Staying on rue de Richelieu means having the Louvre at the end of the street. This guide helps you plan your visit on foot from the hotel: the right ticket, the right entrance, the right time and the right pace, including with a child. For the place itself, its history and what to see, see our Louvre Museum page.
The opening hours below are those published by the museum for 2026. They may change: check them, along with the prices, on the official Louvre website before booking.
Booking your ticket and time slot
Since January 2026, the ticket price depends on your country of residence: it is higher for visitors who do not live in the European Economic Area. Check the current price on the official website when you book. Entry is free for under-18s, whatever their nationality, and for 18 to 25-year-olds living in the European Economic Area, with proof.
The museum recommends booking a time slot online, even if entry is free for you. Book on the official ticket office as soon as your dates are set, especially for a weekend, the school holidays or the summer. Beware of resale websites: they often charge more for the same ticket.
Two free-entry days for everyone are worth knowing about: the first Friday of the month from 6pm, except in July and August, and 14 July. Expect large crowds on those days. Finally, re-entry is not allowed: once you leave the museum, you cannot come back later on the same ticket.
Which days and what time to go
The museum is open 9am - 6pm on Monday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, and until 9pm on Wednesday and Friday. It is closed every Tuesday, as well as on 1 January, 1 May and 25 December. On other public holidays it is open, unless they fall on a Tuesday.
Last entry is one hour before closing, and the galleries start to be cleared half an hour before. If you book a late-afternoon slot, keep this timing in mind.
Staying next door lets you choose your time, and that is a real advantage:
- Book the 9am slot and leave the hotel a quarter of an hour before: you will be among the first in the galleries.
- The Wednesday and Friday late openings are much quieter, especially after 6pm.
- Avoid the middle of the day at weekends and during the school holidays, the busiest times.
On Wednesday and Friday, the second-floor galleries only open at 10.30am. And depending on works or the weather, some galleries may be closed: the day before your visit, check the list of open galleries, especially if you are coming to see a particular work.
Which entrance to use
The Louvre has several entrances, and not all of them are open to every visitor. From the hotel, two of them really matter to you.
| Entrance | Where | Who for |
|---|---|---|
| Carrousel | 99 rue de Rivoli, through the galerie du Carrousel | All visitors with a ticket: our recommendation from the hotel |
| Pyramid | Cour Napoléon | Main entrance, with or without a ticket |
| Porte des Lions | Quai François-Mitterrand | Visitors with a ticket, until 6pm, closed on Tuesdays |
| Passage Richelieu | Rue de Rivoli, opposite the Palais-Royal | Groups and membership card holders only |
If you have already booked a ticket, use the Carrousel entrance: walk down rue de Richelieu, cross place du Palais-Royal and follow rue de Rivoli to number 99, about a six-minute walk. The entrance is underground, so sheltered when it rains, and often quicker than the Pyramid at busy times.
The Pyramid remains the right choice if you do not have a ticket yet, or if you are coming with a pushchair: a lift there is reserved for guests with reduced mobility and pushchairs. The passage Richelieu, although it is the closest to the hotel, is not open to individual visitors with a standard ticket.
How long to allow
For a first visit, the museum offers an official trail of the Louvre's masterpieces, lasting about 1 hr 30 min: the Mona Lisa, the Winged Victory of Samothrace, the Venus de Milo. It is the best starting point if you do not know the museum.
For a half-day, choose a single wing, Denon, Sully or Richelieu, rather than skimming through everything. The museum offers other trails of about an hour, such as the hidden treasures of the Richelieu wing, which is often less crowded.
Beyond three hours, tiredness takes over from enjoyment. As the museum is a few minutes from the hotel, two short visits over two days are often better than one long day, as long as you buy two tickets, since you cannot come back in once you leave.
With a child
Entry is free for under-18s, but still book a time slot for the whole family. Aim for the 9am slot and keep the visit to an hour or two: the museum itself recommends short visits with children.
Standard pushchairs are allowed. If yours is too wide for the lifts, or if you do not have one, the museum lends pushchairs and front baby carriers free of charge, in exchange for an ID document, at the help desk under the Pyramid. Back baby carriers are not allowed. Bear this in mind when packing your bag in the morning.
Two of the museum's tools make the visit easier:
- The Louvre Kids app, for 7 to 11-year-olds, to explore at the hotel the evening before and then in the galleries.
- The Studio, on the ground floor of the Richelieu wing, free with your ticket: 20-minute workshops with no booking, in French, colouring, games and a baby area with a bottle warmer and a nursing chair.
The museum also runs guided family tours, to be booked on its website. If the visit ends earlier than planned, the hotel is a few minutes away: a break in your room, and the afternoon is still free.
Bags, suitcases and cloakroom
No luggage larger than 55 × 35 × 20 cm is allowed in the museum, and the museum advises against coming with a suitcase or a bulky bag. The cloakroom is free, but it must be emptied the same day.
So on the day you leave, drop your suitcases at the hotel's luggage storage and head to the museum hands-free: you can pick them up on your way out, a six-minute walk away.
After the visit
On your way out, take time to walk around the museum's courtyards, which are free to enter. To carry on on foot, our walk What to do on foot around the Palais-Royal goes past the Pyramid and the Cour Carrée. And for lunch or dinner close by, our guide Where to eat near the Opéra and the Palais-Royal gives you the best places to eat according to the time of day.