3 Ways To Beat The Long Lines At The Louvre – Top Skip-the-Line Tours

"Skip the line, go directly to the Mona Lisa." Those are the words we love to hear, especially since the Louvre is visited by nearly 10 million people every year. As you know, we hate standing in lines. At the Louvre the best way to avoid doing that is by booking a skip-the-line guided tour. Here we take a look at the best and most popular tours that give you priority access.

1. The Most Popular Louvre Museum Tour

This tour is the number-one favourite — a 2½-hour skip-the-line guided tour in a small group that's offered mornings, afternoons, and evenings at the Louvre.

You cover more than 2,000 years of the history of art, going all the back to Egypt and the ancient Greeks. You are also introduced to masterpieces of the Italian Renaissance and have the opportunity to view the royal crowns of French emperors and kings. And, of course, you'll also spend time with the Big Three — Venus, Nike, and Mona. This tour is an excellent value and runs every day except Tuesdays and some holidays. Highly recommended.

This tour was excellent! If only just to skip the lines it was well worth it, but the guide was fantastic. So much knowledge and passion…he really ensured we saw the best highlights of the museum – both the touristy and non-touristy ones. This was definitely the highlight of our trip and we will do the same again!"
– 5-Star Traveler Review

2. Evening Louvre Tour + Wine Tasting Class

Art + wine — to us that makes for a perfect evening in Paris. So naturally, this is the Louvre tour that we like the most. The limited-size tour kicks off by skipping the lines at the Louvre at night, where your guide takes you on fascinating a 2½-hour tour of the famous museum. We've found that we appreciate the artwork so much more when we have an expert showing it to us. But we also find it makes us thirsty!

Thus, saturated with art, you then stroll over to the nearby wine bar for a guided wine tasting, complete with charcuterie and cheeses. Is it any wonder we love Paris? This tour is sure to sell our, so book as soon as you can.

We attended a Friday night tour, which was a wonderful time to visit the Louvre. No crowds, even in the salon with the Mona Lisa. Our guide was energetic and entertaining, providing knowledgeable perspectives on some of the Louvre's key masterpieces. And the wine tasting after? A brilliant way to finish the evening. Our only recommendation: make sure you have dinner before the evening tour, since you likely will want to hang around after the wine tasting well beyond closing time for most Paris restaurants."
– 5-Star Review

3. Small-Group or Private Louvre Guided Tour

This is another well-liked tour of the Louvre. Like the others, it's a prioritized guided tour where you are guaranteed to skip the ticket lines, get inside quickly, and go directly to the most famous works of art. Once the 3-hour tour concludes, you're able to continue exploring the Louvre Museum on your own.

You can choose from morning tours, noon tours, afternoon tours, evening tours, and even private tours for just you and your party. After the tour is over you can wander off on your own to explore the rest of the vast museum for as long as you like.

Superb experience in the Louvre. One, the museum itself. Two, the guide who was well informed and she took us through the history of Louvre and covered the most important works of art. This museum can't be seen without the help of a guide, you will just miss the intricate details. Skipping the line was an added advantage as it helped save a lot of time without the hassles of waiting for our turn. It is a must for people who have limited time in Paris."
– 5-Star Review

BONUS TOUR – Unknown Treasures of the Louvre

This out-of-the-ordinary guided tour of the Louvre takes you beyond the crowds to little-visited rooms, eclectic artworks, and treasures most tourists will never see. From monumental sculpture of the ancient Orient to the private apartments of Napoleon III (shown above) to some of the greatest works by Rubens your expert guide will show you things you may not have known were even in the Louvre. After the tour you are able to spend as much time in the Louvre as you want. The small-group tour includes priority access and an art history guide. Also available as a private tour.

About Louvre Priority-Access Tours

On most of these tours you make a beeline to some of the most famous artworks where you get a quick art history lesson from your English-speaking guide. You stop at the Venus di Milo, then over to Nike of Samothrace and of course, Leonardo da Vinci's masterpiece, Mona Lisa, and maybe David's The Coronation of Napoleon.

The guided tours also take you around to other important works and, at the end, you're free to explore the rest of the museum for as long as you desire. To us, the most important thing is that you've managed to skip the line. We'll say it again, being able to avoiding spending hours in long lines is worth the price of any tour.