism, firstly because it blocked the view of the small Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel, and secondly because such a modern structure looked at odds with a classic building like the Louvre.
With time, Parisians as well as tourists got accustomed to the Pyramid, seen now as the symbol of the Louvre Museum and one of the landmarks of Paris – often used as the background for incredible photos.
Other Useful Information And Tips
Security checks
All people visiting the Louvre have to go through security checks. Avoid bringing in any bulky bag or prohibited items such as flammable material or weapons (even a pocket knife is considered a weapon) to make the security check process faster and smoother. Only guide dogs are admitted.
How long does it take to visit the Louvre?
You will hear people say that one full day is not enough to see all of the Louvre. If you opt for a guided tour, this normally takes around 2 hours but it only covers the highlights – after that you will have more time to continue exploring at your own pace.
Toilets at the Louvre
You will find plenty of toilets at the Louvre main entrance, and on each floor.
Accessibility of the Louvre
The Louvre strives to be accessible to disabled visitors, with various elevators and wheelchair lifts, and even a Tactile Gallery.
If you are visiting the Louvre with small children, you will be happy to know prams are allowed inside the museum.
Luggage storage in or near the Louvre Museum
Smaller items can be left for free at self-service lockers beneath the Pyramid. Larger items can’t be taken in so leave them in your room or look for luggage storage facilities nearby.
Eating at the Louvre Museum
There are 16 cafés and restaurants either inside the Louvre or in the gardens where you can sit for a meal or take the food away.
Bring your camera
With so much to see inside and outside the Louvre, you will definitely need your camera for photos. The building itself is gorgeous. Flash photography is not allowed.
Wear layers and comfortable shoes
Though there is no dress code for the Louvre, I recommend wearing layers as some parts can feel extremely hot compared to outside during the winter months. Make sure to also wear comfortable shoes as you will be walking a lot.
Beware of pickpockets
Keep your valuables safe; close your bags or backpack properly; wear your backpack at the front and your purse across your shoulder. In fact, make use of the lockers to keep any valuables stored as you explore the museum.
Visit the outside too
The outside of the Louvre is as interesting as the inside. The glass pyramid provides many photo opportunities – though you are better off going there very early in the morning when there are no people around. The Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel is a nice sight. You should also admire the view of the museum from the Jardin de Tuileries.
Further Readings
Are you planning a trip to Paris and France? Don’t forget to read my other posts:
- A Guide To The 11 Best Cities To Visit In France
- The Best Paris Travel Tips
- Seven Smart Ways To Get Eiffel Tower Tickets And Skip The Lines
- Seven Smart Ways To Get Versailles Tickets And Skip The Line
- A Week In Paris Itinerary: What To See And Do
- A Wonderful Itinerary For 5 Days In Paris
- A Fantastic Itinerary To See Paris In 4 Days
- Paris In 3 Days: A Great Itinerary To Make The Most Of It
- A Fabulous Itinerary For 2 Days In Paris
- 15 Amazing Day Trips From Paris
- 27 Cool Things To Do In Montmartre, Paris
- How To Avoid The Most Common Paris Scams
- How To Get From Charles De Gaulle Airport CDG To Paris
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