Why go

The Louvre is the largest art museum in the world and, for most visitors, the one essential museum in Paris. It began life as a medieval fortress, grew into a royal palace and opened as a public museum during the French Revolution. Today its three wings hold everything from Egyptian sarcophagi and Greek marble to French Romantic painting, and I. M. Pei’s glass pyramid in the main courtyard is as famous as anything inside.

The size is part of the appeal and part of the challenge. You could walk for days without seeing everything, so the secret is to choose. Pick a handful of masterpieces, add one department you love, and accept that you will be back. Free floor plans at the entrance, and the museum’s own visitor trails, make it much easier to plan a route before you set off.

What to see

  • The Mona Lisa. Leonardo’s portrait hangs behind glass in the Salle des États in the Denon wing. Expect a crowd and a short, managed viewing.
  • The Winged Victory of Samothrace. The headless Greek goddess stands at the top of the Daru staircase, one of the great sights of the museum.
  • The Venus de Milo. The ancient Greek statue is in the Sully wing’s Greek galleries.
  • French painting. Delacroix’s Liberty Leading the People and Géricault’s Raft of the Medusa fill the huge red rooms of the Denon wing.
  • Napoleon III’s apartments. Gilded salons and chandeliers show the palace at its most lavish.

Plan your visit

The Louvre is closed on Tuesdays, and on 1 January, 1 May and 25 December. On Mondays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays it opens from 9am to 6pm, and on Wednesdays and Fridays it stays open until 9pm. Last entry is one hour before closing, and staff begin clearing the rooms 30 minutes before.

Ticket prices depend on where you live. Residents and citizens of the European Economic Area pay €22, and other visitors pay €32. Entry is free for under 18s and for EEA citizens and residents under 26, and on the first Friday of every month entry is free for everyone after 6pm, except in July and August. Your ticket includes temporary exhibitions and entry to the Musée Eugène-Delacroix in Saint-Germain on the same day or the next.

Book a timed ticket on the official website. Tickets on the door are only sold when attendance is low, and the museum asks free visitors to book a slot too. It also warns against fake ticket sites and street sellers, so stick to the official site or a recognised partner.

The evening openings are the best-kept secret. After 6pm on a Wednesday or Friday the galleries are noticeably calmer. The Cour Carrée is currently closed, so enter through the Pyramid or the Carrousel du Louvre, which is usually quicker.

Nearby

The Tuileries Garden runs west from the museum to the Place de la Concorde and is free to wander. The Musée de l’Orangerie and its Monet Water Lilies sit at its far end, and the Palais-Royal gardens, with their striped Buren columns and quiet arcades, are just across the Rue de Rivoli.