Paris Attraction Tickets: What to Book in Advance

Figuring out what to book in advance in Paris can be surprisingly tricky. 

Tickets for some of the city's most popular attractions - the Eiffel Tower, Louvre Museum, Paris Catacombs, Seine River dinner cruises, Disneyland Paris, and Galerie Dior - can sell out well before your visit, while others will be easy to buy a day or two before you want to visit, or even after you arrive in Paris. 

Readers of my free Paris Discoveries Newsletter regularly ask how far in advance to reserve, where to buy Paris attraction tickets, whether timed-entry reservations are required, and what to do when tickets are already sold out or an official booking website isn't cooperating.

In addition, booking requirements may vary depending on the season, the attraction, or special events.

This article is part of the Paris Travel Q&A Archives where you can find my answers to real reader questions, based on my own experiences with booking museums, monuments, tours, Seine River cruises, concerts, and special events in Paris.  I've lightly edited, expanded, and updated my original answers, and added practical tips and alternatives where useful. 

Here's what you'll find:

• At a Glance: What to Book in Advance in Paris - retain a scaled-down version?
• Do You Need Advance Reservations for Free Museum Days in Paris? 
• Is There a Way to Resell Paris Museum Tickets When You Can't Use Them?
• Should You Book Orsay & Orangerie Tickets in Advance?

Top photo:  Notre Dame Cathedral, (c) Paris Discovery Guide

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Do You Need Advance Reservations for Free Museum Days in Paris? 

Sharon's Question:

We are fortunate to be in Paris on the first Sunday of December, as I understand many museums are free. 

For museums that don't require a reservation, we can just show up and be admitted? 

For those that do require a reservation, is there a timeline for making those, or does it vary by museum? 

We're also hoping to get into the Louvre the first Friday evening as well.  We'll see if we have any luck with that.

Susan's Answer: 

Yes, when free admission is available but a reservation isn't required, you just show up, stand in the admissions line, and hope for a speedy progression.  

For those museums that do require a reservation (currently, the Louvre, the Orsay, Orangerie, Notre Dame Towers, Versailles, and possibly others) as well as those where a reservation is optional, such as the Picasso Museum, the process is basically the same, except that you need to make a reservation in advance and should bring proof - either a printed copy, or on your phone - when you visit.  

You typically can reserve tickets for only the coming month.  Available date/time slots usually fill up very quickly, even though the date when each attraction opens its reservations can be unpredictable. 

For example, I checked the First Sunday booking option for Musée d'Orsay, home to the wonderful Impressionist and Post-Impressionists, on August 23, and the following message popped up:

Since you can only book for the upcoming month, you should start checking for availability on or right after the previous First Sunday. 

What About the Louvre's Free First Friday Evening?

The Louvre offers free admission after 6pm on the first Friday of each month except during July and August, but you must reserve a time slot in advance.  The Louvre says these free slots are posted online only a few days before the visit, so start checking the ticketing information on its website (look for it in the "Visit" section on the top navigation bar) as the date approaches.

Is There a Way to Resell Paris Museum Tickets When You Can't Use Them?

Catherine's Question:

Hi Susan, my family and I appreciate your website, especially the Q&A. We are planning a trip to Paris for 6 weeks from mid-October to the end of November.

A number of museum tickets need to be purchased in advance but are nonrefundable. Should our plans need to change and we are unable to use the tickets, is there some way to resell those tickets?  Is it worthwhile purchasing tickets in advance?

Susan's Answer: 

Hi Catherine, Thank you for your kind words about the website and the Q&A.

Unfortunately, I'm not aware of any standardized way to resell museum or other Paris attraction tickets similar to the 3rd party sports and concert ticket reseller platforms like Stubhub.  I have seen messages in various Paris-related Facebook groups where people have offered tickets for sale, but I've never looked at them closely to see how they work.  I've had classical concert tickets a couple of times when something came up at the very last minute that caused me to not be able to use them - it's painful!

Ideally, you could wait until the last possible moment to purchase tickets - but the reality is that tickets to certain places such as Galerie Dior and the Paris Catacombs sell out fairly far in advance, especially during certain times of the year (late October is still a fairly visitor-intensive month in Paris while November is a somewhat less so).  Sometimes (and I'm speaking from experience), if you wait too long until your plans are 100% sure, you miss out.  It can be very frustrating.

In the "At a Glance: What to Book in Advance in Paris" box at the beginning of this article, I've categorized museums and other attractions by booking priority, so take a look at that for guidelines about what to purchase in advance, and what can wait.  It's not foolproof, but I hope it will help!

Should You Book Orsay & Orangerie Tickets in Advance?

Patricia's Question:

We will be in Paris February 20 to 27. Do we need to book tickets in advance for the Musée d'Orsay and l'Orangerie?

Susan's Answer: 

"Yes" for the Orsay, and "probably not" for the Orangerie.

I always book in advance for the Orsay because lines here tend to be long and slow at all times of the year (check out the above photo!).  

With an advance ticket in hand, entry is usually very fast and I love the experience of sailing right in.  Part of the reason for the year-round crowds is that the Orsay almost always has multiple interesting exhibits, so especially in the winter, you'll often see even more Parisians than tourists here.  

Also, the Orsay is a considerably more popular museum than the Orangerie simply because it has so much fantastic art by numerous artists from several major stylistic periods to see.  Visitors tend to stay much longer at the Orsay than at the Orangerie, and at times, it becomes so crowded that people without reservations must continue waiting in line until others leave.

You can find options for advance tickets here.  If you see a package deal for both museums, that's always worth getting because they're almost directly across the Seine River from each other - an easy walk.  Even if you only save a euro or two with the combined price, why pay more if you have time to see both in the same day? 

Otherwise, you probably don't need to get the Orangerie ticket in advance because a) the lines aren't usually too long, and b) they usually move fairly quickly - by "quickly," I mean you probably won't have more than a 10-minute wait. 

Can You Visit Sainte-Chapelle & La Conciergerie without a Reservation?

Janice's Question: 

I am going to Paris early December to visit friends, explore the Christmas markets in Paris & Strasbourg and soak up the culture at various museums.

To see La Concergerie and Sainte-Chapelle, can one just line up and hope to get in without a reservation?   Many thanks for your guidance.

Susan's Answer:

Hi Janice,  That sounds like a wonderful trip!

Getting a ticket to the Conciergerie without an advance reservation is usually no problem at all, especially since the "no reservation" ticket line is usually quite short and moves fast.  

Sainte-Chapelle, however, typically books up well in advance, especially from early April through late October, as well as around Easter weekend (which usually occurs in April but sometimes as early as March) and during the Christmas/New Year period from about mid-December through early January.

Sainte-Chapelle's website strongly recommends making a reservation for a specific date/time slot in advance because although you can stand in line in hopes of getting a ticket, there's no guarantee that you will - literally, everyone who already has a ticket for that date with a reserved timeslot gets priority over you. 

The website also recommends that if you do decide to go without a reserved ticket, you might try first thing in the morning (the chapel opens at 9am and based on my observations, there's usually a sizeable line by 8:30am, so I'd recommend arriving even earlier to optimize your chances), or try in late afternoon. 

The lighting from the sun is often more brilliant in the morning although in the summer, the afternoon light is also fine.  However, the sun sets in the winter around 5pm (the chapel's winter closing time), and personally, I wouldn't go later than about 3:30 pm because of the sun's angle at that time of the year. 

Before you decide to stand in line and hope for the best, you can potentially save yourself time and trouble by checking ticket availability on Sainte-Chapelle's website. 

Right now (at almost the end of October), the next 3 days are completely booked, with only a limited number of timeslots available on the 4th day (early November).  So on a day when you can see that no timeslots have availability, there's no point in standing in line. 

While early December in Paris typically doesn't attract as many visitors as the busy summer months, there will still be a considerable number of people who visit the city to shop for the holidays, explore the Christmas markets, and enjoy the less-crowded early winter months in the city.  So it's hard to predict what your success might be (or not) if you risk getting into Sainte-Chapelle without reserving a ticket in advance.

However, there are three potential tactics - hacks, really - for try to get a ticket without standing in the "no ticket" line at Sainte-Chapelle, although each one has a "catch":

• The Tactic:  Go to La Conciergerie, almost next door to Sainte-Chapelle, and stand in the "no ticket" line, which is usually quite short.  When you reach the front, ask to buy a same-day combo ticket for the Conciergerie and Sainte-Chapelle.  Because the tickets must be used on the same day and you must select a specific date and time for Sainte-Chapelle, they will sell you the ticket only if a timeslot is available. 
  Why Try This:  It's more expedient than than standing in the much longer/slower line at Sainte-Chapelle to inquire about a same-day ticket, and less frustrating (because you've wasted less time) if there aren't any.  
  The Catch:   This tactic is really only useful if it's really only useful if you happen to be in the neighborhood and have a spur-of-the-moment desire to pop in for a visit.  Otherwise, checking for availability on Sainte-Chapelle's website is faster and easier.  However, since you're there, you could get a ticket for the Conciergerie and explore it.  
• The Tactic:  Book a combo Sainte-Chapelle and La Conciergerie ticket through a 3rd party platform such as Get Your Guide, which may have availability even when the official Sainte-Chapelle site is sold out.
  Why Try This:  Sainte-Chapelle (and other attractions) allocate 3rd party sellers large "blocks" of tickets which may sell at a different pace than on the venue's website, so Sainte-Chapelle tickets may be available when other venues have sold out.  
  The Catch:  The combo ticket from Get Your Guide costs €2 more than it would on S-C's website.  However, you do get a small booklet for your €2, which aligns with a recent rule to permit authorized 3rd party sellers to offer tickets to certain cultural venues only if they provide an extra service or other added value. 
  Check availability:
  
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• The Tactic:  Book a guided tour of Sainte-Chapelle.
  Why Try This:  Tour providers often have last-minute tickets available even when the venue's official website is sold out.  As a bonus, sometimes they even offer a last-minute discount on the tour.
  The Catch:  The guided tour, even with a last-minute discount, will cost more that just a ticket from the venue's website.  However, the guides will give you lots of insight into the history, stories, symbolism, and artistry of the stained glass so you will get a deeper understanding and appreciation of this truly spectacular chapel.

Whichever approach you decide works best for you, I hope you do get to visit Sainte-Chapelle.  It's truly spectacular, and the Conciergerie, in addition to being much easier to visit without securing a ticket in advance, is also quite fascinating.

See Questions & Answers on Related Topics

Wondering if you need to book tickets in advance or make reservations for other activities during your Paris visit?  You'll find those Q&A archives here:

• Paris Attraction Tickets: What to Book in Advance
• Paris Attractions: Tips for Choosing What to See & Do - Which ones are worth your time?
• Practical Paris Travel Tips: Before & During Your Visit

Paris Discoveries Q&A Archive - See Q&As on all topics

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