Louvre Museum

Louvre Museum tickets and tours

France

Things to do in Louvre Museum

4.4/5 (1086)

In August 1911, Leonardo’s masterpiece The Mona Lisa was stolen from the Louvre and was missing for two years. The criminal was Vincenzo Peruggia, a handyman with a police record for robbing a prostitute. After hiding in a closet until the museum closed, he then removed the painting from its frame, rolled it up and walked out with it inside his coat.

There were no security alarms at that time and it was 24 hours before anyone even noticed the painting was missing. Police searched Peruggia’s flat but didn’t find anything, despite it being hidden in the bottom of a trunk. Instead, they arrested the poet Guillame Apollinaire, who was soon released for lack of evidence. Picasso was also questioned.

After a while, the media became interested in the tragic sinking of the Titanic and Peruggia decided it was time to sell the painting. Unfortunately, he tried to sell it to Giovanni Poggi, director of Florence’s Uffizi Gallery, and was immediately arrested. The painting went on a brief tour of Italy before returning to the Louvre. Peruggia served seven months in prison.

Opening hours

9.00am-6.00pm: Monday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday

9.00-9.45pm: Wednesday, Friday

Sundays in October - March: free access to permanent collections on the first Sunday of each month

Rooms begin closing 30 minutes before museum closing time

CLOSED: Tuesdays, January 1, May 1, December 25

About the Louvre

The history of the Louvre begins around 1200 with its construction as a defensive bastion for Paris. It later served time as a royal residence before housing various government ministries during the nineteenth century. Only at the start of the twentieth century did its role as an art treasury begin.

The Louvre's collections include western art from the medieval period to 1848 and are organised into different departments: paintings, Egyptian antiquities, Greek/Roman/Etruscan antiquities, Near Eastern antiquities, sculpture, decorative arts, Islamic arts, prints & drawings, and the Pavillon de l’Horloge (once the royal palace).

The departments are color coded to help you navigate what is a vast and potentially confusing space. It’s recommended that you obtain a map and spend a little time thinking about what you’d like to see rather than trying to see everything in a single session. The maps are available in Arabic, Chinese, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Hindi, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish.

The Louvre also has an excellent website with maps, information and tips on how to understand the art you’ll see there. The Mona Lisa may be its most famous (and popular) exhibit but there are a thousand other discoveries to be made if you explore all the museum has to offer.

Address

Musée du Louvre, 75058 Paris - France

Getting there

By Metro

Lines 1 and 7 to Palais-Royal Musée du Louvre

By bus

Lines 21, 24, 27, 39, 48, 68, 69, 72, 81, 95 + Paris Open Tour bus to the Pyramid

By car

Entrance to underground garage: avenue du Général Lemonnier: 7.00am-11.00pm

By batobus (boat)

Louvre stop: quai François Mitterrand

By train

(From Paris Orly) RER C to Champs de Mars-Tour Eiffel. Get off at Saint-Michel-Notre-Dame. Walk to the place Saint-Michel and take bus no 27, direction Saint-Lazare. Get off at the Louvre in front of the Pyramid

(From Charles de Gaulle): RER B train, direction Massy-Palaiseau. Change at Châtelet-les-Halles to line 14, direction Saint-Lazare. Get off at Pyramides station and walk to the Louvre from there (three minutes)

By bike

Vélib' stations (bicycle sharing system):
No 1015: 2 place A. Malraux
No 1023: 165 rue Saint-Honoré
No 1014: 5 rue de l’Echelle
No 1013: 186 rue Saint-Honoré

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Price (per adult)

£
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Tickets option

Categories

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21 Experiences
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Visit of the Louvre Museum and cruise ticket
Attractions & guided tours

Visit of the Louvre Museum and cruise ticket

Get your ticket to the Louvre Museum and a 1-hour cruise on the Seine river.

free cancellation
Available in:

en, it, fr, es, de, +5  pt, ru, ja, zh, ko

Alone with Mona Lisa, Last Entry Louvre Tour
Attractions & guided tours

Alone with Mona Lisa, Last Entry Louvre Tour

Book a guided tour of the Louvre's treasures, following an inverted itinerary so that you save the Mona Lisa for last, just as the museum is closing when most visitors have left.

free cancellation
Available in:

en 

Louvre Museum Masterpieces Guided Tour with Reserved Access
Attractions & guided tours

Louvre Museum Masterpieces Guided Tour with Reserved Access

Make sure you don't miss anything at the Louvre with this guided tour of the greatest masterpieces and an express ticket to save you time.

free cancellation
Available in:

en 

Private tour of the Italian art at Louvre Museum
Attractions & guided tours

Private tour of the Italian art at Louvre Museum

Get the most of Italian Art with this guided tour through the Italian collection and biggest masterpieces of the Louvre Museum!

Duration 2 hours
Available in:

en, it, fr 

Guided Tour
Best of Paris, 3 audioguided tours on your smartphone
Activities

Best of Paris, 3 audioguided tours on your smartphone

Visit Montmartre, Le Marais and the Louvre neighborhood at your own pace and customize your itinerary as you wish with this audio-guided tour on your smartphone!

free cancellation
Available in:

en, fr 

Louvre Museum Private Guided Tour with Reserved Entry
Attractions & guided tours

Louvre Museum Private Guided Tour with Reserved Entry

Book a private tour of the Louvre Museum to discover the main highlights: Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, Victory of Samothrace, Michelangelo's Slaves, Louis XIV's Apollo Gallery..

free cancellation
Available in:

en 

Louvre Museum guided tour with skip-the-line tickets
Attractions & guided tours

Louvre Museum guided tour with skip-the-line tickets

Get all the best information for your guided visit of the Louvre Museum in Paris and book your tickets, skipping the line, at official rates. Get informed, plan and book your tour in Paris.

free cancellation
Available in:

en, fr, es 

Skip-the-line to Louvre Museum and Seine River Cruise
Activities

Skip-the-line to Louvre Museum and Seine River Cruise

Create your own perfect day in Paris with a skip-the-line ticket to the Louvre Museum, and a pleasant way to discover the City of Lights during a 1-hour river cruise.

free cancellation
Available in:

en, it, fr, es, ar, +8  de, pt, ru, nl, ja, pl, zh, ko

Louvre Museum Greatest Masterpieces Exclusive Small Group Tour
Attractions & guided tours

Louvre Museum Greatest Masterpieces Exclusive Small Group Tour

Book an exclusive small-group tour of the Louvre Museum and discover the most iconic pieces of art of one of the largest art collections in the world!

free cancellation
Available in:

en 

Highlights of the Louvre Group Tour
Attractions & guided tours

Highlights of the Louvre Group Tour

Get the most out of the Louvre Museum by booking this guided tour of its highlights in groups of 20 people or fewer.

free cancellation
Available in:

en 

Must-sees of the Louvre Museum 1.5 hour guided tour
Attractions & guided tours

Must-sees of the Louvre Museum 1.5 hour guided tour

See some of the greatest artworks in the world - housed in the world's largest museum - in the most effortless way possible!

free cancellation
Available in:

en 

Private tour of the Louvre Museum
Attractions & guided tours

Private tour of the Louvre Museum

Discover a world of treasures on a skip-the-line tour of the Louvre Museum in Paris.

free cancellation
Available in:

en 

How to get there

Louvre Museum

Louvre Museum

Paris

France

Reviews Louvre Museum

4/5
, 08 Apr 2016

“The visit of The Louvre was very good. The skip-the -line ticket was very convient.But I have to mention that I my crecitcard has been abused since the payment that I did online to your company!”

4/5
, 01 Mar 2016
5/5
, 15 Feb 2016
5/5
, 15 Feb 2016
Paris