Unofficial visitor guide · Paris
Musée du Louvre · Google Maps
Official audio guide · English Yes · 9 languages · €6
Most of what the Louvre tells you about a work is on its label, in French and usually English. If you read neither comfortably, or you'd rather listen than read, here is what the museum offers and how to hear the labels in your own language.
Independent guide by the makers of Tales of Museums. Not affiliated with the Louvre Museum.
Checked on 14 October 2026 from the sources linked above. Museums change their guides and rules; confirm on the official Louvre website before you go.
Checked on 14 October 2026 from the sources linked above. Museums change their guides and rules; confirm on the official Louvre website before you go.
Swipe for the works and stories worth knowing before you go.
Leonardo painted her on a thin poplar panel, not canvas. On 21 August 1911 she vanished from the Louvre and was missing for over two years. The thief, Vincenzo Peruggia, was a glazier who had worked at the museum; she came back when he offered her to an Italian art dealer, who called the authorities.
louvre.fr: From the Mona Lisa to the Wedding Feast at Cana · louvre.fr: Mona Lisa (INV 779)
The goddess has lost her head and arms, but her right hand survives. An Austrian team found the thumb and part of the ring finger in 1875; 75 years later, archaeologist Jean Charbonneaux found the palm and the rest of that finger. The 27 cm hand, palm up in a sign of victory, is in a small case on the landing.
Each guardian bull from the palace of Sargon II, an 8th-century BC Assyrian king, was cut from a single alabaster block of about 28 tonnes. From the front it stands still; from the side all its legs are walking. To make both views work, the sculptor gave it five legs, so count them.
She was carved from separate blocks of Parian marble, and the join between torso and legs is hidden in the drapery at her hips. A mounting hole at the left shoulder shows her arms were made separately and fixed on. Restoring the missing arms was once proposed, then abandoned.
During conservation from May 2025 to April 2026, imaging showed that Delacroix first painted a dead soldier trampled by a horse in the foreground, then hid him behind banners. The Louvre says this explains the horse's sudden head turn and terrified stare straight at you. The painting is back in the Red Rooms.
Veronese painted this 6-metre-high, almost 10-metre-wide feast for a Venetian monastery refectory. Napoleon's troops shipped it to Paris in 1798; in 1815, when most seized paintings went back to Italy, moving it was judged too risky, so Venice took a Le Brun in exchange. Even so, it was evacuated in 1870 and 1939.
Géricault began it with no commission, painting a recent wreck: some 150 people drifted for 13 days on a raft and only 15 survived. He took eight months, meeting survivors, building scale models and visiting morgues. The Louvre adds that the captain owed his post to connections and had not sailed for twenty years.
louvre.fr: Think big! · louvre.fr: The Louvre's masterpieces trail (PDF)
On 2 April 1810 the gallery became a chapel for Napoleon's wedding to Marie-Louise: as a divorced man he could not marry in a church, so the paintings came off the walls. On Félix Duban's ceiling, industry appears as a then-new invention, the steam engine. And carré means right-angled here: the room is rectangular.
Carved for Pope Julius II's tomb, which was never finished, they were given by Michelangelo to the exiled Roberto Strozzi, then passed to François I, Anne de Montmorency and Cardinal Richelieu before the Revolution seized them. Walk round the Dying Slave to find a monkey carved behind his left knee.
louvre.fr: Three centuries of Italian sculpture · louvre.fr: The Louvre's masterpieces trail (PDF)
Jean Goujon carved the four stone women holding up the musicians' gallery in 1550, when this was a royal ballroom. Here in 1572 Queen Margot married the future Henri IV; days later, on 24 August, Protestant nobles who had come to the wedding were killed in the Louvre in the St Bartholomew's Day Massacre.
louvre.fr: At the heart of the Renaissance palace · louvre.fr: The Louvre's masterpieces trail (PDF)
Tales of Museums reads the label in front of you aloud in your language: any label you can photograph, not only the highlights. The Louvre's free Wi-Fi covers the galleries, so you can usually use it without mobile data.
Coming soon to the App Store for iPhone
Mostly yes: the American Friends of the Louvre funded French and English labels for the works on display and explanatory panels in French, English and Spanish. A few older labels may still be in French only. American Friends of the Louvre
The official guide is in nine languages: French, English, Spanish, German, Italian, Portuguese, Chinese, Korean and Japanese, for €6. For other languages, or for labels the guide does not cover, an app that reads the label itself can help. louvre.fr
Yes, for personal use in the permanent collections, without flash. Photos may be forbidden in temporary exhibitions; check the signs in each room. louvre.fr: museum rules
In Room 711, the Salle des États, Denon wing, level 1, behind protective glass since 2005. Veronese's The Wedding Feast at Cana hangs on the opposite wall. louvre.fr
No. The Louvre has over 400 rooms and 35,000 works. For one or two hours it suggests the Denon wing: the Mona Lisa, the Winged Victory of Samothrace and The Raft of the Medusa. For a whole day, it suggests the Sully and Richelieu wings, which are much quieter. Some rooms close for renovation; the museum lists open galleries before your visit. The Louvre's own visitor trails include The Louvre's Masterpieces (about 1 hour 30 minutes) and Secret Treasures of the Richelieu Wing (about 1 hour). louvre.fr: FAQ · louvre.fr: visitor trails
Book a time slot in advance: the Louvre recommends it for everyone, including free visitors, and makes it compulsory on some dates. Ticket holders use the green priority queue at the Pyramid, or can enter through the Carrousel entrance or the Porte des Lions (ticket holders only, closed Tuesdays, last entry 5 pm). On Wednesdays and Fridays the museum stays open until 9 pm. If you arrive outside your booked slot, you lose the dedicated line and queue at the Pyramid like visitors without a ticket. louvre.fr: hours and admission · louvre.fr: map, entrances and directions · contact.louvre.fr: booked time slot
Yes: entry is free for under-18s, for EEA citizens and residents aged 18 to 25, for disabled visitors and one companion, and for everyone on the first Friday of the month after 6 pm (except July and August) and on 14 July. Everyone else pays €22 (EEA citizens and residents) or €32. louvre.fr: hours and admission
Take line 1 or 7 to Palais-Royal / Musée du Louvre, or line 14 to Pyramides. The main entrance for individual visitors is the glass Pyramid. louvre.fr: map, entrances and directions
Yes. A lift inside the Pyramid's central tube is reserved for wheelchair users, disabled visitors and visitors with prams, and the Help Desk under the Pyramid lends wheelchairs and folding chairs free in exchange for ID. Disabled visitors and their companion enter free and skip the queue. louvre.fr: map, entrances and directions · louvre.fr: visitors with physical disabilities
Children enter the Louvre free. Prams are allowed, and you can borrow a pushchair or a front baby carrier (back carriers are not allowed) free of charge under the Pyramid; most toilets have changing tables. The Studio on the ground floor of the Richelieu wing has a baby space with a bottle warmer and nursing chair, plus board games, a reading nook and free 20-minute workshops with no booking, in French only, for anyone with a museum ticket. louvre.fr: FAQ, children and families · louvre.fr: Visit as a family · louvre.fr: amenities
The Louvre lists nine cafés and counters in the palace, from La Boulangerie du Louvre and Les Comptoirs du Louvre for a quick bite to sit-down cafés such as Le Café Mollien, Café Richelieu and Café Pyramide, and five more in the gardens. Your ticket is valid all day, but every exit is final and re-entry is not allowed. louvre.fr: Restaurants & cafés · louvre.fr: FAQ, while visiting
No, the Louvre is closed on Tuesdays. Open 9:00 to 18:00 on Monday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, and 9:00 to 21:00 on Wednesday and Friday. Closed on Tuesdays, and on 1 January, 1 May and 25 December. Last entry is one hour before closing. On other public holidays it is open, unless they fall on a Tuesday. louvre.fr: hours & admission
Yes. The Louvre lists the Galerie d'Apollon (Apollo Gallery), on level 1 of the Denon wing, as open in its schedule of open rooms. louvre.fr: list of available galleries
From Charles de Gaulle airport, take the RER B into Paris and change at Châtelet to metro line 1 towards La Défense; the second stop, Palais Royal–Musée du Louvre, gives direct access to the Louvre through an underground gallery. Gare du Nord is also on the RER B, so from there ride to Châtelet and make the same change. For the airport leg, the Paris Region <> Airports ticket costs €14. iledefrance-mobilites.fr: getting to the Paris region airports · transilien.com: Metro line 1 · iledefrance-mobilites.fr: how to get to the Louvre · iledefrance-mobilites.fr: Paris Region <> Airports ticket · louvre.fr: map, entrances and directions
Yes, as long as it is no bigger than 55 × 35 × 20 cm: suitcases and larger bags are not allowed anywhere in the Louvre, including the welcome area, and every visitor goes through a security check at the entrance. The cloakroom is free self-service lockers for smaller items, beneath the Pyramid and at the Porte des Lions, and everything must be collected the same day (the Porte des Lions lockers are open until 3 pm). Umbrellas that do not fit in your bag go in the self-service umbrella stands in the cloakroom. louvre.fr: museum rules (maximum size of bag allowed) · louvre.fr: visitor amenities (cloakroom) · louvre.fr: FAQ while visiting (Can I bring a suitcase to the museum?) · louvre.fr: map, entrances and directions
The Louvre's own guided tours last 1 hour 30 minutes on average: "Welcome to the Louvre" takes in the Mona Lisa, the Winged Victory of Samothrace and other masterpieces, "Another Louvre" visits lesser-known treasures away from the crowds, and "Louvre family" is for ages 6 and up, each for €12, or €9 reduced, on top of admission. On your own, the free visitor trails are designed around the time you have: The Louvre's Masterpieces takes about 1 hour 30 minutes and Secret Treasures of the Richelieu Wing about 1 hour. louvre.fr: Welcome to the Louvre (guided tour) · louvre.fr: Another Louvre (guided tour) · louvre.fr: Louvre family (guided tour) · louvre.fr: visitor trails
Tales of Museums is an independent app and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to the Louvre Museum. Translations, narration and the extra facts use AI and can contain mistakes, so for anything important, check the museum's official information and the linked sources. Please follow the museum's photography rules.