Louvre Opening Hours & Closed Days

Before you book your visit, make sure you’ve got the Louvre’s schedule straight. The museum has a consistent weekly pattern but a few exceptions worth knowing — especially the closed Tuesdays (which catches many first-time visitors out) and the late-night openings on Wednesday and Friday, which are among the best times to visit.

This guide covers everything: daily hours, late openings, closed days, public holidays, seasonal schedule changes, and last-entry rules — plus how to match your booking to the hours that work best for you.

Louvre Museum Opening Hours (Weekly Schedule)

The Louvre’s weekly schedule is the same year-round — no seasonal variation for standard hours.

• Last entry: One hour before closing (5:00 PM on standard days, 8:45 PM on late-night days)
• Galleries cleared: 30 minutes before closing — visitors are asked to leave exhibition rooms by 5:30 PM (or 9:15 PM on late nights)

Louvre Late Night Openings (Wednesday & Friday)

The late openings are arguably the Louvre’s best-kept scheduling secret. You get the museum’s full collection with a fraction of the midday crowd.

Why late nights are great:

• Coach tours and cruise-ship excursions leave by 5:00 PM
• Free entry after 6:00 PM on the first Friday of each month (October–March, excluding July and August)
• The Pyramid glows beautifully at dusk — a photo opportunity most daytime visitors miss
• The air in the galleries is noticeably cooler and calmer

Things to plan around:

• Last entry is 8:45 PM — don’t arrive later
• Some rooms may start closing from 9:15 PM, so prioritize your must-sees earlier in your visit
• A few Paris metro lines close earlier than 11 PM on Sundays (not an issue Wed/Fri, but useful context)
• Nearby restaurants in the 1st arrondissement stop seating around 10:00 PM

If you want to make the most of the late-night experience, a Louvre Night Tour gets you expert commentary during the quietest hours.

Louvre Closed Days

The Louvre is closed every Tuesday — year-round, without exception. It’s the museum’s standard weekly closure for maintenance, cleaning, and installation work.

On top of Tuesdays, the Louvre closes on three public holidays:

• January 1 (New Year’s Day)
• May 1 (Labour Day)
• December 25 (Christmas Day)

If any of these dates fall on a day the museum would otherwise be open, the closure takes priority. Plan around them — the Louvre does not open on these days.

Louvre Opening Hours on Public Holidays

Apart from the three closure dates above, the Louvre stays open on all other French public holidays, including:

• Easter Monday (varies each year)
• May 8 (Victory in Europe Day)
• Ascension Day (varies)
• Pentecost Monday (varies)
• July 14 (Bastille Day) — the Louvre is free for all visitors on this day, which makes it exceptionally busy
• August 15 (Assumption)
• November 1 (All Saints’ Day)
• November 11 (Armistice Day)
• December 26 (Saint Stephen’s Day)

Important: if a public holiday falls on a Tuesday, the Louvre remains closed — Tuesday closure takes priority over the holiday.

Free Entry Hours

The Louvre offers a few windows of free admission:

• First Friday of each month, after 6:00 PM — free for everyone, October through March only (excluding July and August)
• July 14 (Bastille Day) — free for everyone, all day
• Under-18s — free every day, regardless of nationality
• EEA residents aged 18–25 — free every day with valid ID

For the full list of who qualifies and how to book a free time slot, see our guide on Louvre Free Entry Days.

Last Entry and Gallery Clearance Rules

Two clock rules matter at the Louvre:

• Last entry: 1 hour before closing. So on a standard day (6:00 PM close), the absolute latest you can enter is 5:00 PM. On late-night Wednesday/Friday (9:45 PM close), last entry is 8:45 PM.
• Galleries clear: 30 minutes before closing. Staff start walking visitors out of exhibition rooms 30 minutes before the official close. You’re effectively done looking at art at 5:30 PM (or 9:15 PM on late nights).

This means if you arrive at last entry, you realistically have 30 minutes inside. Not enough for anything meaningful. For most visitors, you need to be inside no later than 2 hours before closing to have a worthwhile visit — see How Long to Spend at the Louvre for time-based itineraries.

Reduced Gallery Hours and Room Closures

The Louvre often has rooms closed on a rotating basis due to ongoing renovation and maintenance work. These aren’t advertised prominently, but they can affect your visit if there’s something specific you want to see.

Currently:

• The Apollo Gallery is closed following the October 2025 incident. Reopening date not yet confirmed.
• Parts of the Sully Wing have experienced temporary closures due to structural concerns flagged in late 2025.

Check the daily closed-room schedule on the official Louvre website before your visit — our guide to the Louvre Museum Official Website explains where to find it.

Matching Your Ticket Type to Opening Hours

Not every ticket works equally well at every hour. Here’s the smart pairing:

• Standard entry ticket → works any time, but arrive at 9:00 AM for the fewest crowds
• Skip-the-line ticket → most valuable during peak hours (11 AM–3 PM) or late-opening evenings
• Small-group guided tour → best in mid-morning when galleries are open but traffic is manageable
• Night Tour → only available on late-opening Wednesdays and Fridays
• Paris Museum Pass → lets you combine Louvre with other Paris museums across 2/4/6 days