The strike has cooled down

Everything seems to go back to normal, well at least for now. Enjoy your visit to the musuems before the Frenchies go on strike again ^^

Strike at the museum

French workers have been on strike at several museums and monuments like the Louvre, Musée d'Orsay, Chateau de Versailles since last Wednesday the 2nd of December. They are either closed for the entire day or open late in the morning. This strike is due to the change of the retirement plan. Visitors should try to enter the museum late in the morning (after 11am) or go to another museum instead. As far as the working hours of the Louvre, it should go back to normal starting from tomorrow the 10th; however, the workers might try to slow down visitor flow at the entrance. That means instead of taking 5 mins to go through the security check, it might now take 30mins. So be aware!! And above all, be patient!!

Frequently asked questions:

- Where is the toilet?
You want a free toilet or a first class toilet? There are plenty of toilets inside the Louvre museum and at the main entrance. They are free of charge. A first class toilet is located at "Carrousel du Louvre" (the Louvre Gallery). At first glance it might look like a spa to some people. Tourists can easily walk right pass it without realising it is actually a luxurious bathroom. 1€50 for women and 1€ for men. Why is it more expensive for women than for men? Women take too much time in the bathroom !!!

- The hours of the museum?
Check out my blog on paris museum ticket. Some people get confused with the hours of the Louvre gallery because the sign in the metro station indicates that the closing time is at 8:30pm. This has nothing to do with the museum itself. It only means that the underground exit to the gallery closes at 8:30pm. That's all.

- Is there any discount for students?
Check out my blog on paris museum ticket.

- Where is Café Marly?
It is situated at the left hand side of the big glass pyramid/the main entrance. Check out the photo of Café Marly on this page.

- Where is the entrance of the museum?
Check out my blog on the Floor Plan.

- Where can we find a good and inexpensive restaurant in the area of the museum?
It is hard to find something reasonable and good at the same time especially in a touristic area. The Louvre restaurant has a good reputation although it is quite pricey. A food court is also available on the first level of the Louvre gallery. It is quite disappointing in terms of taste and price I have to admit, but it is convenient. For fast food fans, they can find McDonalds located at 99 rue rivoli near the entrance of the Louvre gallery. Rumors said that a McDonalds franchise will be opened up soon in the food court. A few decent and inexpensive Japanese restaurants can also be found on rue Saint-Honoré, right behind the Rivoli street.

- Where is Musée des Arts Décoratifs?
People have the impression that they can access to this museum through the gallery. This is actually an entirely different museum. Despite it is situated in the same building of the Louvre, you can only enter it through the entrance on the Rivoli street.

- Where can one find aspirin?
They have nurses in the museum for emergency use. If you are only looking for aspirin or female products, you'll have to pay a visit to a pharmacy. The closest one to the Louvre is right behind the Rivoli street, in the same area where you can also find the Japanese restaurants.

- Where is the internet café?
I have been informed that you can get internet connection at the Apple Store situated in the Louvre Gallery.  You can easily do research and check your emails online.  However, I don't know if they provide WiFi services. 

- Where can I buy a memory card for my camera?
There is a Virgin Megastore inside the gallery. They sell many electronic devices. You can also try burning a photo cd at the tabacco store "La Civette du Carrousel" in the gallery.

- Where can I purchase an adaptor?
Virgin Megastore. I heard it is overprice. In that case, you can head to BHV, a big department store located at Hotel de ville (three metro stations away from Palais-Royal by line 1). They have all kinds of products including clothing, shoes and electronic devices etc.

- Is the Eiffel Tower covered in the Paris Museum Pass?
Eiffel Tower is considered private. Paris Museum Pass only works for public museums and monuments. Check out my blog on "Paris Museum Pass" in order to get the list of the participating museums and monuments.

- Where can I buy metro/bus tickets?
Any tabacco shop should sell regular one way metro tickets. The underground metro exit of Palais-Royal Musée du Louvre has an automatic ticket machine; however, this is a very popular place where scammers do their business. Most of the time you will find the ticket machine out of order. Why? Because those scammers break the machine and try to sell you a half price ticket for full price. As you probably know that most tourists don't read French, they can't tell the difference between "plein tarif" (full price) and "tarif réduit" (reduced price). They end up falling in their trap, so watch out! A day pass and a week pass are also available in the metro station. The automatic machine might not accept foreign visa. The best is to buy it directly from a ticket counter. The nearest one to the Louvre is on the Rivoli street, just opposite of passage richelieu.

- Where can I take the Paris Hop-on and Hop-off tour bus?
There is a Paris tour bus stop next to the glass pyramid. You can directly buy the ticket on the bus.

- Where can I buy tickets to Disneyland?
Either in Disneyland :D, at a tourist office or online.

Louvre Floor Plan

Multiple entrances to the museum:

The best entrance for visitors with tickets is either "Passage Richelieu" located on the 93 rue de Rivoli or "Porte des Lions" on the opposite side of the Passage Richelieu" entrance. Both of them are rarely crowded. The main entrance at the pyramid is the one you should always avoid.

The louvre consists of three wings and four levels; from -1 to 2nd floor. Those three wings are called Richelieu, Denon and Sully.

Lower Ground Floor (level -1): There are seven sections on this floor; Arts of Islam, Sculptures, Egytian Antiquities, Greek, Etruscan and Roman Antiquities, History of the Louvre, The Medieval Louvre and Temporary exhibition halls.

Ground Floor (level 0): Sculptures, Oriental Antiquities, Egytian Antiquities, Greek; Etruscan and Roman Antiquities and Arts of Africa, Asia, Oceania and the Americas.

First Floor (level 1): Objets d'art, Egyptian Antiquities, Greek, Etrusican and Roman Antiquities, Paintings, Print and Drawings, Temporary exhibition halls.

Second Floor (level 2): French Paintings, Prints and French Drawlings, German, Flemish and Dutch Paintings, German, Flemish and Dutch, Belgian, Russian, Swiss and Scandinavian Paintings and Temporary exhihibition halls.

A minimum of three days is recommended for people who want to visit the Louvre thoroughly. You can have a self-guided tour with an audioguide available at the entrance of each wing. A guided walking tour can also be arranged at the museum. Some visitors are only interested in seeing Mona Lisa (La Gioconda). In that case, you can just head straight to the Denon wing on the 1st floor. For those who prefer the Egyptian section, they could start cracking on the Sully wing. How about impressionist paintings?? oh well, I have to appologize to those impressionist fans because the Louvre is everything BUT impressionist. You won't find painters like Van Gogh, Monet or Renoir etc in there. You'll have to visit Musée d'orsay or l'orangerie.

Paris Museum Pass

Prices for the Museum Pass:

2 days 39€
4 days 54€
6 days 69€

Unlimited access to sixty museums and monuments without standing in line.

Participating museums and monuments in the city of Paris:

Aquarium Tropical de la Porte Dorée
Arc de Triomphe
Musée de l’Armée, Tombeau de Napoléon 1er
Centre Pompidou -
Musée national d’art moderne
Musée national des Arts asiatiques -
Guimet
Les Arts Décoratifs
Musée des Arts décoratifs
Musée de la Mode et du Textile
Musée de la Publicité
Musée Nissim de Camondo
Musée des Arts et Métiers
Musée de l’Assistance Publique -
Hôpitaux de Paris
Musée du quai Branly
Chapelle expiatoire
La Cinémathéque française -
Musée du Cinéma
Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie -
La Villette
Conciergerie
Musée national Eugène Delacroix
Musée des Égouts de Paris
Musée Galliera - Musée de la Mode
de la Ville de Paris
Musée de l’Institut du Monde arabe
Musée d’art et d’histoire du Judaïsme
Musée du Louvre
Musée national de la Marine
Musée de la Monnaie
Cité de l’Architecture et du Patrimoine -
Musée des Monuments français
Musée Gustave Moreau
Musée national du Moyen Âge -
Musée de Cluny
Cité de la Musique - Musée de la Musique
Crypte archéologique du Parvis Notre-Dame
Tours de Notre-Dame
Musée national de l’Orangerie
Musée de l’Ordre de la Libération
Musée d’Orsay
Panthéon
Musée national Picasso
Musée des Plans-reliefs
Musée de la Poste
Musée Rodin
Sainte Chapelle

In Paris suburbs:

Musée de l’Air et de l’Espace
Musée d’Archéologie nationale
de Saint-Germain-en-Laye
Musée national de Céramique de Sèvres
Abbaye royale de Chaalis
Musée et domaine nationaux
du Château de Compiègne
Musée Condé - Château de Chantilly
Musée départemental Maurice Denis
Château de Fontainebleau
Château de Maisons-Laffitte
Musée national des Châteaux
de Malmaison et Bois-Préau
Château de Pierrefonds
Musée national de Port-Royal des Champs
Château de Rambouillet
Musée national de la Renaissance -
Château d’Ecouen
Maison d’Auguste Rodin à Meudon
Basilique cathédrale de Saint-Denis
Villa Savoye
Musée national des Châteaux
de Versailles et de Trianon
Château de Vincennes

A two-day museum pass is worthwhile only if you are visiting at least 3 - 4 museums. For a 4 to 6 days pass, you will have to visit more museums and monuments. The dates are open on the passes. You activate it on the day you visit the first museum, but it has to be used consecutively. It is counted by calendar days; two, four, or six calendar days, and not by 48, 96, or 144 hours. Also, neither the temporary collection nor the audio guide is included in this pass. You'll have to pay extra for that.

Points of sale:

1. The tabacco store called "La Civette du Carrousel) situated in the Louvre gallery
2. Office of tourism (there are quite a few in the city of Paris. You can check out "Paris Museum Pass" website http://www.parismuseumpass.com/en/home.php in order to get the addresses).
3. Museums and monuments. For instance, you can buy this pass at "Espace d'adhésion at the entrance of the Louvre museum.
4. Fnac
5. Online (Paris Museum Pass website)

Paris Louvre Museum - no queue and possible free ticket

Louvre is probably one of the most visited museums in the world. Every year visitors come to this museum from all over the globe. One might think that since it is so popular, people should know where to purchase tickets without standing in a long line or how the admission ticket works, but no no no, this is not the case at all. I myself work in the gallery of the Louvre for over three years and encounter many tourists daily. It is shocking that people ask me the same type of questions everyday.

In order to help out tourists who have difficulties with this gigantic museum, I'll give out some practical informations regarding admission tickets and its floor plan.

For an organized visitor, he/she might prefer purchasing the ticket in advance from places like, Virgin megastore or Fnac online. It is a good alternative; however, you do have to pay an extra fee.


As for tourist who is not that well organized, he/she might want to buy the ticket on the day they visit the museum, hoping that they can somehow bypass the line. This is probably the case for most visitors. Try out the tabacco store in the gallery of the Louvre. They sell single admission tickets to the Louvre, Musée d'Orsay, L'orangerie and Versaille palace as well as museum passes for 2, 4 and 6 days. The dates are open on the tickets. You can buy them in advance without knowing what date you are actually going. The worst case is that you decide not to go, and you can get a refund from the store providing the ticket is still in perfect condition without a date stamp. In high season, you might see a queue in front of the store, but it will probably take no more than 25 minutes. This is nothing compare to an hour to an hour and a half queue at the main entrance of the museum. On top of it, they only sell tickets on the same day and they are non refundable and non exchangeable. The tabacco store is located inside the gallery of the Louvre. You can get there by taking metro line 1 or line 7. Get off at "Palais Royal Musée du Louvre". If you take line 1, you will see the underground exit that takes you directly to the gallery. If you take line 7, you just need to follow the sign to the line 1 platform and there you can take the underground exit. Once you reach the gallery, you will see the sign to the tabacco store that says "Tabac - Museum tickets". It is fairly easy to find.

Museum hours: 9h - 18h on Monday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. 9h - 22h on Wednesday and Friday. Closed on Tuesday and big holiday like X'mas (the 25th), New year day, and the French labour day May 1st.

One day admission tickets:

The louvre 11€ , 12€ to the Hall Napoléon (temporary collection), 15€ to all the permanant and temporary collection in the Hall Napoléon

Musée d'Orsay 9 €

L'Orangerie 7.50 €

Versailles Palace 15€ to the main palace, 18€ to the whole complex on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, 25€ to the whole complex on Tuesday, Saturday, and Sunday during high season. 16€ to the whole complex in low season. The garden is free on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday in high season, and free everyday in low season. Closed on Monday.

You can go in and out of the museum all day long with the same ticket.

Possible free tickets:

It is free on Friday evening if you are under the age of 26. Be careful here, I mean UNDER 26, not 26 and under !!!

The Louvre is also free for everyone on the first Sunday of each month.

Who can have free access to the museum on a regular day?

This is where gets really confusing to some individuals. Just let you know that the evening discount ticket doesnt exist any longer. You have free access to the whole museum if you are under the age of 18 regardless of nationality. Since Mr. Sarkozy changed the law in May 2009, now people who are under the age of 26 and reside in the European Union will also have free access to the museum (except for the Napoleon hall, where the temporary collection is held) with a proof of ID. That includes passport, student ID, driver licence, resident card issued by one of the E.U. countries. If you don't belong to the European Union, you have no free access whatsoever! I know some people might say that it is racist or unfair. Well, what can I say? I don't make the rule. It is Sarkozy! People always ask me why they get discount at the other museums and not the Louvre. I don't know. Every museum has its own rules. And Louvre doesn't offer discount ticket! It is already soo damn popular as it is. It doesn't need to offer youth tickets in order to attract visitors. Get it?? I bet if it weren't because of our president, the Louvre would never let those European youths (between 18 -25) to get in for free. Once in a while people who are not from the E.U. do manage to get in for free just because they get lucky; whoever is checking the ID at the entrance is not doing his/her job. That happens sometimes, but don't count on it !! And how about the seniors?? Sorry, no discount! Another frequent asked question is whether the ticket is sold by section. Well no, it is 11 euros for the whole museum (except for the Hall Napoleon). There is also no ticket only for a few hours. It is a day pass.

27 member states of the European Union: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Demark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Therefore, do Norway and Switzerland count too? No, sorry. How about Turkey and Croatia?? No, they don't count either !

Who else can enter the museum for free besides the ones that I just mentioned? People who hold cards like ICOM, Total, Press, Les amis du Louvre, French military "Vigipirate", professional artist, unemployment (I don't mean retirement), handicapped (and one company of the disabled person), lassier-passer, art teacher (anything that is related to art; for instance, music, film, theatre, architecture, archaeology etc) etc. These people only need to present the card at the entrance. How about art students and school teachers in general? well, only if you are a teacher in France (kindergarden, elementary school and high school) and sorry, university teacher doesn't count! You have to pay 11€ to get in ! It is also free for art students who are under the age of 26 regardless of nationality. Don't think that it is such a good deal for those who are under 26 from the E.U., because they do have to make an effort to get a free ticket. These people have to stand in a long queue (yes, like everybody else) in the main entrance in order to obtain a free ticket. I know it is stupid. Why do you need a free ticket? I don't have a certain answer to this. The only reason I can think of is that the government wants to keep track on how many more visitors they attract from people in that category (youth between 18-25) compare to the previous years since the new law has been established or rather how much money they actually lose to those people. Oh well, you just have to choose between time and money. It is a pain in to stand in a long line when you only have so much time in Paris.

Ways to cheat if you desperately need to save some cash (in that case, I don't know why you'll be in the mood to visit the art gallery :op):

1) Get a fake ID card in advance that says you are under 18 or under 26 from the E.U.. Try those scams in Thailand. They can easily make fake passports and international student IDs.

2) Watch out for any used ticket laying on the floor in the area of the museum. That is probably a more manageable way to get in for free. As I said earlier that the ticket is valid for one day and that you can go in and out of the museum on the same day, that means it is transferrable! Aha !!!!! You and your buddies can buy one ticket and share it! Of course, you guys won't be visiting the gallery together, but hey, you have to know what you want. You want to save money or spend your holiday with your mates 24/7 ??? Or perhaps you guys manage to find a few used tickets and visit the museum together. The museum is so big and there are so many tourists. I am sure if you look hard enough, you'll be able to find some on the floor.