2025-11-30 18:22
publication
2025-11-30 18:22
From January 14, 2026, tickets to the Louvre in Paris will be more expensive for foreigners from outside the European Economic Area; this decision was approved by the museum's administration on Thursday. The increase, after which the ticket price will be EUR 32, will apply, for example, to US and Chinese citizens.
Americans are the largest group of foreigners visiting the Louvre, and the Chinese are in third place. Overall, foreign tourists make up the majority of visitors to the Louvre – 69 percent, according to 2024 data.
The cost of 32 euros represents an increase of 45 percent over the current ticket price of 22 euros. This increase is slightly higher than announced at the beginning of this year, when the first announcement was made to increase entry prices for foreigners from outside Europe. At that time, the price was 30 euros.
The Louvre authorities hope that thanks to more expensive tickets for tourists from outside the EEA, they will obtain additional income of EUR 15-20 million. They are to be used to solve the museum's structural problems.
However, trade unions criticized this increase, citing the idea of universalism and equal access to the collections for all. “We are not convinced by the argument of renovating the building as a justification for the annihilation of two centuries of universalism existing in the Louvre,” said the SUD trade union.
Trade unionists also fear that the need to check which country tourists come from will impose additional obligations on the staff, which – in their opinion – is still insufficient.
The French Court of Audit also noted in a recent report on the Louvre that the planned higher rate would mean that tourists from European countries would have to prove where they came from. “This means a significant number of people to be checked,” the Court pointed out.
However, the Minister of Culture, Rachida Dati, announced that such differentiated prices for different groups of foreigners will also start to be applied in 2026 in other facilities. For example, the Palace of Versailles plans to increase its price by 3 euros for visitors from outside Europe. The d'Orsay Museum – which houses, among others, paintings by impressionists and post-impressionists – no change in rates is planned for now.
From Paris Anna Wróbel (PAP)
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