How to Visit the Louvre at Night: Hours, Entry and Late Openings (2026)
The short answer
The Louvre stays open until 9pm on Wednesdays and Fridays. Last entry is at 8pm, and the rooms start clearing at 8:30pm. A ticket costs €22 if you are an EEA citizen or resident and €32 if you are not, as of January 2026, and under-18s go free. Book a time slot, come in by the Pyramid, and bring nothing bigger than a small cabin bag.
Most first visits to the Louvre happen at midday, in the biggest crowd of the week. The two late openings are the better choice, and they are easy to plan once you know the rules. This guide covers the ticket, the entrances that stay open after 6pm, the bag limits, and the louvre night tour tickets that include your entry. Prices were checked in September 2026; verify them before you go.
Quick facts for a late night
| Late-night fact | What it means for you |
|---|---|
| Open late | Wednesday and Friday, 9am to 9pm |
| Other days | Monday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, 9am to 6pm |
| Closed | Every Tuesday, and on 1 January, 1 May and 25 December |
| Last entry | 8pm on a late night, one hour before closing |
| Rooms clear | From 8:30pm, half an hour before closing |
| Ticket | €22 for EEA citizens and residents, €32 for everyone else |
| Free entry | Under 18s; EEA residents under 26; first Friday after 6pm, not July or August; 14 July |
| Address | Musée du Louvre, Rue de Rivoli, 75001 Paris |
The museum is also closed on any public holiday that falls on a Tuesday, and open on the rest. For the full week, the free list and every exception, read the visitor guide to the late openings.
Your ticket: what an evening costs
There is one ticket, at two prices. It is €22 for citizens and residents of the European Economic Area and €32 for everyone else, and it has been since 14 January 2026. Payment is in euros only. The museum offers no reduced rate, but entry is free for a long list of visitors:
- anyone under 18, of any nationality, with ID;
- EEA citizens and residents under 26;
- disabled visitors and the person with them;
- everyone on the first Friday of the month after 6pm, except in July and August;
- everyone on 14 July.
Book a time slot even if you enter free: the museum recommends it for everyone. A ticket is valid only for its date and slot, and it cannot be changed, exchanged or refunded. It covers the permanent collections, the temporary exhibitions and the Musée National Eugène-Delacroix the same day or the next. A show in the Hall Napoléon needs its own slot.
Important. Buy only from the museum's own ticket site or a guided visit. Mirror sites and street sellers are common, and a ticket bought from one can be refused at the door. Every guided evening we list includes the ticket, as the answers to common questions explain.
Getting there after work
- Metro: Palais-Royal – Musée du Louvre, lines 1 and 7, or Pyramides, line 14.
- Bus: lines 21, 27, 39, 67, 68, 69, 72, 74, 85 and 95.
- Car: the underground car park at 1 avenue du Général Lemonnier, which leads into the museum through the Galerie du Carrousel.
- Taxi: drop-off at the Carrousel roundabout; the nearest pick-up is place André Malraux.
- River: the Batobus stops at quai François-Mitterrand.
Allow ten minutes from the metro to the Pyramid, and fifteen more for the lockers and the toilets before your slot. Every meeting point and entrance is on the entrances and meeting points map.
Which doors are open after 6pm
| Entrance | Who uses it | On a late night |
|---|---|---|
| Pyramid | Everyone: ticket, no-ticket and priority queues | Open until closing |
| Carrousel, 99 rue de Rivoli | Visitors with a ticket or a membership card | Open until closing |
| Passage Richelieu, rue de Rivoli | Groups of up to six with an official guide | Shut after 7:30pm |
| Quai François-Mitterrand | Visitors with a ticket | Shut from 6pm, and on Tuesdays |
Two of the four entrances change in the evening. The Porte des Lions, on the river side, shuts at 6pm every day and stays shut on Tuesdays, so it is no use for a late night. The Passage Richelieu takes small guided groups but closes after 7:30pm on Wednesdays and Fridays. The Pyramid's tube lift is kept for wheelchair users and prams, and staff are on hand there.
What to leave at the hotel
Everyone goes through a security check at the door. Suitcases and large bags are refused, and the limit is 55 × 35 × 20 cm. The free lockers under the Pyramid take smaller items, and whatever you leave must be collected the same day. Umbrellas that do not fit in your bag go in the stands in the cloakroom.
Inside, you cannot eat or drink in the rooms. Photos and video for your own use are fine in the permanent collections, but not with flash, lighting or a selfie stick, and some exhibition works cannot be photographed. Any exit is final, so use the toilets and the cafés under the Pyramid before you go up. The rest of the night's rules are in what to expect on a Louvre night tour.
How long to allow
| Your evening | Time to allow | Arrive by |
|---|---|---|
| On your own, with a plan | 90 minutes | 6:15pm |
| A two-hour guided visit | 2 hours, plus 15 minutes for lockers | Your start time |
| A three-hour private visit | 3 hours, closing time included | 5:50pm |
| With children | About 90 minutes, kept short | 6:15pm |
The museum is about 73,000 square metres, with some 35,000 works on display, so no evening covers it. Pick a wing or two. The museum's own advice for families holds for everyone: keep it short. Where the famous works sit, wing by wing, is in our wing-by-wing guide.
Which evening, and which season
Wednesday and Friday keep the same hours. Friday adds the museum's own guided visits at 6pm and 7pm, and on the first Friday of most months it is free after 6pm, which fills the rooms. The difference is weighed in Wednesday or Friday.
The season changes what you walk out into. Sunset in Paris is about 8:05pm in mid-September, 7:00pm in October and 5:10pm in November, so from September to March you leave after dark with the Pyramid lit. In June the sun sets at about 9:55pm, and you leave in daylight.
Guided evenings, from €12 to a guide of your own
On Fridays the museum runs its own highlights visit in English at 6pm and 7pm. It costs €12 on top of your ticket, so €44 for a non-EEA adult, in a museum-run group. Every guided evening we list includes the ticket, in dollars:
- A group of six, from $170.67 a person: two hours from the metro exit cost $175.22 a person; another group of six heads for the Mona Lisa in the last hours before closing.
- A guide of your own: three hours from 6pm cost $336.54 a person for a party of two; two late-opening hours end inside the museum.
- More languages: a private evening in eight languages costs $295.83 a person.
Every option, side by side, is on the night tour options page.
On foot afterwards
The Cour Napoléon, the Pyramid courtyard, stays open until 9pm, so you can step out of the exit and stay to watch the glass light up. The Tuileries Garden is free and runs straight west from the arch. It closes at 9pm in April, May, September and October, at 11pm from June to August, and at 7:30pm from November to March. Its two public toilets are by the place de la Concorde and the rue de Rivoli gates. For an evening that ends with music, see the concerts and free Fridays.
Guided evenings with the ticket in the fare
Louvre Museum Closing Time Guided Tour with the Mona Lisa
Two hours with a licensed guide in a group of up to six, in the last hours before the museum closes. You meet at the horse statue beside the Pyramid; the ticket is in the fare.
From $170 per person
Check Availability
Night at the Louvre: Guided Museum Tour | Max 6-Guests
Two hours with a licensed guide and five other guests at most, from the metro exit on rue de Rivoli. The museum ticket and every booking fee are in the fare.
From $175 per person
Check Availability
Louvre Private Night Tour: After-Hours Exclusive Experience
Two private hours with a guide in English, French, German, Italian, Chinese or three more languages, meeting under the statue by the Pyramid. The route follows the highlights or what you ask for.
From $295 per person
Check AvailabilityNext: Pick your evening first, then the kind of visit, and book the time slot before you book dinner. Every evening fare sits side by side on Louvre Tours.