What to pack for Musée du Louvre?
Most visitors walk out of the Louvre with sore feet, a mild chill, and a nagging feeling they missed half of what they came to see.
In short, what catches you out here
- The Louvre's floors are almost entirely hard surfaces — marble, stone, and old parquet — covering several kilometres of walking. Visitors routinely end the day with severe foot pain and sore joints, especially in the Denon and Richelieu wings.
- Without an advance booking, queues at the Pyramid entrance can stretch 30 to 90 minutes in peak season, and the outdoor wait in summer heat is taxing, especially with no shade over the main plaza.
- The Salle des États where the Mona Lisa hangs is perpetually packed. Visitors spend long minutes standing on tiptoe, craning over crowds, often disappointed by how small and distant the painting appears from the security barrier.
Why this list?
The museum is vast — a full circuit of all wings covers several kilometres on marble and stone — and its most famous rooms are so crowded that the Mona Lisa is genuinely hard to see from the barrier. What surprises people most is the cold: the interior is kept at around 18°C for conservation, which feels arctic when you've arrived in the 27°C sunshine outside. Add patchy wifi that breaks your navigation app mid-visit, a cloakroom that rejects large bags, and a main café that queues for 30 minutes at noon, and you begin to understand why preparation matters here more than at almost any other museum in Europe. The list below is built from the specific friction points that actually ruin Louvre days — not the obvious ones.
When to go
The Louvre is open year-round but July–August brings extreme queues due to peak Parisian tourism; visiting outside school holidays makes for a far more pleasant experience.
Less favourable : July to August
✔To do before you leave
Your countdown: every action at the right time, from furthest ahead to departure day.
- Without a pre-booked ticket, the outdoor queue at the Pyramid can last up to 90 minutes in full sun with no shade — time that eats directly into your visit.
- The museum has over 400 rooms across three wings. Visitors without a chosen itinerary routinely miss the works they came for by drifting into the wrong section and running out of time or energy.
- The Salle des États is permanently overcrowded from mid-morning. Arriving at opening and going straight to Denon wing room 711 is the only way to see the painting without five rows of people in front of you.
- The underground mall entrance bypasses the Pyramid queue entirely for ticket holders — most first-time visitors don't know this and queue outside in the sun for an hour unnecessarily.
✔Nice-to-haves
Not vital, but noticeably more comfortable with them.
- The most visited rooms — around the Winged Victory, Venus de Milo, and Mona Lisa — are loud with crowd noise and tour guide speakers. Earplugs let you look at the works without the audio fatigue that builds over hours.
- Wifi drops out in the basement and ground-floor galleries, causing the official app and Google Maps to lose sync. A downloaded or printed map prevents a 20–30 minute detour in the wrong wing.
- The Louvre's marble and parquet floors offer zero cushioning over a 3–8 hour walk; standard trainers are rarely enough and feet typically ache badly by the third hour in the Denon wing.
- Large backpacks and day-packs must go to the cloakroom, which queues at peak times. A small bag worn at the front avoids the security and cloakroom bottleneck entirely.
- The main café under the Pyramid queues 30 minutes at lunchtime and prices are high. Eating in the Tuileries garden just outside lets you skip the rush and rest your feet.
- Using the Louvre app for room-by-room navigation, combined with taking photos throughout a full-day visit, typically drains a smartphone battery before the end of the afternoon. Museum wifi is too patchy to stream efficiently.
- Walking several kilometres of galleries is dehydrating, and buying drinks inside is expensive. Water fountains are available in the museum; a bottle saves both money and a café queue.
- Even with a 2% rain probability this week, a sudden shower in the open Cour Napoléon leaves visitors with nowhere to shelter — the Pyramid queue re-forms under the rain with no roof.
✔Weather & season
Adjust to the time of year and forecast for your trip.
- The interior is kept at around 18°C for conservation purposes — a brutal contrast to the 27°C outside. Visitors in summer clothing get cold within minutes of stopping to study a display case.
- The pale stone of the Cour Napoléon and the glass Pyramid reflect intense sun during arrival and departure. With max temperatures around 27°C and no shade over the main plaza, even a short walk outside is enough for a burn.
- The reflected glare off the Pyramid and pale courtyard stone is harsh at midday. Squinting on arrival after a long metro journey is an easily avoided irritation.
✔ My own items
Create an account to save your lists and find them on all your devices.
- Every checklist you generate, kept and available anytime
- On your phone as well as your computer
- Your ticks picked up right where you left them
✔ Good to know
- Book your timed-entry ticket online in advance on the official Louvre website — the museum strongly recommends pre-booking for all visitors, including those with free admission, as walk-up availability is very limited and queues can be extremely long. source
- Keep your bag compact: only bags and backpacks up to 55 × 35 × 20 cm are welcome in the galleries. Free self-service lockers are available under the Pyramid and at the Porte des Lions if you need to stow an item — just plan to collect everything before closing. source
- Bring a compact umbrella that fits inside your bag — full-size umbrellas must be left in the cloakroom umbrella stands, so a foldable one lets you keep both hands free. source
- Plan your meals around the on-site cafés and restaurants under the Pyramid — eating and drinking in the galleries is not done, so budget time for a proper break at one of the museum's dining spots. source
- Both cash (euros) and bank cards are accepted at the on-site ticket office, but online purchases are card-only. Contactless payment is widely supported at cafés and shops on-site, so a bank card or mobile payment app covers you everywhere. source
- If you're under 18, or under 26 and an EU/EEA/Swiss resident, entry to the permanent collections is free — but you'll still want to reserve a timed slot online and bring valid photo ID to claim the benefit at the entrance. source
- Selfie stick — Consider leaving yours at the hotel — selfie sticks are not permitted in the galleries and will need to stay outside.
- Camera tripod — Tripods and other photography stands are among the equipment that visitors are asked not to bring into the museum, so a good hand-held camera or smartphone is your best bet.
- Suitcase or large rolling bag — Any item over 55 × 35 × 20 cm will be turned away at the entrance — if you're travelling on the same day, it's worth dropping luggage at your hotel or a luggage-storage service nearby before heading to the Louvre.
- Full-size pointed-tip umbrella — Long umbrellas with pointed tips are among the items that the cloakroom asks you to leave at the entrance — a compact foldable umbrella tucked in your bag is a much smoother option.
Musée du Louvre official website
✔ Frequently asked questions
How do I get to the Louvre Museum and where can I park?
Public transport is the most practical option: Metro line 1 (Palais Royal–Musée du Louvre) drops you directly under the Pyramid, while the Louvre–Rivoli stop is also close. There is no dedicated museum car park; the nearest public underground car parks (Carrousel du Louvre, Forum des Halles) are a short walk away and charge standard Paris rates. To skip the queue at the main Pyramid entrance, consider using the underground passage through the Carrousel du Louvre shopping centre instead.
Do I need to book tickets for the Louvre Museum in advance?
Booking online in advance is strongly recommended year-round, and from 1 July to 31 August a reservation is required before you arrive. A limited number of tickets may be available at the on-site ticket desks on the day, payable by card, cash or holiday vouchers. The full adult price has been 22 € for EEA residents and 32 € for other visitors since January 2026, and entry is free for under-18s, under-26s residing in the EEA, and several other categories. Your ticket covers both the permanent collections and temporary exhibitions at the Louvre and the Musée Eugène-Delacroix.
What shoes and clothes should I wear to visit the Louvre Museum?
No specific dress code has been confirmed for the Louvre, but a visit involves several kilometres of walking on hard wooden floors and stone paving across multiple levels, so comfortable, soft-soled shoes will make a real difference. The museum is air-conditioned and kept at a steady cool temperature, so a light layer is worth packing — especially if you expect to queue outside near the Pyramid. Dress practically and you'll be able to focus on the collections rather than sore feet.