The Louvre

Hi,

I am going to Paris and have one full day. Is the line for the Louvre enourmous (going in August) and if i buy tickets online do you still have to wait in a line, or do you simply go straight in. Just trying to maximise my time, as we also want to see Notre Dame Cathedral.

I appreciate the assistance

Mel

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No matter how you buy your tickets, you have to wait in line for security. In theory, there%26#39;s a short line for %26#39;no bags%26#39; people (apparently that means no purses, no bags - just pockets). We went three times: first time, lines at all entrances for security were at least 20-30 minutes, but the actual entrance after that was swift. The %26#39;no bag%26#39;line was functional at the Pyramid entrance, but not underneath in the Louvre Carousel area - where both lines had equal numbers of people with bags (and strollers - everything was searched). Line at the Carousel was 30-40 minutes for security.

That was on a Monday morning.

When we checked the lines on Monday afternoon, there was virtually no line at all. On Wednesday, we came in at around 1:00 pm (it%26#39;s open late on Wednesday) - virtually no line, and we went through the bag line at the Pyramid - the no bag line was even and on Friday, afternoon, again no line (but we asked a couple of people who said they had waited 20 minutes at the Pyramid entrance - with bags).

So if you can find a way to do it with no bags - you have more options.

So it%26#39;s all about the security line. If the

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Ok great thanks for that. Given your advice I might now head for the Notre Dame Cathedral first - as it sounds like there will be a security line no matter what time we go to the Louvre.

Cheers

Mel

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If you have your tickets ahead of time, you can enter thru the Richilieu Passage and bypass the queue enter under the Pyramid. We did it this past Wednesday (7/22) with the Museum Pass and had no wait whatsoever - security was extremely quick, too.

Not sure if its the same if you have tix at a will call window type situation.

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You can also buy your tickets from a machine in the shopping level... the machines do work with non chip credit cards.

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the Louvre machines now work with US credit cards BUT they function differently than in the US -- instead of quickly inserting and pulling the card out as ours work -- in France you stick the card in and leave it until it registers

we have been to the Louvre 14 times now and rarely had long lines (Monday in the rain on a national holiday was an exception) if you are on a day that is open late, that would be an option -- or just head in early afternoon and the carousel security line is not likely to be long --

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I am not sure if you have any plans for the Louvre, or if you just want to do the %26#39;must sees%26#39;. We were in last week and after queuing for the Notre Dame bell tower (we arrived at about 2 pm) we did not leave enough time to do the Louvre justice. My daughter wanted to see the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo, we just got in at 5 pm by the skin of our teeth and literally ran through the gallery. Both art works were well signposted, so we also managed to stop and look at the Delacroix - liberty leading the people as well.

We took more time at the Orangerie the next day.

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I highly recommend Herfnerd%26#39;s method. We did this as well. Passage Richelieu with the museum pass. I think we were there at around 3pm on a Sunday and had no line whatsoever. Straight through. It was so easy we almost thought we must have not entered the Louvre, but some other building attached.

From the Louvre website: The Passage Richelieu is open daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., except Tuesday.

The Museum Pass info is on this site: http://www.parismuseumpass.com/en/home.php

You can buy it online before you go or buy it in Paris. We bought ours at an information booth across from Notre Dame. The people inside the crypt pointed us to the info stand and there was no wait.

I think you can also buy it at the airport and many other locations in Paris itself. The pass was handy at several locations we went to and saved us time and money.

Have fun.

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Thank you everyone, the advice is extremely appreciated, especially since we are on a flying visit. Do the outdoor ticket machines only work when the Louvre is open? Since we get in the night before it might be worth heading over and getting the tickets before hand. The online websites that the Louvre recommends arent in english and the one that is was for the US. So frustrating.