As the largest museum in the world, it goes without saying that the Louvre is one of the largest tourist attractions in Paris – if not, the world.

Here, you can find some of the world’s most famous masterpieces on display, including da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, Winged Victory of Samothrace, Venus de Milo, Liberty Leading the People, and much more. There’s so much art inside the Louvre, that it would literally take days to see every single piece.

With that being said, it can be easily overwhelming to know where to go or what to see if you’ve never been before. That’s why we’re here to bring you the top tours of the Louvre available!

Be sure to see our reviews of Day Trips to Normandy, Eiffel Tower Guided Tours and Paris Catacombs Tours.

Best Tours of the Louvre Museum

	Louvre Inside Out: Private Skip the Line Tour	Louvre Museum Tour	Louvre Museum Skip-the-line Access Private Guided Tour
	Best Private Tour	Best Budget Tour	Best Guided Tour
Departure:	Louvre Pyramid, 75001	Arc du Carrousel	Louvre Pyramid , 75001
Start:	From 9:00 AM to 5:30PM	From 9:00 AM to 5:30PM	From 9:30 AM to 6:30 PM
Duration:	2 hours	2-3 hours	2.5 hours
Includes:	Guided tour of the museum with a licensed tour guide, private Tour - Only your travel party & your guide, make on-the-spot changes to the tour	All entrance fees, professional guide, skip-the-line tour, flexible group size	Skip-the-line museum tour, professional guide, private tour guide, wheelchair-friendly tour
	Tour Information & Booking	Tour Information & Booking	Tour Information & Booking

Quick Answer: The 5 Best Guided Louvre Museum Tours For 2024

1. Best Private Tour: Louvre Inside Out: Private Skip the Line Tour
2. Best Budget Tour: Louvre Museum Tour
3. Best Guided Tour: Louvre Museum Skip-the-line Access Private Guided Tour
4. Best Small Group Tour: Louvre Museum Small Group Guided Tour
5. Best Value Tour: Paris Louvre Museum Must See Skip the Line Private and Tailored Guided Tour

Louvre Tour Reviews

1. Best Private Tour: Louvre Inside Out – Private Skip the Line Tour

Let’s start things off on the right foot with the Louvre Inside Out: Private Skip the Line Tour. This 2-hour tour is a great way to see the most famous pieces of art inside, while also learning from a guide that’s very knowledgeable on the museum.

The Louvre does attract quite a few crowds, so this really takes the stress out of the equation so you can just focus on the experience.

Meet your private guide with the rest of your group at the Louvre pyramid. Normally, there’s quite the line outside, going down inside of the museum. However, you won’t have to worry about waiting around.

Thanks to your skip-the-line privileges, you’ll get right to the fun! Just remember that you will have to pay for your entrance fee separately, but just getting the entrance inside is very quick and easy.

Once inside, you’ll realize just how expansive it is. It’s not all squished into a few different rooms or hallways. They have everything spaced out – offering the kind of room that these masterpieces deserve.

However, this also means that there’s quite a bit of walking involved and it can be hard to decide where to start first!

Your guide will take the lead, showing you the most famous artwork first. This includes the Nike of Samothrace, Venus de Milo, Mona Lisa, The Coronation of Napoleon, and so much more. There are also other pieces of history laid out on display, such as the French crown jewels!

While the tour itself lasts 2 hours, you can still choose to look around at your own pace or go back to certain pieces that you’d like to get a second look at. There are also various restaurants, cafes, and gift shops inside that can be fun to check out!

More Information & Tour Booking

100% refund for cancellations within 24 hours of tour experience

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2. Best Budget Tour: Louvre Museum Tour

Our next tour has. a lot of flexibility with ability to choose your tour length of 2 or 3 hours and group size of between 10-30 people. The Louvre Museum Tour is the perfect way to get yourself acquainted with Parisian culture, as so much of it is intertwined with the Louvre and the artwork it has on display.

With so much to see, this is one of the most seamless ways to become oriented and see some of the “big” ones. Now, there are plenty of tour guides at the Louvre.

However, not all of them have expert guides which means you won’t learn very much about the artwork and history of the Louvre.

We found it easy to ask the guide whatever you want, and as they are so knowledgeable, you’re almost always going to get a good answer. Once again, you don’t have to wait in the sometimes very long lines that extend out from the Louvre.

You and your group get to follow your guide right into the depths of this immense piece of architecture that once served as a fortress hundreds of years ago.

Your guide will talk to you about the history of the building, and perhaps even take you to see the parts where the original medieval moat structure lies inside.

It’s also served as a royal residence, which you’re also able to see – complete with the original lavish furniture! Home to almost 40,000 pieces of art, you will beeline to the most famous ones while your guide offers a historical and cultural narration.

Even if you consider yourself an art expert, you’re sure to learn (or at least see!) something new on this tour. This is surely unlike any other museum you’ve ever been in before!

More Information & Tour Booking

100% refund for cancellations within 24 hours of tour experience

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3. Best Guided Tour: Louvre Museum Skip-the-line Access Private Guided Tour

With our next tour, we bring you yet another 2.5-hour excursion that’s perfect for getting your feet wet in this legendary museum.

The Louvre Museum Skip-the-Line Access Private Guided Tour will have you feeling like you have a Parisian local friend who’s also majored in art history showing you all their favorite artwork!

The guides are so good at what they do, that they even manage to keep children entertained – and that’s not easy to do at a massive art museum.

Start out by meeting your guide outside the museum and skip past the lines so you can go straight into exploring all this incredible art and history! Take a moment to look around the pyramid inside and outside, as they’re truly stunning!

We will be honest: just being at the Louvre is overwhelming with the sheer quantity of options and people around.

These guides make it such a breeze, and makes you feel like you’re the only people in the room.

As this is a private tour, your group will really just be you and whomever you’re traveling with/bringing along for the ride. If you’re wondering if you should bring children along, know that it’s perfect for all ages.

Some of the guides even bring their own headsets so you can hear them perfectly among the crowds while still being able to enjoy the artwork and wander around a bit.

Even if you don’t consider yourself to be very knowledgeable about art, the guides make it easy to understand and create an engaging experience. This is really what you’re paying for, and it’s more than worth it!

More Information & Tour Booking

100% refund for cancellations within 24 hours of tour experience

4. Best Small Group: Louvre Museum Small Group English Guided Tour

The Louvre Museum Small Group English Guided Tour is yet again another excellent selection that consistently receives raving reviews! Lasting 2 hours, it’s one of the top ways to see this museum while still being able to work its way into a busy schedule.

There are various start times, so you have quite a bit of flexibility to fit it into your morning, afternoon, or evening.This tour features very small groups which cap out at just 6 people! This makes it very easy to move around and get more personalized attention from your experienced guide.

If you have any questions about the museum itself, or a piece of art, artist, etc. we’ve yet to hear something that they don’t know. As the most visited museum in the world, crowds are to be expected. By going on a self-guided tour, you may not get to see everything you wanted in just 2 hours.

While maps are included with your entrance fee, it’s so expansive that it’s difficult to create an efficient roadmap if you’re doing it without experience.

Small group tours remedy that, and if there’s something in particular you’d like to see, your guide can help make it happen.

Did we mention that the guides are also fluent in French, English, and Spanish? This means you can communicate more effectively, as well as understand what they’re teaching you better.

As you have already paid for entrance, feel free to walk around and check out everything you want at your own pace after the guided tour portion.

More Information & Tour Booking

100% refund for cancellations within 24 hours of tour experience

5. Best Value Tour: Paris Louvre Museum Skip the Line Private & Tailored Guided Tour

Perhaps you’re on the hunt for an even shorter Louvre tour? Maybe you really want to see the Louvre and the Mona Lisa, along with some other famous works of art but have a packed schedule.

If that’s the case, then the Paris Louvre Museum Must See Skip the Line Private and Tailored Guided Tour is just for you! As the name suggests, this 1.5-hour tour is fully customized to what you want to do and see.

You’ll get to make the most of things with the skip-the-line ticket so you can jump right into these masterpieces and learning about the history behind them. Meet your guide at the Equestrian Statue of King Louis XIV which stands right in front of the Louvre’s pyramid.

Make sure to snap a few photos, pretending you’re touching the tip of the pyramid as it’s practically a rite of passage. Then, speed through the entrance with your guide and the rest of your small group and head straight to the most famous attractions.

Of course, if you prefer to take a look at those hidden gems that attract less visitors, you can do that to.

The guides are very knowledgeable in the artwork here, and will know exactly where to take you. Their fascinating stories and impressive knowledge of the artwork and the various buildings was so fantastic and made the whole experience that much more exciting.

Thanks to the small group, private tour, you have their full attention and can ask them pretty much anything you’d like, too!

More Information & Tour Booking

100% refund for cancellations within 24 hours of tour experience

One Day Itinerary for the Louvre Museum

Being the Louvre is one of the largest museums in the world, knowing what to see is the biggest problem. Here is a curated list of the 10 must see pieces of art that you can see in a few hours!

1. The Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci: As you make your way through the crowds to see her and you see enigmatic smile of the woman that is so captivating it’s easy to see why people have been obsessing over it for centuries. Take a moment to admire the intricate details in the painting from the delicate folds of her clothing to the sfumato technique used in her face.
2. Winged Victory of Samothrace: This stunning marble sculpture of the goddess Nike in my opinion is one of the most beautiful works of art in the world. When you finally reach the top you’re greeted by the breathtaking sight of the Winged Victory of Samothrace. The detail in the carving is amazing.
3. Venus de Milo: This ancient Greek statue of the goddess of love is a true masterpiece of classical art. The graceful curves of her body and the expression on her face are what make this statue famous. The missing arms just add to the mystery and allure of this ancient work of art.
4. The Raft of the Medusa by Théodore Géricault: This enormous painting is a epitome of Romanticism. It shows the survivors of a shipwreck clinging to a raft in the middle of the ocean. The emotions of the people on the raft are are vividly portrayed.
5. Liberty Leading the People by Eugène Delacroix: This painting is a celebration of the French Revolution and the triumph of liberty over oppression. The figure of Liberty is depicted leading the people forward, her arms raised in victory. The color and composition of the painting is amazing.
6. The Wedding at Cana by Paolo Veronese: This ginormous oil painting is a treat for the eyes. The painting is alive with movement from the guests mingling and dancing to the servants bustling around in the background. Every detail is meticulously painted from the intricate patterns on the clothing to the expressions on the faces of the guests.
7. The Winged Bulls of Khorsabad: These massive sculptures were originally part of the palace of the Assyrian king Sargon II. They depict mythological creatures with the bodies of bulls and the wings of eagles and they are truly awe inspiring in their size and detail.
8. The Coronation of Napoleon by Jacques-Louis David: This large painting shows the coronation of Napoleon Bonaparte as the Emperor of France. The colors of the painting are so vivid, it looks like he will walk out of the paining!
9. Psyche Revived by Cupid’s Kiss by Antonio Canova: This beautiful marble sculpture depicts the moment when Cupid revives Psyche with a kiss. The fluidity of the carving and the emotion conveyed in the figures is truly amazing.
10. The Code of Hammurabi: This ancient Babylonian stele is one of the earliest examples of written law in the world. The carving depicts the Babylonian king Hammurabi receiving the laws from the sun god Shamash. The laws are written in cuneiform script and cover a wide range of topics from property rights to punishments for crimes.

Tips to Better Enjoy Your Visit to the Louvre

• Hours of operation: The Louvre is open everyday except Tuesday from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. On Wednesdays and Fridays the museum is open until 9:45 p.m.
• Tickets: We recommend you go on a guided tour otherwise you can buy tickets in advance or at the museum. We recommended that you purchase tickets in advance as the Louvre gets very busy and you will probably have to wait in line for a ticket.
• Security: Security measures at the Louvre are similar to those at airports. Prohibited items include weapons and large bags or backpacks.
• Audio guides: Audio guides are available for rent at the museum and provide an interactive tour of the exhibits and give some background behind the artwork.
• Must-see exhibits: Some of the more famous works of art at the Louvre are the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo and the Winged Victory of Samothrace.
• Dining: There are lots of restaurants at the Louvre including several cafés, a brasserie and a gourmet restaurant.
• Accessibility: The Louvre is accessible to visitors with disabilities, there are elevators and ramps available.
• Go early: Beat the crowds by going as soon as the museum opens. You won’t have to wait to see the more famous displays.
• Have a list: You should have a list of art that you must see and goto them first then go back and see everything else. See my one day itinerary above.