Louvre Late Opening: Wednesday or Friday?

The real question behind "Wednesday or Friday" is the crowd. Friday gives you more, and more people come for it. This comparison sets the two late nights side by side, with the dates for this season, and says which of the Louvre small-group night tours and private evenings fits each.

The two late nights, side by side

Concert dates come from the museum's autumn and winter programme and are listed, with prices, on the evening events page. Exhibition dates and rooms are on the exhibitions page.

The case for Friday

Friday is the only evening the museum runs its own guided visits. Its highlights visit, in English at 6pm and 7pm, takes in the Mona Lisa and the Winged Victory of Samothrace for €12 on top of your ticket. A second Friday visit at 6pm is built around the quieter rooms. For a non-EEA adult that makes a guided evening €44 in all, the cheapest there is.

Friday also carries the free evenings. On the first Friday of every month except July and August, entry is free for everyone after 6pm. This season they fall on 2 October, 6 November, 4 December, then 5 February and 5 March 2027. The first Friday of January 2027 is New Year's Day, when the museum is closed. Free entry saves a family real money, but it fills the rooms.

The case for Wednesday

Wednesday has neither the museum's own guided visits nor a free evening, so nothing on the programme adds to the crowd. If you are booking a guide anyway, that is the evening to book. A private guide or a group of six shows you the same rooms on either night.

Two exhibitions are the exception. Primeval Waters, on until 15 March 2027, may close rooms 227 to 230 in the Richelieu wing on Wednesdays, for upkeep, and the Affinities rooms of Islamic art may close on a Wednesday too. If one of those is why you are going, take the Friday.

What each evening costs a family of four

Take two adults from outside the EEA and two children under 18. The children enter free on any evening, and on a guided visit run by the museum they pay the reduced €9 rather than €12. On your own, a Wednesday costs you the two adult tickets. A Friday with the museum's own visit adds the guided fee for all four of you.

Fares for a group of six or a private guide are in dollars and per person, with the ticket already in them, so the free entry for children does not lower them. Compare them on the night tour options page before you choose the day.

An evening that ends with a concert

This season's concerts in the Auditorium Michel Laclotte start at 8pm on a late night, so you can see the galleries first and go straight down. Three fall on a Wednesday and two on a Friday:

• Wednesday 7 October: Ensemble Cantoria, directed by Jorge Losana.
• Wednesday 25 November: Arcángel and the Quatuor Diotima.
• Friday 4 December: Tanguy de Williencourt, piano.
• Wednesday 13 January: Jordi Savall and Hespèrion XXI.
• Friday 22 January: Thibaut Garcia and friends.

The opening concert on 7 October costs €38, €33 reduced, or €15 for young visitors. 4 December is both a concert and a free first Friday, so expect the fullest evening of the winter.

Can you do both?

Yes, and it is a good plan for a long stay. A ticket covers one date and one slot only, and it cannot be changed or refunded, so you buy two. Spend one evening on a wing with a guide and the other on your own, with a list. Do the Friday first if you want the museum's own highlights visit to show you the building, then go back on Wednesday to the rooms it left out.

A ticket also gets you into the Musée National Eugène-Delacroix the same day or the next, so a Wednesday visit can run into the Thursday. The wings, room by room, are in our wing-by-wing guide.

How the season changes the choice

The day of the week makes no difference to the light, but the month does. From September to March you come out at 9pm into the dark, with the Pyramid lit, whichever night you pick. In June the sun sets at about 9:55pm, and you leave in daylight. The Tuileries Garden, next to the museum, closes at 7:30pm from November to March and stays open until 11pm from June to August, so a summer late night can go on outside. July and August also have no free first Friday, which takes the free-entry crowd off the calendar in high summer.

Which evening, by the kind of visitor you are

• On a budget, happy in a big group: Friday, the museum's highlights visit.
• Free-entry seekers: the first Friday of the month, early, and expect crowds.
• Couples who want a guide of their own: Wednesday, and the three private hours from 6pm, for $336.54 a person for a party of two.
• Solo travellers who want company: either night, with the group of six from the metro exit, for $175.22 a person.
• Families: Wednesday, with a start early enough to finish by bedtime.
• Exhibition-goers: Friday, if the show you want closes rooms on Wednesdays.

Every guided option is compared on the night tour options page, and the hours for the rest of the week are on the visitor guide.

Evenings to book on either night

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

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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

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Louvre Late Opening Private Tour – Fewer Crowds & Highlights

Two private hours from the horse statue by the Pyramid, on a Napoleon thread from Denon to Richelieu. Your guide leaves you inside, free to stay on until the rooms clear.

From $346 per person For a party of two; the per-person fare falls as your group grows

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