Are you looking for Louvre Museum last-minute tickets? Did you forget to book your tickets for the Louvre Museum in advance? Will you be in Paris in less than a week, and all the days are sold out for the time you are there?
Don’t worry, you are not alone.
Read below our suggestions for getting last-minute tickets to the Louvre Museum from sources other than the official website, where you will find tickets available for today, tomorrow or the next few days.
Are you ready to book your Louvre Museum ticket? Don’t feel like reading ahead? Book your ticket now.
How can I buy Louvre Museum last-minute tickets when it is sold out on the official website?
As you have probably seen already on the official website of the Louvre Museum, tickets sell out very fast, and it is usually impossible to get a last-minute ticket. Usually, you need to purchase your tickets in advance, often one to two months ahead.
However, the good news is that there are a lot of online websites where you can book Louvre Museum tickets on the same day. Some sites may have some tickets still available for today, tomorrow or your preferred date.
You are also in the right place to avoid having to check tens of websites: TourScanner aggregates all of them, so you can quickly and easily check which site still has some availability.
If you still don’t find any Louvre Museum tickets, then, it’s probably really sold out. The only way to visit the Louvre Museum will be to book a guided tour.
How do I find a Louvre Museum ticket today?
If tickets to the Louvre Museum are sold out on the official website, your next best bet is to book tickets through another website or to book a guided tour.
Some websites may have tickets available at the last minute for the same day or the following days. If not, a guided tour is an excellent way to not only gain entry at the last minute, but benefit from the knowledge of an expert.
With guided tours ranging from small group tours to private tours and family-friendly tours, you have a multitude of options to choose from.
While you may pay extra for a ticket with a guided tour, it’s well worth it for the added advantage of having a guide. Given the size of the Louvre, it’s impossible to see all of the artworks and exhibitions within a day. A guide will be able to direct you to the most notable artworks, all while providing you with fascinating insights.
Most guided tours last around 2 hours, and there are many options to combine a tour of the Louvre Museum with other attractions within the same day, making the most of your time and budget.
Hot tip: Check out our guide how to find the best Louvre Museum tours.
How much do Louvre Museum tickets cost?
Louvre Museum ticket price is €15 if bought at the ticket office. If booked online, tickets cost €17. Children under the age of 18 enter for free.
It may seem tempting to opt for the lower-cost option. However, please note that the waiting line at the entrance of the Louvre Museum can be incredibly long, especially during the high tourist season.
If you’d like to rent an audioguide during your visit, you can pay an additional €5.
It’s also possible to book a ticket for the Louvre Museum that includes an in-house guided tour. These guided tours cost €12, and you can buy them as a combined booking with your entrance ticket for €26.
Why book Louvre Museum tickets in advance?
We can’t recommend the benefits of booking your Louvre Museum tickets in advance enough. As the world’s most visited museum, the Louvre sees millions of visitors each year. In 2022 alone, over 7 million people visited the Louvre!
With so many people eager to get their hands on tickets to the Louvre, it’s advisable to book your tickets as soon as possible. This can be done on the official website up to two months in advance.
Booking your ticket online ahead of time not only ensures that you can secure your ticket for the desired date, but it also gives you more time slot options. This will allow you to be more selective about when you visit the Louvre and enable you to avoid crowds.
Booking your Louvre tickets in advance also means you can skip the lines at the entrance and go straight to admiring the artwork. Queues to buy tickets can be incredibly long and take hours of your time. With a pre-booked ticket, you’ll have multiple entrances to enter from, avoiding the lines and saving on valuable time.
What will I see during my visit?
Many travelers associate the Louvre Museum with the Mona Lisa, and are not sure of what else to visit beyond this infamous painting. But the Louvre has a collection of 400,000 artworks, 35,000 of which are on display.
With collections ranging from thousands of years ago to the 19th century, from ancient Greece to Renaissance Italy, and even from Mesopotamia to Benin, you will encounter numerous fascinating and breathtaking pieces
Paintings
The Louvre’s collection of paintings encompasses most European schools from the 13th century to the 19th century. While Mona Lisa is the most famous painting on display at the Louvre, there are numerous other artworks by Leonardo da Vinci that you can see.
When seeing the Mona Lisa, don’t forget to turn around and admire The Wedding Feast at Cana by Veronese, the largest painting in the Louvre. Other notable paintings include Liberty Leading the People by Eugène Delacroix and The Coronation of Napoleon by Jacques-Louis David.
Egyptian antiquities
The Louvre Museum is home to a vast collection of Egyptian antiquities. In fact, this section of the museum occupies two floors, containing examples of sarcophagi, hieroglyphs and sculptures.
This department presents art vestiges from the civilizations which developed in the Nile Valley and date back as far as 5,000 years ago. Some prominent pieces include the Seated Scribe and the Great Sphinx of Tanis, which welcomes you to the collection.
Roman, Etruscan, and Greek antiquities
The Louvre contains a vast collection of artworks and artifacts from Roman, Etruscan and Greek civilizations. It spans the period from Neolithic times to the 6th century AD.
From sculptures of gods and emperors to pieces of intricate jewelry and Greek pottery, this collection provides in-depth insight into these past civilizations and their enduring influence.
Near Eastern antiquities
The department of Near Eastern antiquities holds some of the oldest pieces found in the Louvre. In fact, the oldest piece in the Louvre is an ʿAin Ghazal statue that dates back to 7,000 B.C. and originates from Jordan.
Featuring works from Mesopotamia, the Levant and Iran, this collection spans 9,000 years of history. A prominent display is the Palace of Sargon II in Cour Khorsabad, which features the remains of a palace from Assyria. A must-see collection!
Sculptures
The Louvre Museum is filled with iconic sculptures. Some of the most notable include The Winged Victory of Samothrace, which stands prominently within the museum atop the Daru staircase. Dating back to the 2nd century, this sculpture is one of the most breathtaking in the Louvre.
Another famous sculpture here is the Venus de Milo. Situated in the Galerie des Antiques, the Venus de Milo has been on display in the Louvre since 1821.
You can also admire Italian sculptures in the Michaelangelo Gallery, where you can see work by Michaelangelo and the stunning piece Psyche Revived by Cupid’s Kiss by Antonio Canova.
The Cour Puget and Cour Marly feature French sculptures designed for display outdoors and in gardens, with some originating from Versailles and other chateaus.
Decorative Arts
The Louvre was once a palace, and today you can see how kings and queens once lived with some of the displays at the museum. With recreations of rooms of the monarchy, you can admire the decorative arts they once furnished their palaces in.
You can also visit the Napolean III Apartments, where the Minister of State hosted important guests and held events among plush furnishings and unique three-seater armchairs.
Islamic Art
The collection of Islamic art at the Louvre contains over 3,000 artworks, spanning thousands of years of history and three continents, from Spain to Southeast Asia.
Located in Cour Visconti beneath an undulating roof, the collection is divided between two levels, and includes ornate weaponry, ceramic art, Iznik tiles and unique sculptures such as the lion with an articulated tail.
Prints and drawings
This department of the Louvre is home to the museum’s extensive collection of prints, drawings, books, pastels and miniatures, among others.
Included in this collection are pieces by Da Vinci, Rembrandt, Michelangelo and Delacroix. These are some of the most fragile works in the Louvre’s collection, and can only be displayed for four months at a time before having to be returned to darkened store rooms for five years at a minimum.
Here, you can also learn more about drawing techniques through the learning exhibitions at the Rotonde Sully.
The Pavillon de l’Horloge
If you’d like to learn more about the history of the Louvre itself, you can head to the Pavillon de l’Horloge. From the lowest level of this section of the Louvre, you can walk along the path of a medieval moat that once formed part of the original castle that stood in place of the Louvre today.
From here, you can discover more about how the Louvre transformed into a museum and continues to grow and develop through its acquisitions and exhibitions.
Tuileries Garden
The Tuileries Garden is as iconic as the Louvre itself and dates back to 500 years ago. Thriving not only with plants, trees and flower beds, the Tuileries Garden is also home to ponds, carousels and sculptures.
The Tuileries Garden can be visited for free, and offer a perfect way to view art in the city of Paris if you are unable to visit the Louvre, with numerous classical and even modern sculptures situated in the gardens.
It’s also an idyllic setting for kids, who sail small boats on the Grand Bissen or hop around on some trampolines.
Travel tips
- Book your Louvre Museum tickets in advance to secure your desired travel date and entry time. This will allow you to skip the queues and avoid the crowds, saving valuable time admiring the artwork.
- The Pyramid is the main entrance into the Louvre, but this can get crowded. If you have a pre-booked ticket, you can use the alternate entrances and exit through the Pyramid instead.
- The Louvre is the world’s largest museum, and its exhibition spaces cover 70,000 square meters alone! While you may not be able to see all of the museum within a day, make sure you wear comfortable shoes as you cover as much ground as possible. When you get tired or need to refuel, stop at one of the many restaurants and cafes for a seat and a bite to eat.
- If you’re unsure of where to start and how to tackle the magnitude of the Louvre, make use of the museum maps available online to give you an indication of where to go. There are also advisable trails to take in order to see the most noteworthy artworks in the gallery.
- Not all of the rooms in the Louvre Museum are always open. You can check on the website for scheduled room closures, and plan your trip around which rooms you want to see most.
Wishing you a great visit 🙂