Louvre at night is undoubtedly one of the most enjoyable ways to discover the museum. For visitors who already know New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Louvre offers a similarly impressive experience in terms of scale and the richness of its collections.
Every Wednesday and Friday, the museum remains open until 9:00 PM, offering a very different experience from the busiest hours of the day. The galleries are less crowded, moving around is easier, and some of the museum’s most iconic masterpieces become far more accessible.
The Louvre also offers free evening admission on the first Friday of each month from 6:00 PM (except in July and August), as well as free admission on July 14th. These special events are extremely popular and attract large crowds. If your goal is to fully enjoy the collections, we recommend choosing a regular evening opening instead. The experience is generally more comfortable and allows visitors to better appreciate both the artworks and the remarkable architecture of the palace.
For this visit, we chose to arrive around 6:30 PM via the Carrousel du Louvre entrance. Located beneath the shopping mall, it provides direct access to the museum while passing by the famous inverted pyramid. Evening access is usually very smooth and often much faster than the main entrance beneath the glass pyramid.
Our visit begins in the Ancient Egyptian galleries before heading to the spectacular Napoleon III Apartments. Monumental chandeliers, gilded decorations and lavish reception rooms offer a striking glimpse into the splendor of the Second Empire.
We then continue to the Marly and Puget Courtyards, among the most impressive spaces in the Louvre. Beneath their vast glass roofs, the French sculptures are displayed in a remarkable setting enhanced by particularly elegant natural light.
The tour continues through the galleries devoted to Italian painting. Here visitors can admire works by Leonardo da Vinci, Caravaggio and Raphael. Even in front of the Mona Lisa, the difference compared with a daytime visit is immediately noticeable: access remains easy and the crowds are significantly smaller.
The route then leads through several major painting galleries. Here, visitors can admire masterpieces such as The Coronation of Napoleon, The Raft of the Medusa and Liberty Leading the People.
The quieter atmosphere allows visitors to fully appreciate the scale and detail of these remarkable works.
The tour then returns to the museum’s classical sculpture collections. Visitors encounter the famous Venus de Milo before reaching the majestic Winged Victory of Samothrace, one of the highlights of the Louvre.
Before leaving the museum, take a walk through the Cour Napoléon to admire the pyramid and the façades of the Louvre Palace. In late spring and summer, the museum closes before dark. Although the pyramid is not yet illuminated, the evening light creates beautiful views across the palace grounds.
Whether you are visiting Paris for the first time or returning to the city, Louvre at night provides a more relaxed and memorable museum experience.