Louvre Tickets 2026: Timed Entry, Prices & Sold-Out Guide

Which Louvre ticket should you buy?

There are three legitimate ways into the Louvre, and the right one depends on your trip, not on marketing claims. Here's the honest decision tree:

• Visiting just the Louvre (or one or two museums)? Buy a standard timed-entry ticket through the official portal linked from louvre.fr. It's the cheapest option and the only direct one.
• Want orientation, context, or structure? A guided tour with entry included gives you a licensed guide, a headset, and a pre-booked slot, useful if official slots for your date are scarce.
• Hitting several major sights in 2–6 days? The Paris Museum Pass covers Louvre admission, but you still must reserve a free timed slot.

For step-by-step booking instructions, see the detailed 2026 ticket guide.

How timed entry works in 2026

The Louvre uses timed-entry tickets: every ticket is tied to a specific date and entry slot. Your slot controls visitor flow, not just admission, which is why peak-day slots sell out.

What booking is officially "recommended", including for free-admission visitors. On-site sales are possible when attendance is low, but don't count on them during peak season or holidays.

The 30-minute window: a widely reported (but not officially confirmed) detail is that each slot comes with a 30-minute entry window. The booking calendar is also widely reported to run roughly 90 days out. Treat both as practical guidance, not official policy.

One ticket covers the permanent collection and temporary exhibitions, plus the Musée Eugène-Delacroix on the same or next day.

Ticket prices 2026

All prices are in euros. Dollar figures are approximate, at about €1 = $1.13 (September 2026).

Visitor	Price
EEA resident / citizen (adult)	€22 (≈$25)
Non-EEA visitor (adult)	€32 (≈$36)
Under 18	Free
EEA resident under 26	Free (with ID)
First Friday of the month after 6 PM (except July & August)	Free for everyone
July 14 (Bastille Day)	Free for everyone

Dual pricing is in effect for 2026 (press reports say effective since January 14, 2026, though louvre.fr states no date), with the non-EEA surcharge funding the museum's renovation program. Free categories still need a timed reservation, and discounted/free entry requires valid ID at the door.

Hours at a glance

Monday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday 9:00–18:00; Wednesday and Friday 9:00–21:00. Closed every Tuesday, plus January 1, May 1, and December 25. Last entry is one hour before closing, and rooms begin clearing 30 minutes before the doors shut.

For timing strategy, which day, which slot, which entrance, see best time to visit the Louvre.

The three ways to visit, compared

	(a) Standard timed ticket	(b) Guided tour, entry included	(c) Paris Museum Pass
Cost	€22 (≈$25) EEA / €32 (≈$36) non-EEA	Tour price on top of admission	€85–€125 (≈$96–$141) depending on duration
Includes	Admission only (permanent + temporary exhibitions)	Licensed guide, headset, pre-booked timed entry	Admission to 60+ sites + mandatory free reservation
Best for	Louvre-focused visits, budget trips	First-timers, art-history context, efficient highlights	Multi-museum itineraries over 2–6 days

(a) Standard timed ticket, the cheapest, DIY option

Book through the official portal linked from louvre.fr, it's the cheapest option and the only direct one. If official slots for your date are sold out, partner sites resell the same timed-entry tickets (usually at a markup).

(b) Guided tour with entry included, what "skip-the-line" really means

Let's be plain: timed entry IS the line-skip. There is no separate "skip-the-line" ticket category. What a tour adds is a licensed guide, a headset, and structure, a 2–3 hour highlights route through a museum that holds 35,000+ works. It does not skip security screening, which every visitor passes through.

The real value of a tour is twofold: orientation for first-timers, and a bundled entry slot when official slots for your date are scarce. Full breakdown in Louvre guided tours.

(c) Paris Museum Pass + free reservation, when the math works

The pass covers Louvre admission (a €32 (≈$36) value for non-EEA visitors), but it is not a fast-track: pass holders must still reserve a free timed slot via the link on parismuseumpass.fr. The official wording is blunt: "Only reserving a time slot can guarantee access", without one, entry on busy days "can sometimes be very long, or even impossible."

It pays off when you're stacking several full-price sights in a few days. The worked example in our Museum Pass guide shows Louvre (€32) + Versailles (€35 high season) + Sainte-Chapelle (€22) = €89, already above the €85 two-day pass.

Sold-out backup plan

If the official portal shows no slots for your date, work through this list in order:

1. Check Wednesday and Friday evenings. The 9:00–21:00 openings often have availability when daytime slots are gone, and evenings are quieter anyway.
2. Check back. Released slots appear as plans change, morning checks a few days out are worth it.
3. Consider a guided tour with entry included. Tours hold their own pre-booked slots; this is the one legitimate route when standalone slots are gone.
4. Use the pass-holder reservation if you hold a pass. The free timed-slot reservation for pass holders is a separate inventory from standard tickets.

What NOT to do: pay reseller markups for the same timed slot. Third-party sites don't have special inventory, they resell standard timed-entry tickets at a premium. The money buys you nothing extra.

Practical notes

• Arrive early for security. Timed entry handles the ticket queue; the screening line is separate and applies to everyone.
• Save your ticket offline. Connectivity around the Pyramid isn't reliable.
• Double-check it's not a Tuesday. The museum is closed every Tuesday, and it's an easy mistake to make when booking.
• One ticket, two sites: your ticket also covers the Musée Eugène-Delacroix (the Delacroix museum) on the same or next day.

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Sources checked September 2026: louvre.fr (official); parismuseumpass.fr (official). The 30-minute entry window and ~90-day booking window are widely reported in travel guides but not officially confirmed.