The entrance

Which queue do you join at the Louvre Pyramid?

With a ticket or Paris Museum Pass, use the green queue; without a ticket, use orange. The blue queue gives priority access to disabled visitors and museum staff.

Everyone goes through a security check at the entrance. Items larger than 55 × 35 × 20 cm are not admitted, and the rule covers the welcome area as well as the rooms.

Tickets at the door depend on low attendance and availability. An online ticket is valid for your chosen date and time; security checks still apply. You can use the Pyramid, Carrousel or Porte des Lions; the Porte des Lions stops admitting visitors at 17:00.

What to do: Check the online ticket office before joining the orange queue. Tickets at the door depend on low attendance and availability.

The lobby

What is under the Louvre Pyramid?

You can reach the lobby beneath the Pyramid by escalator; it connects to all three museum wings. The central lift is reserved for disabled visitors, wheelchair users and visitors with prams.

The amenities page lists two information desks beneath the Pyramid, offering maps in 9 languages. Self-service lockers are free; collect your belongings the same day. The visitor assistance area lends pushchairs, baby carriers, rolling chairs and wheelchairs free of charge in exchange for ID.

Café Pyramide and La Boulangerie du Louvre are on level -2, under the Pyramid. The main Book and Gift Shop is on the same level, in the Allée du Grand Louvre on the way to the exit. The Hall Napoléon, also on level -2, holds temporary exhibitions, and those need their own time slot.

The building

Who designed the Louvre Pyramid?

Ieoh Ming Pei, the Chinese-American architect, designed the Pyramid for the Grand Louvre project. French President François Mitterrand commissioned the project in 1981, and Pei was appointed in July 1983. The Pyramid was inaugurated on 29 March 1989 after four years of work.

Pei's idea was a central underground lobby with direct access to all three wings. The museum's own trail recalls the controversy the project caused in the press and in the National Assembly.

The museum's page on the Pyramid gives it as 21 m high and 35 m wide at the base, with 675 diamond-shaped and 118 triangular panes of glass. Its trail page gives the height as 19 m.

Access

Is the Louvre Pyramid accessible with a wheelchair or a pram?

Yes. The tube lift at the Pyramid entrance is reserved for disabled visitors, visitors with wheelchairs and visitors with prams.

Disabled visitors and the person with them have priority access without queuing. Toilets adapted for visitors with reduced mobility are beneath the Pyramid.

The Cour Napoléon is open from 7:30 to 21:00. The museum itself opens at 9:00 and is closed on Tuesdays.