When is the best time to visit the Louvre?
Updated October 28, 2026
Quick answer
The best time to visit the Louvre is a weekday at opening, with the 9:00 am time slot, or a Wednesday or Friday evening, when the museum stays open until 9:00 pm. The Paris Île-de-France tourist board advises avoiding weekends, public holidays and school vacations. And remember: the museum is closed on Tuesdays.
The Louvre does not publish crowd data by day or hour, so nobody can give you a reliable figure for how busy any given morning is. What you do know: the museum had about 9 million visitors in 2025, caps admissions at 30,000 a day and sells every ticket with a time slot. Choosing your slot is the only way to control when you get in.
Best day of the week
A weekday. The museum opens Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and closes on Tuesdays. The regional tourist board recommends avoiding weekends and public holidays, when it is busiest. Wednesdays and Fridays also have the advantage of late hours, until 9:00 pm. If your trip includes a Tuesday, don't save the Louvre for that day: it is closed.
Best time of day
The first slot, at 9:00 am, or the evening. The tourist board advises arriving between 9:00 and 10:00 am, or from 5:00 pm on late-opening days. Mind the limits: last admission is one hour before closing, at 5:00 pm on regular days and 8:00 pm on Wednesdays and Fridays, and the galleries start clearing 30 minutes before closing. A 4:30 pm slot on a Thursday leaves you just over an hour inside.
Late openings
On Wednesdays and Fridays the Louvre is open from 9:00 am to 9:00 pm. A ticket from 6:00 pm gives you up to three hours inside, with last admission at 8:00 pm. On the first Friday of every month, from 6:00 pm, entry is free for everyone, except in July and August: you save the ticket price, but still book your free slot online. In June the sun sets around 9:55 pm, so in summer you leave the museum while it is still light.
Seasons
There is no official crowd data by month, so you pick the season more for the Paris weather than for the line. The reference climate data (1991–2020) gives this guide:
- Spring (March–May) — Highs of 11 to 19 °C and 11 or 12 rainy days a month; a good museum plan for a wet day.
- Summer (June–August) — Highs of 22 to 25 °C and fewer rainy days: 8 or 9 in July and August; no free first-Friday evening.
- Fall (September–November) — From 21 °C in September to 10 °C in November; October is the wettest month, with 73 mm.
- Winter (December–February) — Highs of 7 to 8 °C and short days: in December it gets dark around 4:54 pm. Closed on December 25 and January 1.
Booking the first slot
Book the slot you want online: it is the only way to guarantee entry, and from October 17 to November 1, 2026 it is mandatory for everyone. According to the regional tourist board, a timed ticket gets you in within a 30-minute window and through the priority line. Official tickets cannot be changed once bought; if your plans might shift, the tours with entry included that we sell can be canceled free of charge up to 24 hours ahead.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best day to visit the Louvre?
A weekday, Monday, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday, at opening. On Wednesdays and Fridays you can also go in the evening, as it stays open until 9:00 pm.
When is the Louvre least crowded?
The regional tourist board recommends going in between 9:00 and 10:00 am or late in the evening on late-opening days. The museum does not publish crowd data by hour.
Is the free evening a good idea?
If you want to save money, yes, but it is only the first Friday of each month from 6:00 pm, except July and August, and you have until 9:00 pm at most. Book your free ticket online.
Is the Louvre open on Mondays?
Yes, from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm. The closing day is Tuesday.
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