Paris: Private Louvre tour – which one to choose?

Which private Louvre tour to choose on your trip to Paris?

Once you decide to visit the Louvre Museum, you face the question of how to see it: independently, on a group tour, or on a private Louvre tour?

A private tour is the easiest way to experience the Louvre Museum, because it caters to your own preferences and interests. This way you’ll be making the most of your time there.

A private Louvre tour is especially ideal if it’s your first time in this massive museum, if you’re an art lover who wants to dive deeper into the artworks, or if you’re visiting with kids and want to keep them engaged.

This guide will help you pick the best private Louvre tour for your visit.

What is a private Louvre tour?

In short, on a private Louvre tour you get your own guide who will tailor the tour content to your preferences.

Your dedicated guide will give a clear structure to your visit based on your own interests, unlike non-private tours that follow a fixed route.

The best private Louvre tour for first timers

The Private tour with Luliana is a great option id it’s your first time visiting the Louvre, thanks to the guide’s knowledge of art and history and her friendliness.

The guide will answer questions and adapt the tour to your personal interests, so you can specify what you’d like to focus on beyond the famous highlights.

This way you won’t be spending time on anything that isn’t to your taste in the massive Louvre collection.

• You’ll get skip-the-line entry tickets (included in the price).
• The tour lasts about 2-3 hours and the starting time is flexible.
• Hotel pick-up is optional.

The best private Louvre tour with an art historian

The guides on this Louvre highlights tour are warm, friendly, and patient., as well as exceptionally knowledgeable on both history and art.

This tour is a great option for art lovers looking for in-depth explanations.

This private Louvre guide will tailor the tour to your special interests and to your pace.

This means you can tell the guide in advance that you’d like to focus on, say, Italian Renaissance paintings, and that you want to skip the Egyptian antiquities, for example.

• You’ll get skip-the-line entry tickets (included in the price).
• The tour lasts about 2 hours and starting time is flexible.
• Hotel pick up is not included (The Louvre is easily accessible by public transport).

The best private Louvre tour for families with kids

If you’re visiting the Louvre as a family, choose the family Louvre tour, suitable for kids or teenagers.

The the guide will keep them engaged and entertained.

There’s a deep discount for kids/teens on this tour.

The guide on the private tour will adapt to your specific interests and needs.

This is a very popular tour offered in different languages.

It is run by different guides, all professional, friendly, and knowledgeable.

• You’ll get skip-the-line entry tickets (included in the price).
• The tour lasts about 2.5 hours. There are set starting times in the morning, early afternoon, and later afternoon.
• Hotel pick up is not included.

Why take a private Louvre tour?

The Louvre is massive. They say it takes at least 100 days to see every item on display.

72,735 m² of exhibition space make it the largest of any museum in the world.

It has 403 rooms and 35,000 to 38,000 items from its huge collection are on display at any given time.

It can be quite overwhelming.

It can also get very crowded with long queues and millions of visitors each year.

Given how big, crowded, and hard to navigate it is, the Louvre is best seen on a tour.

What makes a private Louvre tour different? The difference between a private tour and everything else comes down to personalisation and flexibility.

The personalised experience of a tour tailored to your interests is the main advantage of a private tour over a group tour.

For art lovers with specific interests, it’s a great way to dive deep with an expert.

The guide will show you the main highlights, like the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, Winged Victory of Samothrace, Liberty Leading the People, and The Raft of the Medusa.

On top of those must-see pieces, the guide will also show you some lesser-known gems.

Another advantage is that it allows you to go at your own pace and avoid the crowds where possible.

An experienced guide would know how to navigate the Louvre maze easily despite the crowds.

You’ll get to see more of what you want and have a stress-free visit.

The guide would also know where and when to take a break, to avoid museum fatigue.

It’s also a great idea if you’re planning a trip to Paris on a special occasion and want to make it extra special with an exclusive Louvre experience.

For a honeymoon or an anniversary, a private tour is a romantic, luxurious, almost-VIP experience.

Tips for taking a private Louvre tour

Before you book a private tour of the Louvre, check out my 6 tips:

• Private Louvre tours typically last 2-3 hours. If you want to spend more time at the museum after the tour, take into account that the museum closes at 6pm on most days, or at 9pm on days with extended opening hours (currently Friday and Wednesday).
• In about 2-3 hours you can see quite a lot if your private Louvre tour is well curated. Longer tours may not be a good idea if you can’t absorb that much information over so many hours. Consider your ability to concentrate for a long time and ask the guide for a break if needed.
• Book ahead. I recommend you book as soon as you know your travel dates. The best private guides have limited availability, especially during peak tourist season (April-October).
• Free cancellation: If your plans change, you can cancel your private tour up to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time).
• If you book during shoulder seasons, excluding major holidays, you may be able to secure better rates than during peak summer months or holiday periods.
• The prices for private Louvre tours are higher than group tours, but still there is a range of prices for private Louvre guides, so you can choose what’s best for you.
• There are private Louvre tours in many different languages you can choose from.
• Some private tours offer a hotel pick-up which is a nice bonus, but generally not essential, as the museum is very easy to access by public transport and there are some great hotels close to the Louvre (I listed some below).

Is a private Louvre tour worth it?

Private tours are a luxury, but if you value comfort, efficiency, and a more meaningful experience, it makes sense to book a private tour.

The Louvre isn’t like other museums where you can just wander around. I mean, of course you can wander, but you’d waste precious time and it certainly isn’t the ideal way to see this massive institution.

If you only have a short time in Paris and want to make the most of the Louvre, a guided tour is worth it.

The museum is packed with masterpieces. Your private Louvre tour guide will help you focus on what’s important and have a deeper, more engaging experience.

Your guide will also help you navigate efficiently, even when the rooms are busy, making the experience less overwhelming.

Weigh all the above benefits and see if the price is worth it for you.

The alternatives are wandering around the museum (not ideal); a self-guided tour with an audio guide (the budget option); or a group tour (which also comes at a cost. Cheaper than a private tour, yet without the personal touch and often with headphones so you can hear the guide in the crowd).

Where to stay near the Louvre?

• Apartments Du Louvre – Saint Honoré – self-catering apartments, a couple of minutes from the Louvre.
• Hôtel Louvre Saint Honoré – an elegant hotel between the Louvre Museum and the Palais Royal Garden.
• L’Empire Paris – a family-friendly hotel close to the Louvre.

Browse more Paris art guides

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• Using a museum pass in Paris
• Paris gallery walk

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