The Louvre: Tickets, Entrances, Hours and How to Visit

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This page covers what a Louvre visit costs, when the museum is open, how to book, and which of its four entrances to use. It does not cover the two smaller Delacroix and Tuileries sites the Louvre also runs, except where their hours affect your day. For the full list of Paris sights and how they compare, start at Things to Do in Paris. Three narrower questions about the Louvre get their own pages, linked throughout this one and again at the end.

When the Louvre Is Open

As of September 2026, the museum keeps two schedules. Monday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday it is open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday and Friday it stays open until 9 p.m. It is closed every Tuesday, and on 1 January, 1 May and 25 December; it stays open on other public holidays unless they land on a Tuesday¹.

Last entry is one hour before closing, and staff begin clearing the galleries 30 minutes before closing¹. The Cour Napoléon, the courtyard around the glass Pyramid, is open 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., and the Cour Carrée 7:30 a.m. to 7:45 p.m., so you can see both from outside even on a Tuesday¹.

The adjoining Tuileries Garden keeps its own hours and is free. It is scheduled to close on 26 September 2026 for a Mass at Place de la Concorde; check the museum’s hours page if your visit falls near that date¹.

Tickets and Prices

Prices as of September 2026. The Louvre introduced its current two-tier pricing, one rate for European Economic Area residents and citizens and a higher rate for everyone else, which applies to most US and Canadian visitors.

Sources for the table:¹.

A standard ticket also covers same-day or next-day admission to the Musée National Eugène-Delacroix¹. Tickets are sold online through the Louvre’s own ticketing service and, when attendance is low, on site¹. Once booked, a ticket cannot be changed, exchanged or refunded³. The museum’s hours page carries a specific fraud warning: do not buy tickets from sites that claim to let you skip the line, and never buy from a street vendor, or you risk being refused entry¹.

Who Gets In Free

Admission is free, with proof, for the following visitors¹:

• Under-18s, with ID.
• Citizens of the European Economic Area under 26, with photo ID.
• Residents of the European Economic Area under 26, with photo ID and a residency permit valid for longer than 90 days.
• A disabled visitor and the person accompanying them.
• Teachers of art, art history, applied arts, design, architecture or archaeology from any EEA country, with a valid card or a signed statement for the current school year.
• ICOM members, with a valid membership card.
• Journalists, with a national or international press card.
• EEA-resident jobseekers and people on income support, with dated proof of entitlement.
• All visitors, on the first Friday of the month after 6 p.m., except in July and August, and on 14 July.

Free admission still comes with the same advice as paid admission: book a time slot, since the museum recommends it for every visitor, free or not¹³. If what brought you here is the claim that the Louvre is free on the first Sunday of the month, it is not, as of September 2026 — see Is the Louvre Free on the First Sunday? for what the museum’s own pages say instead.

Which Entrance to Use

The Louvre publishes four entrances. The Pyramid, in the Cour Napoléon, is the main entrance for individual visitors and has three separate queues: one for ticket holders, one for visitors without a ticket, and a priority line for disabled visitors and staff⁵. The Carrousel entrance, at 99 rue de Rivoli, is open to all ticketed visitors and groups⁵. The Porte des Lions, on Quai François Mitterrand, is for ticketed visitors only, closes at 6 p.m. with last entry at 5 p.m., and is shut on Tuesdays⁵. The Passage Richelieu, on rue de Rivoli, is reserved for groups, guide-led parties, members and auditorium visitors, and closes earlier than the museum itself, at 5:30 p.m. (7:30 p.m. Wednesdays and Fridays)⁵. For the detail on queue times and which one is fastest with a timed ticket, see Which Louvre Entrance Should You Use?.

How Long to Plan For

The Louvre does not publish a single recommended visit length for the museum as a whole. What it does publish are themed visitor trails, each with its own duration: a 90-minute Masterpieces trail, and two 1-hour trails, Secret Treasures of the Richelieu Wing and De toutes beautés, plus an accessible trail and a biodiversity trail with no duration given⁶. For how to use those figures to plan a day, see How Long to Spend at the Louvre.

What's Inside

The museum occupies a former royal palace covering 244,000 m² of flooring, with 403 rooms and 14.5 kilometers of rooms and corridors combined; about 30,000 works are on display out of nearly 500,000 held across nine curatorial departments⁷. The best-known single work is Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, a portrait of Lisa Gherardini bought by King François I in 1518. It hangs in the Salle des États, the largest room in the palace, and has been kept behind protective glass since 2005 because the poplar-wood panel it is painted on has warped over time⁸. Facing it is Veronese’s Wedding Feast at Cana, over 6 meters high and almost 10 meters wide, the largest painting in the Louvre’s collection⁸.

Getting There

The Pyramid and Carrousel entrances sit on the Cour Napoléon and rue de Rivoli, reached by the Palais-Royal–Musée du Louvre metro station on lines 1 and 7; the Porte des Lions entrance is on Quai François Mitterrand, along the river⁵. A single online booking allows up to six admission tickets and six audio-guide bookings per person, useful for a family or small group buying together rather than one at a time¹.

If your itinerary also includes the Musée National Eugène-Delacroix, note that it keeps different hours from the main museum: noon to 5:30 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, and 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, with its own €9 ticket or a combined Louvre–Delacroix ticket that adds next-day admission¹.

Accessibility

The Louvre publishes separate accessibility guidance for visitors with physical, visual, hearing and cognitive or developmental disabilities. A central lift beneath the Pyramid and escalators reach the lobby, and free wheelchairs, rolling chairs, folding stools and canes are available through the museum’s Assistance area, ID required⁴. Disabled visitors and their companion get priority access without queuing at reception and ticket checkpoints, and there is a drop-off area at Place du Carrousel and direct access from the Carrousel du Louvre underground car park⁴. Prams are allowed throughout the museum; oversized ones and front-worn baby carriers can be borrowed on site, though back carriers are not permitted².

Tours worth considering

This section contains affiliate links. If you book through them, the site earns a commission at no cost to you. It does not change what is recommended.

You do not need a tour to visit the Louvre. The official ticket, booked directly through the museum’s own site, is the cheapest way in, and it is the only route for anyone entitled to free admission. A paid product earns its price in two cases:

• You want the collection explained as you go. The Louvre’s own free-admission and audio-guide options give you access, not narration; a guided visit adds context to rooms most visitors walk past. See the small-group guided tour of the Louvre.
• You are combining the museum with a Seine cruise in one outing. Pairing the two saves planning a separate trip to the river. See the guided Louvre tour with a Seine river cruise ticket.

Skip a paid product if you qualify for free admission under any of the categories above: a reseller’s ticket will charge you for entry the museum gives you at no cost.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Louvre free on the first Sunday of the month?

No, not as of September 2026. The museum’s current free days are the first Friday of the month after 6 p.m. (except July and August) and 14 July¹. See Is the Louvre Free on the First Sunday? for the full answer.

How long should I spend at the Louvre?

The museum does not publish an overall figure, only durations for its themed trails, from 1 to 1.5 hours each⁶. See How Long to Spend at the Louvre for how to use them.

Which Louvre entrance should I use?

The Pyramid is the main entrance and has the most queue options; ticket holders and members may find the Carrousel or Passage Richelieu faster⁵. See Which Louvre Entrance Should You Use? for the detail.

Do I need to book Louvre tickets in advance?

The museum “recommends” a time-slot booking for every visitor, including those entitled to free admission, though the museum’s pages do not state it is strictly mandatory¹³.

Is the Louvre open on Tuesdays?

No. Tuesday is the museum’s weekly closing day¹.

What is the cheapest Louvre ticket?

€22 for EEA residents and citizens, or free under the categories listed above, including free entirely on the first Friday evening of the month (except July and August) and on 14 July¹.

Can I bring a stroller into the Louvre?

Yes. Prams are allowed throughout the museum, and oversized models and front-worn baby carriers can be borrowed on site; back carriers are not permitted².

Where is the Mona Lisa?

In the Salle des États, the largest room in the Louvre, across from Veronese’s Wedding Feast at Cana⁸.

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