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Visiting the Louvre in Paris (2026): Tickets, Shortest Route & What to Skip

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The Louvre is the most visited museum in the world and, for most first-time visitors, the single biggest "must-do" on a weekend in Paris. It is also the place where weekend trips most often go wrong — people arrive without a ticket, queue for an hour at the wrong entrance, get lost in 73,000 square metres of galleries, fight the crowd at the Mona Lisa, and leave exhausted with three hours gone.

This guide is built for a weekend visit: how to book, which entrance to use, and a 90-minute route that hits the works you actually came to see. If you have a full day and want to go deeper, the same route works as your warm-up.

The short version. Book a timed ticket on louvre.fr (€22) for the 9:00 opening or the Friday evening nocturne. Enter through the Carrousel du Louvre, not the Pyramid. Head straight into the Denon wing: Winged Victory at the top of the Daru staircase → the Grande Galerie of Italian paintings → the Mona Lisa room → Veronese's vast Wedding Feast at Cana opposite it. Then cross to Sully for the Venus de Milo. Out in 90 minutes, into the Tuileries for air.

Tickets and opening hours (2026)

  • Standard ticket: €22, booked online at louvre.fr. Prices and policies can change — confirm on the official site before you go.
  • Opening hours: 9:00–18:00, with a late "nocturne" on Fridays until 21:45. Closed Tuesdays — the single most common Louvre mistake is showing up on a Tuesday.
  • Free admission: under-18s; EU residents aged 18–25; the first Saturday evening of each month (18:00–21:45); and 14 July (Bastille Day). The first-Saturday-evening slot is free but extremely crowded — a paid weekday morning is a far better experience.
  • Timed entry is the rule. Even with a Paris Museum Pass or a free-entry category, you need to reserve a time slot online. The pass lets you skip the ticket line; it does not let you skip the reservation.

If you're visiting two or three big sites over the weekend, work out whether the Museum Pass pays off — our Paris Museum Pass review does the math (it usually does once you add the Louvre plus two other major sites).

Which entrance to use

The Louvre has several entrances into the same underground ticket hall beneath the Pyramid:

  1. Carrousel du Louvre (best for most visitors) — an underground entrance reached from 99 Rue de Rivoli, directly from the Palais Royal–Musée du Louvre Metro (lines 1 and 7), or through the Carrousel shopping mall. Far shorter security queue than the Pyramid.
  2. The Pyramid — the iconic glass pyramid in the main courtyard. The photo is worth taking, but the security line here is the longest, especially 10:00–14:00. Take the picture, then walk to the Carrousel.
  3. Porte des Lions — a quieter side entrance on the south (river) side, sometimes open and almost never busy, but its hours vary, so don't rely on it.

Whichever you use, a pre-booked timed ticket is what actually saves the hour — it routes you past the ticket-buying queue to a short security check.

The 90-minute highlights route

The headline works cluster in two wings — Denon (Italian and large French paintings) and Sully (Greek antiquities). This route keeps walking to a minimum.

1. Winged Victory of Samothrace

From the ticket hall, follow signs for the Denon wing and the Daru staircase. The Winged Victory (the Nike of Samothrace, c. 190 BC) stands dramatically at the top — one of the few Louvre masterpieces you can see without a crowd in front of it. Best photo light is the morning.

2. The Grande Galerie and Italian paintings

Continue into the long Grande Galerie, lined with Italian Renaissance paintings — Leonardo, Raphael, Titian, Caravaggio. This is the most beautiful single hall in the museum and most people walk through it too fast on the way to the Mona Lisa. Slow down here.

3. The Mona Lisa (Salle 711)

Off the Grande Galerie is the Salle des États (Room 711), home to Leonardo's Mona Lisa. Expect a crowd and a roped queue to the front. Two honest tips:

  • Go at 9:00 or on the Friday nocturne. Midday the room is shoulder-to-shoulder; first thing in the morning you can be at the front in a few minutes.
  • The painting is small (77 × 53 cm) and behind glass several metres back. The experience is more about ticking it off than studying it — manage expectations, take the photo, and turn around.

4. The Wedding Feast at Cana

While everyone faces the Mona Lisa, turn 180°: filling the opposite wall is Veronese's The Wedding Feast at Cana, the largest painting in the Louvre (nearly 70 m²). Most visitors never notice it. It's one of the most rewarding two minutes in the building.

5. The big French paintings (Denon, Salle 700)

Adjacent rooms hold the monumental French canvases: David's The Coronation of Napoleon, Géricault's The Raft of the Medusa, and Delacroix's Liberty Leading the People. Five minutes here covers three paintings you'll recognise instantly.

6. Venus de Milo (Sully wing)

Finish by crossing into the Sully wing's Greek antiquities on the ground floor for the Venus de Milo (c. 100 BC). It's a short walk and a calm end to the visit. From here, signs lead you back out toward the Pyramid and the Tuileries.

That's the essential Louvre in 90 minutes. If you have more time and energy, add the Egyptian antiquities (Sully, excellent and far less crowded) or Napoleon III's Apartments (Richelieu, gilded and almost empty).

What to skip on a weekend

  • Don't try to "do" the whole museum. With 35,000+ works on display, a complete visit is a multi-day project. Trying it on a weekend just means sore feet and museum fatigue by lunchtime.
  • Skip the audioguide queue unless you're staying 3+ hours — the free Louvre app and good wall labels are enough for a highlights visit.
  • Skip the Tuesday. It's closed.
  • Skip the Pyramid security line. Use the Carrousel entrance.

Fitting the Louvre into a weekend itinerary

The Louvre sits in the 1st arrondissement, in the centre of everything. After your visit, walk west through the Tuileries Garden to Place de la Concorde, or east to the Palais Royal and its photogenic striped columns and gardens. It pairs naturally with a Seine walk, and it's a 15-minute Metro ride from the Marais or Saint-Germain.

We slot a 90-minute Louvre visit into Day 1 or Day 2 of our weekend in Paris itinerary, and into the art-and-culture day of our romantic weekend in Paris guide. If you're travelling on a budget, note the free-evening and under-26 EU rules above, and see our cheap Paris trips guide and free things to do in Paris for more no-cost and low-cost ideas around the museum.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much are Louvre tickets in 2026?

A standard adult ticket is €22 booked online through the official site. Booking a timed entry slot is effectively required even if you have a Paris Museum Pass or qualify for free entry. The Louvre is free for under-18s, EU residents aged 18–25, on the first Saturday evening of each month (18:00–21:45), and on 14 July — but you still need to reserve a time slot online.

What is the best entrance to the Louvre to avoid queues?

Use the Carrousel du Louvre entrance (underground, via 99 Rue de Rivoli or the Palais Royal–Musée du Louvre Metro) rather than the glass Pyramid in the main courtyard. The Pyramid has the longest security queue; the Carrousel reaches the same ticket hall with far less waiting. A pre-booked timed ticket lets you skip the ticket line entirely.

How long do you need at the Louvre?

For a weekend visit, 90 minutes to 2 hours is enough to see the headline works without exhausting yourselves. Serious art lovers can spend a half or full day, but "seeing it all" in one visit is not realistic with 35,000+ works on display.

Is the Louvre worth it for a short trip to Paris?

Yes, if you go in with a plan and a time limit. Treat it as a 90-minute highlights visit and it fits comfortably into a weekend. If you only have time for one museum and prefer something smaller, the Musée d'Orsay is a calmer alternative — but the Louvre's greatest hits are unmissable on a first trip.

Do I need to book the Louvre in advance?

Yes. The Louvre operates on timed entry slots, and walk-up tickets are limited and not guaranteed, especially on weekends. Book a few days to a few weeks ahead. The 9:00 opening and the Friday nocturne are the least crowded times to see the Mona Lisa.

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