Most non-EU visitors will pay 45% more to visit Louvre from 2026

Summary

• The Louvre museum will raise ticket prices to €32 for non-EU visitors from January 14, 2026, to increase revenue by up to €20 million.
• The price hike aims to fund structural improvements after a US$102 million jewellery theft exposed security equipment inadequacies.
• Unions criticise the decision as discriminatory, while the Louvre seeks funds to address "structural problems" after a 2024 report showed 69% of visitors were foreigners.

PARIS - Paris’ Louvre museum said on Nov 27 it would raise ticket prices for most non-EU visitors, meaning US, British and Chinese tourists, among others, will have to pay US$37 (S$47) to get in.

The museum told AFP the 45-per cent price hike aims to boost annual revenues by up to US$23 million to fund structural improvements at the world’s most-visited art museum, which is reeling from the daylight theft of priceless treasures
in October.

In 2026, visitors from outside the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway will have to pay €32 – an extra €10 – from Jan 14, the museum and staff unions said, after the measure was approved at a museum board meeting.

A 2024 report published by the Louvre showed it received 8.7 million visitors that year, of which 69 per cent were foreigners.

Americans were the most numerous with Chinese visitors in third place, it said.

The museum told AFP that the price rise aimed to raise up to €20 million a year to tackle “structural problems”.

On Oct 19, a four-person gang raided the Louvre, taking just seven minutes to steal jewellery worth an estimated US$102 million before fleeing on scooters.

An official investigation indicated that security equipment was lacking, and the museum’s management has warned about the state of its premises.

Labour unions criticised the decision to scrap the universal entry fee for all nationalities, with one, the CFDT, warning it would be perceived as “discrimination”. AFP