Best Way to Skip the Line at the Louvre

You’ve heard horror stories of people waiting an hour or longer queueing to get into the Louvre museum. No one wants to spend their precious travel time waiting in massive lines when there’s a much smarter and faster way to get in. I’ll share the Louvre’s four entrances and which one is the best.

Visiting the Louvre Museum Paris

If you haven’t already, ensure you have a plan for tackling the Louvre. The Louvre Museum is one of the largest art museums in the world, with more than 380,000 objects and 35,000 works of art displayed and an area of more than 60,000 square meters. It would take you over a month to see everything in the Louvre!

What are the Louvre Hours?

On Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday, the Louvre is open from 9 AM to 6 PM.

On Friday, the Louvre is open from 9 Am to 9:45 PM.

The Louvre is closed on Tuesdays, and public holidays: 1 January, 1 May, and 25 December. It remains open on all other public holidays unless they fall on a Tuesday.

Note that…

Last entry: 1 hour before closing

Clearing of rooms: 30 minutes before closing

How to Enter The Louvre Fast

Most people will enter through the Pyramid entrance, the opening right at the base of the Louvre’s pyramid. It is also the most popular entrance and is infamously known as the entrance with the longest lines. DO NOT line up here. Even with a ticket purchase beforehand, it will be the most congested entrance unless you get lucky.

The Louvre has 4 entrances: The Pyramid, Carrousel, Richelieu, and Porte des Lions.

The Pyramid

The main entrance to the Louvre is for individual visitors and has 4 queues: visitors without a ticket, with a ticket, with a membership card, or priority access. However, this is the only entrance where visitors can queue without a ticket, so the lines are always long here.

Carrousel (the Best, Secret Way)

The Carrousel du Louvre entrance is in the underground shopping center accessed through the metro entrances. A large upside-down glass pyramid is in front of the entrance—you cannot miss it. This entrance is accessible to all visitors, including groups and visitors with disabilities. However, you MUST have a ticket or membership card to get through here. You’ll have to wait in the hour-long or more queue at the Pyramid entrance without a ticket. Get your tickets in advance from the Louvre site here.

It took me 2 minutes to get through the Carrousel entrance… 2 minutes!!!!

This entrance is often missed due to its “hidden” and underground location. As a result, it’s always empty, and there are barely any lines to wait in here. While the Pyramid entrance always has a large line, this entrance has none!

Here’s a great video showing you how to get to the metro entrances from the Pyramid and Carrousel entrance.

Richelieu

The Richelieu entrance is reserved for groups and visitors with membership cards and closes after 5:30 PM daily.

Portes des Lions

The Portes des Lions entrance is also open to all visitors. However, visitors with tickets are given priority. Note that this entrance does not have lockers and is closed every Friday.

Skip the Line and Enjoy the Louvre!

Now that you know how to get into the Louvre fast make sure to have a plan before visiting. You can’t see everything, so prioritize what you want to see. Smooth travels!