Rue de Rivoli · Paris 1er · Museum since 1793
Roughly 35,000 works on display across three wings and 73,000 square metres of galleries, in a building that took eight centuries to finish. Nobody sees it in a day. This guide is about choosing well: which wing, which rooms, which entrance, and which hour.
Layout
Every route starts in the Hall Napoléon beneath the pyramid, where escalators lead to each wing. Pick one wing per visit and you will be happier than someone trying to cross all three.
Italian and French painting, the Mona Lisa, Winged Victory, Michelangelo's Slaves, Greek sculpture. Busiest by far.
The medieval moat, Egyptian antiquities, the Venus de Milo, French painting of the 17th–19th centuries on the top floor. Mixed crowds.
Mesopotamia and Persia, the Marly and Puget courtyards, Napoleon III's apartments, Dutch and Flemish painting (Vermeer, Rembrandt). Quietest.
Must-sees
Room numbers change occasionally during rehangs; the wing and floor hold. Colour bar matches the wing on the plan.
Behind glass at the far end of the Salle des États. The queue moves in a snake; from entry to the barrier is usually 15–25 minutes. The Veronese on the opposite wall, The Wedding at Cana, is the largest painting in the museum and nobody looks at it.
Placed at the top of the grand staircase so you see her as a ship's prow against the light. Best from the landing below, early, before the groups.
Found on Milos in 1820. The rooms of Greek marbles around her are a good calm stretch between Denon and the Egyptian galleries.
In the French large-format rooms with Géricault's Raft of the Medusa and David's Coronation of Napoleon. Allow time: these rooms are the heart of the Denon visit.
A 2.25-metre basalt stele with 282 laws. The Mesopotamian rooms around it, including the Lamassu bulls from Khorsabad, are the museum's most underrated hour.
Tiny, in the Dutch rooms beside The Astronomer. Rembrandt's self-portraits are two rooms on. Usually a handful of people, even at noon.
Excavated foundations of the original fortress, walkable along the moat. A cool, quiet start or end to any visit.
Inlaid eyes of rock crystal and copper that still unsettle people. The Egyptian department runs over two floors and is the best section for children.
Intended for the tomb of Julius II, never installed. Canova's Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss stands in the same gallery.
Gilt, crimson, crystal: the state rooms of the Ministry of Finance kept intact. Few tourists find them.
The gilded gallery that became the model for Versailles. It was the scene of the October 2025 jewel theft; check which showcases are open before planning around it.
Two glass-roofed courtyards of French outdoor sculpture brought in from royal gardens. Good light, benches, and a place to sit when your feet give out.
History
The building is the first exhibit. Each ruler added a wing and nobody demolished the last one, which is why the plan is the shape it is.
Philippe Auguste builds a keep and moat outside the city wall to guard the Seine from the Normans.
François I razes the keep; Pierre Lescot begins the Cour Carrée wing in the new classical manner.
Louis XIV moves the court to Versailles. Artists and academies squat the empty palace for a century.
The Revolution opens the royal collection to the public, 10 August 1793. Napoleon later fills it with loot, much of it returned in 1815.
Napoleon III joins the Louvre to the Tuileries. The Tuileries palace burns in 1871, leaving the open western side.
I. M. Pei's pyramid opens; the Finance Ministry leaves Richelieu in 1993, doubling gallery space. Louvre Abu Dhabi follows in 2017.
Visit
| Ticket | Price | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Adult, EU / EEA resident | € 22 | timed entry, book online |
| Adult, outside EU / EEA | € 32 | from 14 January 2026; proof of residence may be asked |
| Under 18 · EEA residents 18–25 | € 0 | free, timeslot still required |
| First Friday of the month, 18:00–21:45 | € 0 | free for all except July–August; very busy |
| Audio guide | € 6 | Nintendo 3DS-style device; the free app works as well |
Tickets are released weeks ahead and the 9:00–11:00 slots go first. Same-day tickets exist only when capacity (about 30,000 a day) is not reached, which in summer it always is.
Tactics
Questions
No, that ended years ago. It is free on the first Friday of each month from 18:00 (except July and August), on 14 July, and always for under-18s and EEA residents under 26. Every free visit still needs a timeslot.
Only if the day's capacity has not been reached, which is rare in spring, summer and school holidays. Book online; the official site is the only place that sells at face value.
The painting is small and glassed; the experience is the crowd. If you only have one hour, the Winged Victory and the Delacroix rooms give more. If you have the morning, go at opening and it is fine.
On 19 October 2025 thieves took several pieces of the French Crown Jewels from the Galerie d'Apollon in a daytime raid. The gallery reopened with some showcases empty. Security screening has been slower since; allow extra time.
Not yet. The museum has announced a dedicated Mona Lisa room with its own admission as part of the "Louvre Nouvelle Renaissance" renovation, expected around 2031. Until then she is included in the standard ticket.
In doses. The Egyptian rooms, the medieval moat and the Marly courtyard work well; the Denon painting galleries do not. Pushchairs are allowed; the lifts are slow but exist.