Tuesday, September 1, 2009

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.































3 comments:

  1. Thanks for the share , some valuable infos that should make our visit easier!!
    If you can adds some pics to help to find the differents ways it would be even nicer.

    ReplyDelete
  2. You are The Man Yanni!

    Thank you

    Craig Lewis

    ReplyDelete
  3. Do I have to wait in the ticket line if I'm under 26? Or can I go straight to the security?

    ReplyDelete