Reservations needed for Paris Museums in late March?

I just helped someone plan their stay in Paris for mid-March. The Louvre definitely had sold out slots so you should buy those tickets. The other one - which surprised me - was that Saint Chappelle was sold out when I did a dummy booking for about 5 days out. So I had them pre-buy that as well.

Easter is March 31 this year. That means plenty of schools throughout Europe and the US will be on vacation the week before or the week after. I would always book the Louvre ahead of time.

Always book the Louvre, Versailles and Eiffel Tower as soon as you can. (Eiffel tower releases most of its tickets 7 days out at 1 pm Paris time)

so technically to answer your question, yes, no and yes. Orsay does not require reservations for PMP holders but Louvre and St Chapelle do.

I went last March early in the month.... if you didn't have reservations you stood in long lines. I'd make them!

Hi! I’m in Paris this week and absolutely we’ve needed reservations for any museum or attraction that requires time slots. Louvre, Ste Chapelle, Versailles, L’Orangerie et al. Even some smaller, niche museums are sold out with no walk ups available. I saw people turned away at the Yves Saint Laurent on Tuesday and I hesitated and missed out on getting tickets for Galerie Dior or the Carnival museum.

As noted above, Musée D’Orsay does not require a timed entry. But, this morning we arrived before opening at 9:30 and it was uncomfortably packed by 10:30.

You didn't mention purchasing a Paris Museum Pass but I'd do the math before you purchase. IF you go with the Museum Pass be aware that the time slots for pass holders for the Louvre are very limited.

Most of us who go to Paris often find the Museum Pass is not advantageous any more, particularly after the timed entries that were put in place during Covid.

I just pay for timed entries for the big museums that I want to visit. I like to be first in and don't want to stand in line any more than necessary.

How far ahead do I need to book tickets for Easter weekend?

Book now if the site is open to reserve.

I agree with Judy...book now. I just looked at the Louvre ticketing site.

https://www.ticketlouvre.fr/louvre/b2c/index.cfm/calendar/eventCode/MusWeb

Tickets are available thru the end of May. I looked at Easter Weekend and there are already times that are sold out for Saturday and Sunday for both individual tickets as well as the reservations needed if you have a Paris Museum Pass. The earliest time slots are gone but there is currently availability for the remainder of March 30 and 31. I did not look at Musee d'Orsay or Sainte-Chapelle but it is easy enough to go to their official websites and check the ticketing calendar. Since that is a holiday weekend and some schools are probably on spring break, I'd go ahead and book as soon as you can.

A quick check shows school holidays in the UK, Germany and Italy over that period. There may be more, but that gives you an idea that there will be lots of traveling over the Easter weekend and Paris is very popular.

I was just looking at the Sainte-Chapelle ticketing site for another poster and on their site they have the # of tickets left to sell for each time slot. That makes up for the fact that you have to put in how many people, whether you want an Audioguide,etc before you can get to the actual calendar!

Let's see if this link works:

https://tickets.monuments-nationaux.fr/en-GB/session-products

This thread enlightened me about the crowds in Paris around Easter, so I just booked 2 tix to the Louvre for Thurs. morning, March 28. The morning times are almost filled up that week. We were just there in mid-November and the Carousel/lower level entrance hall at the Louvre was crazy busy. Clearly there's no "down time" anymore in Paris?

Better to buy through booking agents since easier to get refunds. Tiqets has the best policy.

http://tinyurl.com/yjnn43vz

I have a different perspective: I hope folks not planning last-minute trips will get their tickets directly from the museum or historical site. It will definitely save them money. I don't want to support the third-party sellers who are buying up large blocks of tickets and making it difficult for tourists to buy tickets directly at their face value. Those companies are major contributors to the mess we're in now, with tourists sometimes having no alternative to taking tours (often costing around $100) in order to get access to the places they want to see.