Paris - Buying Tickets in Advance

Saint Chapelle routinely sells out a week in advance. You can watch ticket availability as the trip approaches.

Of course, you can always just show up and wait in line and hope to get in. But that may be a long wait.

Yes, I've been that time of year. Yes, those venues can sell out. No idea what it will be like this year. Will it be busier because people put off travel during the Olympics? Unknown.

For the all 3 I'd take a look at their calendars on the ticketing sites. Look to see how far out they are booking and go from there on whether/how far ahead to buy. I'm going in October and will purchase Louvre and Orangerie tickets ahead but that is because I will want specific times. I want the 1st entry for the Louvre and an afternoon for the Orangerie. My travel style is different from yours though.

We bought a guided tour for Ste Chapelle last week a few days ahead.

I didn't check St Chapelle, but it is possible to monitor the general availability of the Louvre and l"Orangerie. The booking calendar shows the available dates, click that and you can see available times. If you notice that time slots are becoming scarce, you can commit to a date and time. (I've used this system quite a bit - works for me.)

I am not sure I would rely on past reports of October visits to hold this year. I know of several who waited for September and October to visit so Olympics can be avoided. It may be my observation/experience only, but my experience post-Covid, 2022 and 2023, has been that what seemed to be the "norm" in past years is no longer the norm.

I agree with you - I fondly remember for the days when we could just walk-up with no concern!

Check the official site for tickets. https://www.sainte-chapelle.fr/en. I see many available for tomorrow from 9-6 and this is during tourist season, so for late October, you might be very safe to just wing it.

We bought a guided tour for Ste Chapelle last week a few days ahead.

Press is reporting that during the Olympics, visits to "regular" tourist sites are down. So your ticket was probably easier to come by than normal.

I see many available for tomorrow from 9-6 and this is during tourist season, so for late October, you might be very safe to just wing it.

Again, I don't think current ticket sales are very indicative of a lot of tourists seeing regular sites. The tourists who are here are here for Olympics events, and attendance at other sites is down.

I would expect things to be busy in October,.

Kim, that’s a very good point. I expect things to be busy in Paris when we are there in late October.

Perhaps it's wiser to check the website after the hurlyburly is done. We were last there just before Christmas in 2022. It was virtually empty, however, Orsay and the Louvre were more packed than I had ever experienced. We are headed back in early January 2025. I think we'll just wait to see. If we opt for a concert, we'll definitely buy tickets in advance.

I just saw an interesting spot on France 24 - the news station - regarding French Museums. Among other take-aways, the Louvre has made the decision to sell fewer tickets (as anyone who has wanted to visit in the past couple years has probably surmised!) The prices for the Louvre were increased from 17 to 22 Euros recently. Museum reservation systems instituted during Covid have become "de rigueur". (Their words, not mine - as we've discussed, advance tickets may or may not be required in actual practice.)

There were some "talking head" interviews with French citizens. Some indicated they (like many of us!) would like to stroll by and spontaneously enter museums they pass. Others wanted lower prices.

Suggestions (obvious, of course): take a look at the numerous "quirky" and smaller museums in France.

No earth-shattering revelations, I just thought kind of fun given that this thread appeared today. Tourists planning visits aren't the only ones noting the changes!

Last October the Louvre was crazy busy late October. I had never seen such long lines there, ever. Even the members’ entrance was backed up from under the arches to the Pyramid one afternoon when I wanted to reenter after lunch.
I didn’t go to the Orangerie or la Sainte Chapelle. You are in Paris during the fall school holiday, so you’ll have families, vacation camps, overseas visitors, October is busy. Be sure to have plan b.

You have to decide which of your enjoyable things you want to enjoy more.

Do you want to enjoy not having any schedule ( I don’t think having three attractions over the course for a week is a strict schedule). or do you want to ensure you enjoy these attractions

I’ve been there in March and the lines without tickets were unbelievable. at this point I do not go to these major attractions in Paris without reservations. And unfortunately, even during slow season, it’s often hard to get a reservation just a few days in advance, particularly the Louvre because they have just decided they don’t want as many people and I don’t blame them

My travel style is similar to yours. I hate to be tied to a strict itinerary. Since COVID, seeing sights in the big cities seems to require pre-booking. If you have to book, you might as well do it early and get the times you want. I recently booked the Louvre in September, more than a month in advance. I was able to get tickets but not all times were available.

Thanks to all of you for your great advice.

Based on your recommendations we WILL be booking advance tickets for our most-desired attractions.

Very well put, Carol.