Louvre Museum in Paris hikes ticket prices for most non-European tourists | What to know

Paris — The long lines down I.M. Pei’s glass pyramid became as much a part of the experience as the “Mona Lisa” itself.

Now the Louvre is putting a higher price on that pilgrimage, raising admission prices on Wednesday for most non-European visitors by 45% as it tries to shore up finances after repeated strikes, chronic overcrowding — and the brazen theft of the French Crown Jewels have rocked the institution.

The museum said the price hike, from €22 ($26) to €32 ($37), is part of a national “differential pricing” policy announced early last year that took effect across key cultural sites, including the Palace of Versailles, the Paris Opera and Sainte-Chapelle.

French trade unions have denounced the change in Louvre ticket prices, saying it undermines the global mission of the world’s most visited museum – home to the Venus de Milo and the Winged Triumph of Samothrace.

Workers walked out again on Monday in the latest strike over wages and working conditions, bringing internal tension at the Louvre Museum back into public view.

The change affects visitors from most non-EU countries, including the United States, which typically accounts for the lion’s share of foreign tourists to the Louvre.

Who pays the highest price?

Under the new structure, visitors who are neither citizens or residents of the European Union — nor Iceland, Liechtenstein or Norway — will pay a higher price, the Louvre said.

The price of €32 applies to individual visitors outside Europe; Guided groups will pay €28, the museum said, with tours capped at 20 people “to maintain the quality of the visit.”

Some categories remain eligible for free entry, including visitors under 18 years of age.

The last price hike was in January 2024, when the standard entry fee rose from €17 ($19) to €22 ($24).

The CGT has condemned this policy, saying it turns access to culture into a “commercial product” and leads to unequal access to national heritage.

And not just the Mona Lisa

The Louvre says he is not alone. Versailles and other major tourist attractions are adopting similar two-tier pricing this month.

At Versailles, a “passport” ticket will cost €35 in high season for visitors from outside the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, compared to €32 for visitors who are citizens or residents of those countries. In Sainte-Chapelle, the ticket price rises to 22 euros for visitors from outside those countries, compared to 16 euros for visitors inside them, according to heritage officials.

The Louvre said the new tariff would help finance investment under the “Louvre – New Renaissance” modernization project and could bring in an additional 15 million to 20 million euros ($16 million to $22 million) annually.

Theft and institution under scrutiny

French museums were already considering charging higher fees to visitors from outside Europe before the theft of the French Crown Jewels from the Louvre on October 19, which investigators estimate is worth about 88 million euros ($102 million).

However, the robbery, which took place in broad daylight, in just a few minutes, was so rapid and audacious that it intensified scrutiny of how France protects its most precious cultural treasures.

It also sparked debate over how landmarks pay for upgrades and whether visitors should bear a larger share of the cost.

Elsewhere in Europe, the standard entry price to the Colosseum in Rome, along with the Forum and Palatine Hill, is €18 ($20), and an adult ticket to the Acropolis in Athens is €30 ($33).

Hit, hit, and hit again

The Louvre has repeatedly had to publicly confront its internal pressures.

In June, a wildcat strike by curators, ticket agents and security staff delayed the museum’s daily opening, leaving thousands of visitors stranded under the pyramid.

Workers said the Louvre Museum collapsed due to mass tourism, citing uncontrollable crowds, chronic staff shortages and deteriorating working conditions.

By December, the unions said the theft and the condition of the building had turned their long-standing grievances into a national issue. Louvre Museum workers have voted to continue the strike until what they see as real change comes to the ancient former royal palace.