It is impossible to visit Paris and not visit the Louvre - one of the largest and most popular art museums in the world. This outstanding gallery contains the greatest works of art from around the world - more than 400 thousand exhibits. The collections are divided into eight sections. This is the first place that tourists need to visit during their trip. Otherwise, there will be an incomplete idea of the city, because this famous landmark is almost the same age as the city itself. We will tell and clearly demonstrate with the help of detailed instructions how to buy tickets to the Louvre online and skip the line.
What are the tickets and how much do they cost?
The world renowned museum has a loyal preferential admission policy. Free to visit:
- children and adolescents under 18 years of age
- educators and students living in the EU
- travelers who have already purchased a single Paris Museum Pass
The right to a preferential visit to the attraction must be confirmed by presenting the original of the relevant document with a photo.
On the official website you will find the following types of tickets:
- A ticket for an individual visit (up to 6 people inclusive), which includes all permanent exhibitions and the Eugene Delacroix Museum. The stay is not limited. The cost is 17 euros.
- Book a free ticket for holders of the Paris Museum Pass. This card can be purchased at kiosks in the city, at major attractions, or at the box office of any museum that supports this loyalty program. Cardholders do not pay anything when ordering a ticket.
- Book the audio guide service, which is available in English, French, Japanese, Korean, German, Italian and Spanish. There is no Russian-language audio accompaniment, but you can find and download it on the Internet and listen to it during the tour. The service will be useful if you speak any of the above languages. Audio guide cost per person - 5 euros.
- One and a half hour acquaintance with the key masterpieces, accompanied by a museum guide in English and French. Price - 26 euros (+ cost of an entrance ticket).
- Group tickets (from 7 to 25 people) for a visit with your own guide. The group booking fee is € 70 + the standard ticket price per group member.
- Excursions for schoolchildren. If your kids are learning French, this practice with a native speaker will be helpful. The ticket is free.
How to buy online
Every day the Louvre hospitably opens its doors to all comers, the number of which reaches 20,000 people a day. The queues of tourists lining up at the entrance can scare away anyone in whom the thirst for cultural enlightenment has awakened. But if you buy a ticket in advance without leaving your home or hotel room, you can avoid long lines and are guaranteed to get inside at a time convenient for you.
Using the detailed instructions, you can easily book a ticket without anyone's help in just a few minutes. For this you need:
- Go to the official website, choose the type of ticket you need
- Select the date of visit, then - the time
- Indicate how many tickets you need (if the tour is individual - up to 6, with a group from 7 to 25) and the category of visitors. You confirm.
- You will then be asked to make a voluntary donation of € 2. If you agree, put a tick, if you refuse - skip. Confirm again.
- Follow the link to register data.
- Fill out the registration form: address (madam / monsieur), surname and first name in Latin, date of birth. Then write your email address twice: a voucher will be sent to it. And contact information: ZIP Code, city, country.
Check the box: you accept the terms of ticket sales, then confirm that you are not a robot. Click "payment" and choose a payment system with which it is convenient to make a transfer. Enter your details and pay. Upon completion of the operation, tickets will be sent to your e-mail within a few minutes.
How to buy skip-the-line tickets
Travelers can buy a ticket at the ticket office on site or buy it online for € 20 at team.guruturizma.ru. The last method is the most convenient. It is enough to fill out the online form: everything is clear and available in Russian. After receiving your e-voucher, travel on the appointed day a quarter of an hour before the time indicated on the voucher.
- Enter through the glass pyramid, head to the queue to check e-tickets.
- You don't have to print a ticket: just put a barcode on your smartphone screen to the turnstile and walk through.
- Visitors under the age of 18 must present proof of age instead of a ticket.
Also on the website you can buy a ticket online for the Orsay Museum for € 16.
Things to consider when buying
- Purchased tickets cannot be returned or exchanged for other dates and even times.
- Tickets purchased online are slightly more expensive (2 euros) than those sold at the box office. This symbolic surcharge is a booking fee.
- When buying a ticket via the Internet, the owner's data - surname and first name, date of birth - must be written as in the passport (in Latin letters, without errors).
- You can enter for free on the first Saturday of every month from 18:00 to 21:45. A ticket for this time must be booked in advance.
- The museum is closed on Tuesdays.
Excursions to the Louvre
Among the variety of excursions offered, it is easy to get confused, especially if you are planning your first visit. For tourists and guests of Paris, no matter how many times you have already been here (or is it your museum debut), there are different conditions for visiting. Individual and group, morning and evening, for adults and separately for children.
The walk lasts 2-2.5 hours (except for "Louvre: full immersion" - 4 hours). This is the optimal time to not get tired and calmly perceive information by ear.
Speaking of guides: competent, enthusiastic specialists will conduct your cultural immersion in an interesting way. Hermitage staff, historians and graduates of the Louvre and Sorbonne School, former employees of St. Petersburg State University who moved to France, art critics and other experts - each of them is ready to open the curtain of secrets of one of the most mysterious and great museums in the world in an interesting way. More information about the guides can be found on the website where their profiles are posted.
Here are the most popular offers:
- The main treasures of the Louvre in 2 hours (€ 37 per person)
- First visit: evening at the museum - get to know the main masterpieces and history of the royal palace without crowds (€ 37 per person)
- An excursion for children from 6 years old is an informative, but not boring adventure that will be remembered by young travelers (€ 130 for a group of up to 6 people)
- Interactive walk with children - get acquainted with the masterpieces of the famous museum in a playful format (€ 169 for a group of up to 4 people)
- The main masterpieces are an academic story about the stories of creation, meanings and legends of world masterpieces
Various routes allow you to see the royal palace, its luxurious interior, royal relics, the most valuable exhibits of the museum, see firsthand the legendary canvases and sculptures, take an interactive walk through the museum and much more.
Travel tips before visiting
- Pick up a map of the museum from the information desk or download a floor plan. Save time and effort.
- If you are not using a guide, make a plan for your personal excursion. It is impossible to inspect all the exhibits equally carefully, so prioritize and engage in acquaintance with selected works of art. And after that, decide what you still have the strength for.
- Choose the most comfortable clothes and shoes to visit.
- You do not need to print an electronic voucher, but in this case it must be shown on the smartphone screen. Make sure that the gadget is charged and the ticket is loaded.
We hope that we helped to sort out the purchase of the necessary tickets.
