Art enthusiasts in Paris should expect to spend more to see the Mona Lisa next year, as the Louvre will raise its entrance fee by 29 percent. Admission will rise from €17 to €22, the first hike of its kind since 2017.
Per a statement from the Louvre on Friday, the new price will offset rising expenses related to energy and help fund free entry for visitors under 18, students, and journalists. The news comes as the country prepares for next summer’s Olympic Games in Paris, during which millions of sports fans will descend on the French capital, inflating costs citywide. The city’s transportation agency, for example, has weighed nearly doubling the price of a Metro ticket—to €4 (roughly $4.30) from €2.10—for the duration of the event, which begins on July 26.
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The Louvre’s announcement also coincides with a wave of admission price hikes in New York City museums, beginning with the Metropolitan Museum of Art increasing its adult entry price from $25 to $30 in 2022. (New York residents and students in the tri-state area still qualify for pay-what-you wish admission.)
In July 2023, the Whitney Museum of American Art, which had not adjusted its ticket prices since 2016, increased ticket prices to $30 for adults and $25 for students and seniors. Citing a fiscal emergency induced by the pandemic, the Guggenheim Museum also raised its adult ticket to $30, tying the Whitney for the title of New York’s most expensive institution.
The Louvre, meanwhile, said its new admission price is part of a major overhaul of its operations centered on managing the museum’s notorious congestion of tourists. Per the museum, this year attendance reached 30,000 visitors per day, down from pre-pandemic peaks of 45,000.