Louvre Museum
The world's largest art museum — overwhelming, and home to the Mona Lisa scrum.
The call
Worth it if you are watching the budget and you are traveling as a couple.
Why
- 01
Endless, magnificent, and impossible to 'do' in a day.
Our read - 02
The fit call is which wing to surrender to, not whether to 'see it all': Denon for the marquee hits (Mona Lisa scrum, Italian painting, the Winged Victory) if it's your only visit; Richelieu's French painting and the calm Cour Marly sculpture courts if you want masterpieces nearly alone; the Egyptian and Near Eastern antiquities in Sully if you've got kids who'd rather have mummies than Madonnas.
Our read
Is it a fit?
Go if
This is your first trip to Paris
If it's your one visit, do Denon — Mona Lisa, the Italian Renaissance, the Winged Victory of Samothrace — book a timed e-ticket and enter via the Carrousel, not the Pyramid.
You are watching the budget
On a budget, Louvre Museum still earns its price.
You are traveling as a couple
As a couple, Louvre Museum works.
You are traveling solo
Solo, Louvre Museum works.
Think twice if
You only have one day
Louvre Museum is a real time commitment — fit it in only if it's a priority.
You are traveling with kids
With kids, it depends on the day.
Plan it well
- Cost
- €22 online (free under 18 / EU under 26)
- Timing
- Wed/Fri late openings after 6pm, or Wed/Thu mornings; ~3pm queues subside.
- Booking
- Timed e-ticket guarantees a 30-min entry window and priority queues at both Pyramid and Carrousel.
- Allow
- 3–4 hrs (could be all day)
- Getting there
- Enter via the Carrousel du Louvre (underground mall) or Porte des Lions to dodge the Pyramid line.
Consider instead
Sources and method (4)
- Welcomed nearly 9 million visitors in 2024, the most-visited museum in the world news.artnet.com ↗
- Standard admission is €22 for EU residents and €32 for non-EU/EEA visitors under a differentiated-pricing policy lesfrenchiestravel.com ↗
- news.artnet.com ↗
- parispass.com ↗