Louvre Museum
France’s most renowned museum, the Musée du Louvre, holds some of the world’s best-known works of art
Louvre Museum
France’s most renowned museum, the Musée du Louvre, holds some of the world’s best-known works of art
The Louvre Museum, located in the homonymous palace (originally a 12th-century fortress and royal palace), is the largest and one of the most well-known museums in the world.
Although it houses more than 380,000 pieces, the museum normally displays around 38,000 of them, dating anywhere from prehistory to the 21st century. Among the most famous pieces of work held in the Louvre are the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo, the Liberty Leading the People, and the Winged Victory of Samothrace.
The enormous collection is divided into eight departments.
- Egyptian antiquities (4,000 BC to 4th century AD).
- Near Eastern antiquities (artefacts from the Levant, Mesopotamia, and Persia before the arrival of Islam).
- Greek, Etruscan, and Roman (from the Neolithic to the 6th century).
- Islamic art (artworks and items from over thirteen centuries and three continents).
- Sculptures (end of the Roman Empire to 1850, mostly European).
- Decorative arts (Middle Ages to mid-19th century, mostly European).
- Painting (from the 13th century to 1848, European).
- Prints and drawings (European).
If you need help figuring out what you want to prioritise on your visit, you can start by looking at out list of top ten must-see artworks in the Louvre.
Our recommendations
The Museum really is huge, so we recommend you have a look at the map, choose what you’re most interested in and go straight for that, instead of trying to see everything. You’ll just get too tired to really appreciate it, believe us.
If you’re a die-hard museum lover, you can do what some people do: come back on separate days to see different sections.
The Museum has recently started advising to reserve entrances in advance, so if you don’t get your ticket before arriving, aside from having to queue for a long time, you might not even be able to get your entry. You can get your regular skip the line ticket (no audio guide, just entry) here , a ticket with the audio guide here, and a ticket with a private tour here .
Location
Rue de Rivoli, 1st arrondissement
Tickets and price
The Louvre Museum has recently started advising its visitors to reserve their entrance in advance. You can still buy an entry on the day, but the spots are limited so you risk not being able to get your entry after having queued a long time.
For this reason, we strongly recommend getting your ticket in advance. You can get your regular ticket (no audio guide, just entry) here , a ticket with the audio guide here, and a ticket with a private tour here .
| Type |
|---|
| Regular ticket |
| Ticket with audio guide |
| Ticket with guided tour |
| Type | Adult | Under 18 | EEA residents under 26 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regular ticket | €17.00 | free | free |
| Ticket with audio guide | €22.00 | €5.00 | €5.00 |
| Ticket with guided tour | €26.00 | €9.00 | €9.00 |
If, along with the Louvre, you plan on visiting a decent amount of museums and monuments during your stay in Paris, we highly recommend the Paris Museum Pass, which will give you free access to all the most important sights in the city. You can get yours here .
Schedule
| Day |
|---|
| Mon, Wed, Thurs, Sat, Sun |
| Fri |
| Tue |
| Day | Opening time | Last admission | Closure |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon, Wed, Thurs, Sat, Sun | 9:00 am | 5:00 pm | 6:00 pm |
| Fri | 9:00 am | 8:45 pm | 9:45 pm |
| Tue | closed | closed | closed |
Transport
Nearby sights
Musée des Arts Décoratifs 250 m (820 feet), 3-minute walk.
Palais-Royal 400 m (0.2 miles) north, 6-minute walk.
Jardin des Tuileries 800 m (0.5 miles) west, 10-minute walk.
Place Vendôme 1 km (0.6 miles) north-west, 12-minute walk.
Musée d’Orsay 1 km (0.6 miles) across the river, 12-minute walk.
