Which Louvre Ticket Should You Buy? A 2026 Decision Guide
Official €22 entry, €58 entry-plus-audio, €93 small-group guided, €200+ private tours. Same museum, five different visits. Here's who each ticket is for and the three traps that waste most visitors' money.
Fourteen versions of the same ticket, prices from €22 to €400, and an hour of "which one do I click" before you even open the map. The Louvre's booking page is the Paris travel equivalent of the supermarket detergent aisle — same product, different packaging, and the decision fatigue alone makes people give up and buy the wrong one.
This is the sorting guide. Five visitor types, five recommended tickets, and the three booking traps that drain money without improving the visit.
The 30-second decision matrix
| If you are... | Book this | Where |
|---|---|---|
| A first-timer visiting Paris once | Small-group guided tour, €93 | GetYourGuide |
| Comfortable in museums, have a plan | Standard entry, €22 (EEA) / €32 | ticket.louvre.fr |
| Arriving last-minute, official sold out | Hosted entry + audio guide, €58 | GetYourGuide |
| Art enthusiast doing a deep dive | Private licensed tour, €200-400 | Direct licensed guides (see below) |
| Under 26 or EU student | Free, but book the slot | ticket.louvre.fr (free-admission queue) |
First-timer visiting Paris once: the €93 guided tour
Real visitor data from TripAdvisor and Reddit's r/ParisTravelGuide is consistent on one point: first-timers with a guide rate the visit 4-5 stars. First-timers without one split roughly 50-50. The Louvre is 403,000 square meters of art with almost no on-the-wall explanation in English, and the default experience is wandering until your feet hurt.
The Must-Sees of the Louvre tour is the most-reviewed option (4.7 stars, small group under 20, 2 hours, licensed guide). It costs €93 against a €22 entry ticket, so the premium is €71. In exchange: a route through Denon to the Winged Victory, Venus de Milo, and Mona Lisa, with context you will not get from a museum map. For a Paris-once-in-your-life visit, the math works.
The Louvre guide — your 2-hour room-by-room route
- Exact locations for Mona Lisa (Room 711), Winged Victory (Daru Staircase), Venus de Milo (Room 345)
- The route that cuts 40 minutes of wandering — enter Denon, exit Richelieu
- Carrousel du Louvre entrance (7 AM, no queue) and how to avoid the Pyramid line
- 4 insider tips sourced from Reddit threads and Paris locals
Museum-comfortable with a plan: the €22 official ticket
If you know how to read a museum map, have picked two wings, and do not need someone to explain the Napoleon III apartments, the €22 (EEA) or €32 (non-EEA) ticket on ticket.louvre.fr is the right choice. You get a timed entry slot — that is the skip-the-line — and you walk your own route. Our Louvre tickets guide covers the full booking flow and the four entrances ranked by queue length.
Last-minute and the official site is sold out
The Louvre releases tickets on a rolling 60-day window. During peak season (April-October, Christmas, Easter), official slots are gone 2-3 weeks out. The fallback is GetYourGuide's hosted entry + Mona Lisa audio guide (€58, 4.6 stars, 5.3K reviews, free cancellation 24 hours before). Third-party resellers hold inventory the official site does not, which is why last-minute trips still find slots here.
Art enthusiast doing a deep dive
Private licensed guides run €200-400 for two hours, up to four people, and the right ones tailor the route — Dutch masters in Richelieu, Egyptian sarcophagi in Sully, the French crown jewels. Book through the museum's accredited guide list or established Paris operators. A legitimate private license in France is regulated; anything under €150 per person for a private two-hour tour warrants a credential check.
Free admission: under-26 EU residents and first-Fridays
Free tickets are real but they are still tickets. Book a timed slot at ticket.louvre.fr in the free-admission queue — no slot, no entry. First Fridays after 6 PM are also free but queues run 45 minutes even with a reservation. For the full rules: Louvre free admission 2026.
Three booking traps to skip
"Skip-the-line" priced at €39-50. Every timed Louvre ticket is already skip-the-line. The price bump buys an audio guide or tour, not faster access. If the listing does not say "guide" or "audio guide included," you are paying a markup for the same €22 entry.
Resellers without a verified domain. Scam sites clone the Louvre logo and sell "tickets" that never arrive. The only domains to trust: ticket.louvre.fr (official), getyourguide.com, tiqets.com, headout.com. If a site asks for payment in crypto or by bank transfer, close the tab.
Private tours under €150 per person. A licensed private guide in Paris costs €200-400 for two hours. Anything cheaper is either a small-group tour relabeled "private," or an unlicensed guide. Ask for the licence number before you book.
Where to book
Where to book
Our take: Pick the €93 guided tour if this is your one Louvre visit. Pick the €22 official ticket if you are museum-comfortable and already have a two-section plan.
- Standard entry
- €22 (EEA residents) · €32 (non-EEA) · free under 26 EU
- Entry + audio guide
- €58 · GetYourGuide · 4.6★ · free cancellation
- Small-group guided tour
- €93 · 2 hours · licensed guide · GetYourGuide · 4.7★
- Private licensed tour
- €200-400 · up to 4 people · book through louvre.fr accredited list
- Closed
- Tuesdays
Prices and availability can change — confirm on the official site before you go.
Frequently asked questions
What is the cheapest Louvre ticket in 2026?
The official adult entry ticket at ticket.louvre.fr costs €22 for EEA residents and €32 for non-EEA residents. EU residents under 26 and under-18s of any nationality enter free but still need a timed reservation. Everything marketed above €32 is entry plus an extra — audio guide, tour, or combo.
Is the €93 Louvre guided tour worth it for first-timers?
For most first-time visitors, yes. You pay a €71 premium over the standard €22 ticket and get a licensed guide, a small group (under 20), two hours on the three must-sees, and the skip-the-line slot. The alternative — winging it with a paper map — is the single biggest reason people leave the Louvre disappointed. If you have never been, and you are visiting Paris once, the guide pays for itself.
Should I buy my Louvre ticket on the official site or on GetYourGuide?
Start with ticket.louvre.fr at €22. If slots are sold out in your window, or you want an audio guide bundled with free cancellation, a hosted entry on GetYourGuide (€58) is the cleanest third-party option. If you want a human guide, only GetYourGuide and similar operators sell small-group guided tours — the museum does not sell them directly.
What does "skip-the-line Louvre ticket" actually include?
Nothing extra. Every timed Louvre ticket is already skip-the-line — the reservation is the queue-jump. Third-party sites that price "skip-the-line" tickets at €39-50 are selling entry plus an audio guide or tour, not faster access. If you only need to get in, €22 on the official site is the right ticket.
Can I buy Louvre tickets the same day?
Rarely. The museum releases a small number of same-day slots online at 9 AM local time, but they sell out within minutes on weekends and during holidays. The only reliable last-minute options are hosted-entry tickets on GetYourGuide (which hold back inventory) or walk-up tickets during the last 90 minutes, when some visitors cancel.
Are private Louvre tours worth €200-400?
Only if you are an art enthusiast with a specific interest — for example, French royal history, Renaissance sculpture, or a single collection. A private licensed guide for two hours runs €200-400 for two hours for up to four people. For general first-timers, a €93 small-group tour covers the same highlights with the same expertise. If a private tour is under €150 per person, verify the guide's credentials — legitimate private licenses start higher.
The Louvre sells one museum under fourteen product labels. Match the ticket to the visit you actually want: guided for first-timers, official for planners, hosted for last-minute, private for enthusiasts, free for under-26s. For the full ticket rules and every entrance ranked, see our Louvre tickets guide. For whether the museum fits your travel style at all, read Is the Louvre worth it. And if you are debating time-of-day, best time to visit the Louvre covers the quietest two-hour windows. Ready to book? Get the small-group guided tour on GetYourGuide (4.7★, free cancellation, 2 hours).
Last verified: April 2026