We're booked for our first-ever visit to the Louvre on September 5 at 9am. By noon, I'm sure we'll need a break from the dizzying amount of incredible art. I see there are some cafes etc inside the Louvre itself but wondering if we'd be better off going for lunch at a restaurant outside and then coming back for round 2? My guess is the Louvre restaurants are more convenient than tasty?
Would love your thoughts! Thank you.
You can’t leave the Louvre and come back on the same ticket. Large tourist groups abusing the system by passing used tickets on to each other have put a stop to that. So if you want to have lunch outside the Louvre and return, you will need to buy a new ticket.
Double check this, but the tickets might not allow you to leave and come back. I'm pretty sure that our timed tickets through the museum pass did not. We ate something forgettable from one of the sandwich and salad kiosks.
Well, that settles it! Glad I asked :) Even for Mobile tickets? Thank you!
Mobile tickets can just as easily be passed on to others, so these also don’t allow re-entry. Thanks to those who abused the system in the past, being allowed to leave and re-enter with the same ticket is now the very rare exception, not the norm.
We've been eating in their cafeteria for years; they made a big effort to improve both the cooking and the setting in recent years. We prefer a plate of food rather than a sandwich because it holds us better for the rest of the day. We've tried their salmon, the pasta, and the chicken. The name is Goguette, sounds like the English go-get. https://www.louvre.fr/visiter/restaurants-et-cafes
We’ve always eaten inside the Louvre when we’re spending the day there. Shouldn’t be a problem to find lunch, but some places get a little busy.
I agree with Bets - the food was perfectly fine at Goguette during our visits. It never seemed crowded but your timing makes a difference. The museum takes stamina so definitely take some time to sit, eat and re-hydrate.
I am a big, big fan of Cafe Marly. The view is spectacular and the food is quite good. It's a bit pricey, but the food is good. They have the best pavlovas.
There is a special place in my heart for LE CAFÉ MOLLIEN for a snack and glass of champagne. The café is on an outside terrace on the second floor (first floor, European) amongst enormous statues looking out at another wing of the Louvre. It is perfect for an afternoon snack a few hours after lunch if spending an entire day or just part of a day. It is somewhat hidden and we just happened upon it the first time.
The Louvre has been one of the most inconvenient places to eat we found. Last trip the cafeteria which has pretty decent food was literally out of every entry we wanted, they had one thing left which we didn't want. This is a place where you should be able to get a tray of food and sit down -- if only they had the food.
WE took our granddaughter to the restaurant which as I recall is to the left of the coat check and the food was good and prices not crazy but they define slow. We were not expecting a fast lunch but it was truly excruciatingly slow. The people next to us had ordered some pasta thing and finally left in a huff as impeccably dressed waiters cruised around the room fiddling with napkins and being busy but never actually coming to customers and making sure they had orders taken or food delivered. (the couple was French so not just an impatient American tourist.) We were tired so a long rest was fine -- but sooo slow -- I think we waited about 20 minutes even to order while these black clad waiters cruised around avoiding eye contact with patrons and looking busy.
You can get sandwiches at a counter on the first floor of the pyramid and pastries and sometimes ice cream; you then search for a seat around the pyramid area. They are designed to perch on and they slope so carefully designed for people to eat and run and not lounge around. Many people end up on the floor eating their sandwiches as there is often no convenient spot to perch.
I was so ready to sit down and take a break that they could have served me cardboard and I would have been ok with it.
Carol LOL. That was why the restaurant experience was amusing rather than awful. We were really tired. But it was like something out of Monty Python with very officious waiters in impeccable black bustling about busily while not actually taking orders or delivering food.
Just an idea, but to avoid long lines and depleted menu items, would you consider eating on the early side, say 11:00 or 11:30 or whenever the cafe begins serving lunch?
Thanks for all the responses, everyone! Vive la Paris! :)
I would 100% recommend Le Cafe Mollien for your lunch break, the terrace is just fabulous with the views and the food was pretty good. While having lunch on the terrace, my friend I was traveling with looks over at me and goes "how ridiculous are we, just eating sandwiches at a palace in Paris" which struck me as hilarious and we both could not stop laughing..awww good memories.
hahaha that's so true Letizia. You've sold me on "palace sandwiches."
I really like Café Marly and Mollien, never knew (!!) they had a cafeteria and i’ve been to the Louvre 20+ times.
We were there last Oct, because of Covid we were told nothing inside the Louvre was open. So we got a sandwich in the area where you go to different wings, the area janet described, and it was ok, nothing great, but ok. As janet describes, seating is very difficult to get and very uncomfortable. It was also quite expensive for what you get.
lisalu, i grew up in Paris… : )
I had the salmon.
