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Eating dinner in the Louvre?

Hi everyone, we (2 adults, 1 tween) are visiting the Louvre on a Friday evening in August. My plan is to enter around 5 pm, see some art, take a break for dinner inside the museum, and then continue trudging through the museum. Having read many warnings about not being able to re-enter wings after leaving them, I'm hoping for some concrete recommendations on how to make this work.

Is there a particular wing we should start in that has dining options that are open later into the evening on Fridays? The museum's website and online map are not very helpful in terms of showing where the various dining options actually exist. Are all of the dining options listed on the Louvre's website actually inside the museum for purposes of ticket scanning? It's not very clear whether Cafe Marly or the garden restaurants are actually in the museum or just near it. We might just grab sandwiches from the Paul cafe, but what exactly does "Level 2- Under the Pyramid" mean for purposes of whether we're entering or exiting a wing to get to it?

Thanks for any help! I didn't think this would be so complicated until I started looking at maps and websites!

Posted by
8551 posts

You get one entry per wing -- most of the food options are under the pyramid outside the wings. There is a restaurant with the slowest service known to humankind on the ground floor and cafeteria service, a Strarbucks with some food, on the second floor. and a take out bar where you can find a place to perch -- there are a few slanty benches and table for momentary perching to eat. That one is on the first floor.

I haven't eaten inside a wing and so don't know about those options -- but most food options are outside the wings and thus you don't want to break to eat unless you are finished with that wing. I know Cafe Marly can be accessed from outside the museum -- I don't know if it is accessible from inside and allows you to return inside. Hope someone else comes along to clarify that.

Note also that some exhibit close in the evening so find that out early so you can do that first. The Egyptian exhibit which is very interesting is often one of the ones that closes in the evening. You can find out what will be closed at the information desk -- they usually post it there but if you don't see it ask.

Posted by
353 posts

The dining options listed as "under the Pyramid" are outside the ticketed area but within the security area. This is also where the lockers and main gift shop are located. If you look at Level -2 on downloadable map from the Louvre website, you will see the entrances marked to the three wings from under the pyramid. Le Cafe Mollien and Angelina are within the ticketed area. I think they are the two places marked on Level 1 with coffee cups/fork and knife symbols. The map could be much clearer about this.

Also, all of the wings connect internally, so you don't need to return to the pyramid to move from one wing to another.