The Louvre is the world’s largest museum, comprising multiple entrances, wings, and over 30,000 paintings and over 500k+ art objects. If you’re wondering where to start, we have you covered. This article covers an essential visitor checklist, ticket info, tour insights, getting to the louvre, and more!
If you’re looking to plan a great trip to the Louvre, you’re on the right path! We’ll keep our information as brief, but informative as possible to ensure you can get what you need.
What is the official ticket price of the Louvre?
Adults – 22€
Everyone under 18 – Free
EEA residents (EU) under 26 – Free
Tickets to the Louvre include a single entry from the time of your entrance to when the museum closes. You cannot exit and return back to the Louvre
The Mona Lisa is included in the ticket price, if you can find it. The museum is not expected to move the Mona Lisa to its own exhibit until 2031.
Individual Louvre tickets can be purchased from the Louvre’s official website. You’ll need to add your full legal first and last name when booking a ticket, and there are two important things to worry about when doing so.
Are you using your full legal first and last name? I.e., William instead of Bill.
Do you honestly believe it is reasonable to visit the world’s largest and arguably most important museum without a tour guide?
We’ll get into this, but the Louvre is one of a handful of sites in Paris, like Versailles, that 100% should be done with a guided tour. Beyond that, but you’ll skip the lines, which you can still wait with a ticket, and take the stress out of navigating this three-wing complex.
👉Take a look at our Louvre tour options to skip the lines and get the full story!
What qualifies for a free entry to the Louvre?
Everyone wants a little more “free” in their lives, I get it. Anyone under 18 years old can get a free Louvre ticket. Bringing a passport is not a bad idea to prove your age, but be sure to have somewhere to keep it safe. You’ll need it later!
You can also get a free ticket if you are under 26 and are a resident of the EEA or European Economic Area.
All teachers in France receive free admission and must present the “Pass Éducation”. University art and art-related field teachers can also get a free ticket. Even art teachers outside of France are entitled to a free ticket, but the challenge may be proving that you are a teacher. Try getting your school to print a letter in English for you.
Why do I need a reserved time slot?
The Louvre is a massive gallery. To be more exact, it is the largest single-complex museum in the world. Three wings, Denon, Richelieu, and Sully, each of which has as many as five total floors.
That museum is doing its best to manage crowds, especially in the summer, and timed entrances are an excellent way to do that. It allows for a relaxed and overall positive viewing experience that everyone can enjoy.
Even tour operators like us need to purchase a special pass to enter with a group of 7 or more, which is timed. The idea is to enhance the experience by limiting visitor numbers during peak times.
DIY or Louvre Tour
The big question is, do you “save the money” and go it alone or join a tour? If you do join a tour, which one do you join? The quick answer is, if it’s your first time at the Louvre you should invest in a tour as it will improve your experience.
You can always stay inside the museum after the tour to explore, but with a gallery this large, a tour has overwhelming value beyond skipping the lines and knowing where to go.
The True Cost: Time Wasted vs Time Saved
There are many ways to view a tour as a positive experience, but in this scenario, we can boil it down to using your time effectively.
Time with a tour
Time without a tour
Getting Inside
a few minutes
15 to 20 mins (even with a ticket)
Finding the top things to see
no effort
2-hour visit could take 3 to 4 hours getting lost
Research
no effort
1 hour screen time looking up history behind art
What makes a guided tour right for me?
There are lots of guided tour options and this chart will help you understand which is for you.
Large group tours are generally not recommended. The Louvre itself is engineering its group reservations to stop allowing large 50-person groups altogether.
Small group and semi-private tours are the best value. During shoulder season and low seasons, semi-private tours can be the best value for money.
A typical guided tour of the Louvre lasts about 2 to 2.5 hours and covers the museum’s top highlights without feeling rushed. If you’re exploring on your own, plan for at least 3 hours. Allow an extra 30–60 minutes if you plan to stop for lunch, browse gift shops, or detour into less-visited galleries.
Louvre hours and the best time to visit
The Louvre hours are important but the right question is when are the best times to visit.
What are the opening hours of the Louvre?
Below you’ll find the opening hours.
Monday, Thursday, Saturday & Sunday: 9 am – 6 pm
Tuesday: Closed
Wednesday & Friday: 9 am – 9 pm
Closed: Jan 1, May 1, Dec 25
While the Louvre typically maintains consistent hours, Paris and France are known for unscheduled strikes. The Louvre closed on June 16, 2025, as the staff went on strike and refused to open. We are a tour company operating in all major European cities, and Paris is one of the few cities with closures of this type.
That said, it is unlikely to happen during your visit, and if it does, it makes joining a tour even more valuable. In this case, you could lean on us to get you inside another day.
When is the best time to visit the Louvre? Day of week and time.
Optimizing your experience depends heavily on when you go. Considering the Louvre is closed on Tuesdays, I would recommend avoiding Mondays and Wednesdays.
Remember, your average traveler prefers to procrastinate, so Wednesday is likely to be the busiest day.
We are a tour company and we can say that mornings have the highest demand of any time slot. 68% of all the tours we run start in the “A.M.”. That said, museums can get quite busy as the days go on as visitors compound.
When is the best time to visit the Louvre? I personally would enter at 9 am if I can find tickets and plan on being done by lunch. That said, I would also enter at 6 pm on a Wednesday or Friday when visitors tend to leave for dinner.
When are the late hours, and how does it work?
The Louvre opens until 9 pm on Wednesdays and Fridays. In my opinion, this is an excellent time to visit. You are likely to still see crowds in the summer, but there are places to hide.
I would spend about 4 hours there, take a private Louvre tour, and then grab a drink at the Café Richelieu-Angelina balcony in the Louvre overlooking the pyramid. You can grab a nice drink there and have a bite to eat to tide you over until dinner, which would be after 9 pm when the Louvre closes.
To visit the Louvre you need to get to the Louvre.
Using public transport to get to the Louvre
The Louvre is situated in the heart of Paris, between the Seine River and the historic Palais-Royal. It’s easily accessible by metro, taxi, and on foot. Below you’ll find some specific recommendations, but your safest bet is to
On Foot: 3 minutes from Palais Royal, 10 minutes from Île de la Cité, or 15 minutes from Notre-Dame.
Metro: Lines 1 or 7 to Palais Royal–Musée du Louvre. Use the underground entrance via Carrousel du Louvre for faster security.
Bus: Lines 21, 24, 27, 39, 68, 69, 72, 81, 95. Get off near Rue de Rivoli or Quai François Mitterrand.
Taxi: Tell your driver “Carrousel du Louvre.” It’s covered, less hectic, and leads straight into the museum.
Interessante Fact: During World War II, thousands of masterpieces were secretly evacuated from the Louvre and hidden in castles across France to avoid Nazi looting.
How big is the Louvre and what is it’s floorplan?
The louvre is split into 3 wings, Richelieu, Sully, and Denon over as many as 5 levels both above and below ground.
At least 650,000 to as much as 780,000 square feet. There are 35,000+ artworks including 7000+ paintings.
Interesting enough, that is only 10% of the total collection which includes over 500,000 works of art in storage.
Looking at this from the Louvre’s perspective, coll
👉 Want a local to lead the way? Our Paris in a Day Tour includes a guided Louvre visit, Latin Quarter walk, and Eiffel Tower views.
What Wings and “Departments” of the Louvre are Worth Visiting
As mentioned above, the Louvre is split into three wings. Those wings are broken up into 8 departments total. To make things more confusing, the 8 departments of artwork are often distributed in more than one wing.
Below you can see an overview, but the complexity of the museum is part of the reason why a tour should be a requirement to visiting.
Department
Wing
Priority
Paintings
All three wings
Mona Lisa and European paintings
Medieval, Renaissance and Modern Sculpture
Richelieu & Denon
Bernini, Canova, and other scultpures
Greek, Etruscan, and Roman Antiquities
Sully & Denon
Venus de Milo & Winged Victory of Samothrace
Egyptian Antiquities
Sully wing
Seated Scribe and lots of mummies!
Decorative Arts
Richelieu & Sully
Furniture and jewelry from middle ages
Near Eastern Antiquities
Richelieu & Sully
Archaeology from prehistoric to Islamic period
Islamic Art
Denon
Islamic art from Spain to India
Arts of Africa, Asia, Oceania, and the Americas
Denon
New dept with non-European art
Paintings and Drawings
Richelieu wing
Mostly temporary exhibitions
Hopefully the above table shows how incredibly challengning it can be to navigate the Louvre and find what you are looking for.
There are many museums in Paris and Europe that are better with a guide but you can also enjoy them on your own. The Louvre is not one of them. It contains the fabric of western civilization and navigating it can be a major challenge.
With so many galleries, it’s hard to know where to begin. Here is where to start.
The Mona Lisa
👀 Click the name of the masterpiece for a detailed explanation.
The Mona Lisa: She’s tiny and behind glass, but still magnetic. Approach from the side to avoid the line.
Winged Victory of Samothrace: Sitting triumphantly atop the Daru staircase, this Greek sculpture is best viewed from the front-left angle, where her draped clothing looks windswept.
Venus de Milo: Likely Aphrodite—but nobody knows for sure. She might even be Amphitrite.
To make the most of your Louvre visit, follow these tried-and-true tips:
Book timed tickets well in advance.
Don’t try to see everything—pick a few wings or join a guided tour.
Wednesday and Friday late nights (open to 9 pm) mean fewer school groups.
Approach the Mona Lisa from the side, not straight-on.
Leave bulky bags at home. Lockers fill fast, and security may refuse large items.
Secret Tip
Grab a 19:30 entry on Friday. Head straight for the Mona Lisa, then double back to the Winged Victory staircase as the guards begin their sweep. You’ll watch Nike hover in moonlight pouring through the glass roof—likely alone.
👉 Want a real treat? Book the Louvre at Closing Time Tourand let your guide lead you through emptying halls as night falls.
Interessante Fact: During WWII, the Nazis used the Louvre as a storage house for looted art. But thanks to Jacques Jaujard, over 4,000 masterpieces were smuggled out and hidden in Loire Valley chateaux.
What to do After the Louvre
Eventually your visit will end. Here are some tips to structure your day after your Louvre visit.
Where to Eat Near the Louvre
Avoid overpriced tourist traps. Here’s where to eat before or after your visit:
Photo courtesy of Le Grand Véfour
Maison Maison | €€ | Drinks on the Seine Outdoor seating, small plates, and great views. Best for post-museum lounging.
La Régalade Saint-Honoré | €€€ | Bistro Vibes Duck hearts and rabbit shepherd’s pie—this spot takes French food seriously.
Le Grand Véfour | €€€€ | Historic Fine Dining Napoleon and Josephine dined here. The interior alone is worth the visit.
Le Louvre Ripaille | €€ | Local Favorite Hearty French food and solid prices just steps from the museum.
Télescope | € | Specialty Coffee Tiny café in Little Tokyo, perfect for pre-tour caffeine.
Treating the Louvre as a quick Mona Lisa pit‑stop is like ordering plain bread in a three‑star bistro. Slow down, book the right ticket (or better, a guide), and let Victory, Liberty, and 5,000 years of genius wash over you.
With a city as magnificent as Paris, it can be hard to find the perfect hotel at the perfect price. Explore the best hotels and places to stay in these incredible neighborhoods in Paris.
Sean is a co-founder and owner of The Tour Guy and its subsidiary The Roman Guy. He studied finance and statistics, but that is his "Dr. Jekyll" side! His "Mr. Hyde" is in love with travel, art, history, and culture. Sean has read libraries of historical text and believes that all internet content should come from books. A practice he follows!
