Louvre tickets: what they cost and where to buy them

What a Louvre ticket costs in 2026

The Louvre moved to a two-tier fare in 2026, and this is the detail that catches people out. Admission is €22 for residents and citizens of the European Economic Area and €32 for everyone else. The gap is €10 a head, so a family of four from outside the EEA pays €40 more than the same family from inside it.

Two consequences follow. First, older guides quoting a single €17 or €22 price are out of date — treat any page that still shows one flat fare as unreliable on everything else too. Second, the tier is verified: you are buying the EEA fare on the strength of a document you will be asked to show. Buy the ticket that matches your passport or residence permit.

Prices and conditions here were read off louvre.fr on 26 August 2026. The museum changes them without much notice, so confirm before you pay.

Where to buy, and what each channel is good for

There are four legitimate places to buy, and they are not interchangeable.

A blunt rule: if you want admission and nothing else, buy from the museum. No reseller can beat the museum on a product the museum sets the price of. Resellers earn their margin when they add something — a guide, a skip-the-ticket-desk entrance, a combined river cruise, free cancellation up to 24 hours when the official ticket is non-refundable.

Do you actually need to book in advance?

Yes. Every Louvre ticket carries a 30-minute entry slot, and the museum manages admission against those slots rather than letting a queue form and hoping for the best. In July and August the morning slots for the following week are frequently gone. In February a Thursday afternoon is usually available the day before.

Practical booking windows, based on how the slots move:

• Late June to August, Easter week, Christmas and New Year: six weeks or more.
• April to June and September to October: two to three weeks.
• November to March, excluding holidays: a few days is normally fine.
• Any first Friday evening of the month: as early as you can. Free entry after 18:00 fills the museum.

Slots generally appear about three months ahead. If your dates are outside that window, set a reminder rather than buying a resold ticket at a premium to secure something that is not yet on sale.

Which ticket type suits you

Beyond plain admission, four products compete. The differences matter more than the prices.

Be careful with self-guided audio products sold as tickets. Some are excellent; at least one listing on the major marketplaces sits well under a 3.0 rating because the app is unreliable. The museum’s own free app and the paid on-site audio guide are usually the better bet.

What your ticket actually includes

More than most visitors realise. A standard admission ticket covers:

• All permanent collections across the Denon, Sully and Richelieu wings.
• Temporary exhibitions inside the museum on the same day, at no extra charge.
• Same-day admission to the Musée Eugène-Delacroix in Saint-Germain-des-Prés — the painter’s studio and apartment, ten minutes across the river and almost always empty.
• Re-entry is not permitted, so plan one continuous visit.

Can you buy at the door?

A limited number of same-day tickets are sold on site, at the Carrousel du Louvre rather than under the pyramid. They exist, and on a wet Tuesday in January you will get one. On a Saturday in July you will not, and you will have spent an hour finding that out.

If you must chance it, arrive at opening, go to the Carrousel, and have a backup plan for the afternoon. The museum publishes no live counter for same-day stock.

How to pay less

Free admission is broader than the price page suggests:

• Under 18s, any nationality, with ID
• Under 26s who are residents or citizens of the EEA, with photo ID
• The first Friday of the month after 18:00, except in July and August
• 14 July
• Visitors with a disability and one companion
• Art, art-history, archaeology, applied-arts and architecture teachers from the EEA
• ICOM and ICOMOS members
• Journalists with a press card
• Jobseekers resident in the EEA, with proof issued within the last year
• Recipients of income support in the EEA, with proof issued within the last six months

Free entry still requires a reserved time slot booked in advance. This trips up more visitors than any other rule at the Louvre: eligibility is not the same as admission.

Buying a ticket is not the same as getting in quickly

A ticket removes the ticket queue. It does not remove security screening, and it does not choose your door for you.

• Carrousel du Louvre, 99 rue de Rivoli — reachable underground from the Palais Royal–Musée du Louvre métro. Security is indoors. This is the fastest entrance for most ticket-holders and it is not signposted well from the street.
• Pyramid — the default, the most photographed, and the slowest. Screening happens outside.
• Passage Richelieu — ticket-holders, members and groups only. This is where guided tours go in.
• Porte des Lions — quiet, but opens on a reduced schedule and closes without warning.

The honest balance on buying direct

Tours that include entry, if you would rather not manage it

These carry reserved entry, so the ticket and the queue are handled together. Ratings are GetYourGuide’s, checked in August 2026.

• 01

  Louvre Overview, Exploration Tour and Reserved Entry

  Group Duration: Orientation walk, then the day is yours Skips the ticket line

  The cheapest guided way in, and the most reviewed. The guide orients you and leaves; you keep the museum for the rest of the day.

  4.1 11,174 reviews on GetYourGuide

  from €40

  Check dates

• 02

  Reserved Access: Guided Louvre Museum Tour with an Expert

  Small group Duration: 2–3 h Skips the ticket line

  Certified by GetYourGuide. The volume option for people who want a guide but not a private budget.

  4.3 3,969 reviews on GetYourGuide

  Live price

  Check dates

• 03

  Louvre Museum Guided Tour with Priority Reserved Entry

  Small group Duration: 1–2 h Skips the ticket line

  Newer listing with a thin review count. Rated well so far, but there is less evidence behind the number.

  4.6 35 reviews on GetYourGuide

  from €58

  Check dates

• 04

  Louvre Museum Guided Entry and Mona Lisa Audio Guide

  Ticket only Duration: Self-paced

  Timed entry plus a guide who meets you before you go in, then hands you over to an audio guide.

  Live price

  Check dates

Prices checked Aug 2026.

Questions people actually ask

How much are Louvre tickets?

A timed admission ticket costs €22 if you are a resident of the European Economic Area and €32 if you are not. The two-tier price applies whether you buy from the museum or through a reseller, and it is checked at the door against your ID. Under-18s of any nationality and under-26s resident in the EEA go free.

Do I need to buy Louvre tickets in advance?

Yes, in practice. Every ticket carries a 30-minute entry slot, and slots for popular times routinely sell out days ahead in summer. Walk-up tickets exist but are not guaranteed and are the single most common way visitors lose an afternoon.

How far in advance can you buy Louvre tickets?

Slots generally open about three months ahead on the museum’s own ticketing site. For a July or August visit, book six weeks out at minimum. For a quiet Thursday in February, a few days is usually enough.

What is the official Louvre ticket site?

The museum sells its own tickets at ticketlouvre.fr, linked from louvre.fr. Anything else — including this site — is a third party. Resellers are legitimate and often bundle a guide, but if you only want plain admission at the lowest price, buy direct.

Can you buy Louvre tickets at the door?

Sometimes. The museum holds back a limited number of same-day tickets sold at the Carrousel du Louvre, but they disappear early on busy days and there is no way to check availability before you arrive. Treat it as a fallback, never a plan.

Does the Louvre ticket include temporary exhibitions?

Yes — a standard ticket covers the permanent collections and the temporary exhibitions inside the museum on the same day. It also covers same-day admission to the Musée Eugène-Delacroix in Saint-Germain-des-Prés, which almost nobody uses.

What happens if I am late for my time slot?

The slot is an entry window, not a reservation for the whole day. Arriving within about 30 minutes of your time is normally fine; arriving two hours late is at the discretion of staff. Once inside you can stay until closing.

Is the Paris Museum Pass worth it for the Louvre?

Only if you are visiting several major sites in a few days. The pass covers Louvre admission but you still need to reserve a time slot, and it does not include a guide. For a single Louvre visit it does not pay for itself.

Read next

• Hours, entrances, getting there

  The four entrances ranked, métro stops and cloakroom rules.

• Best private tours compared

  When paying for a guide beats buying admission alone.

• Evening & after-hours

  Evening slots on Wednesday and Friday — the least crowded ticket you can buy.

• Louvre visitor guide

  A three-hour route through the three wings for a first visit.

• Booking platforms compared

  GetYourGuide, Viator and Tiqets compared on price and refund terms.

Sources

• Musée du Louvre — hours and admission Prices, opening hours and free-entry conditions. Checked 26 August 2026.
• Official Louvre ticketing Timed slots, release dates and same-day availability.
• Paris Museum Pass Coverage and reservation requirements.

Photo credits

• Détail de la Pyramide Inversée du Louvre (40087298971) — VillageHero from Ulm, Germany, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
• Paris - The Musee Du Louvre main hall by night - 2884 — Jorge Royan, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons