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Quick overview

Access: Included in all standard admission tickets
Separate ticket: Not required
When you'll see it: Midway through the Near Eastern Antiquities route
Visit duration: 5–10 mins self-guided/10–15 mins with guide
Best time: Early morning or evening slots on weekdays
Restrictions: No flash photography or large bags allowed

Code of Hammurabi stele displayed in a museum setting.

How to access the Code of Hammurabi?

The Code of Hammurabi is included with all Louvre Museum tickets. No separate ticket is needed. You’ll find it in the Near Eastern Antiquities galleries of the Richelieu Wing, and you can head there directly once you’re inside rather than waiting until the end of your visit. Book a reserved-access ticket with an audioguide or choose a guided tour if you want to reach it quickly and understand what you’re looking at.

How to best experience Code of Hammurabi

Best time to visit

Go in the first 90 minutes after opening, or on Wednesday and Friday evening slots if available. The Richelieu rooms stay calmer than Denon, but late-morning groups build fast. If you want space around the stele, avoid 11am–3pm.

How long to spend

Plan 10–15 minutes if you’re moving fast, or 20–25 minutes with an audio guide or guide. That gives you time to read the relief above the text and study the inscription below. If you stop only for a photo, you miss the point of the piece.

Where it fits in your itinerary

This is a smart early stop because it sits away from the Louvre’s biggest bottlenecks. Go here before Denon’s headline works, then continue through nearby Mesopotamian rooms. If you leave it for the final hour, museum fatigue makes the text harder to engage with.

Crowd patterns

The room is quieter than the Mona Lisa corridor, but not empty. Late morning, weekends, and school vacations bring the sharpest swell. In calmer periods, you can stand back and read the stele as a monument, not just a famous object label.

What to prioritize if time is short

If you only have 5 minutes, stand back first to see the full stele and the carved scene at the top. Then move in to inspect the cuneiform. Skip surrounding cases before you skip this object; it is the anchor of the gallery.

Common mistakes to avoid

Most visitors photograph the text front-on and leave without noticing the scene above it, where Hammurabi receives authority from Shamash. Another mistake is rushing in with no context. Use an audio guide or short guided visit, or the inscription reads like pattern instead of law.

Best tickets to experience the Code of Hammurabi

Ticket typeWhy choose it

Reserved access ticket

Reach the Richelieu galleries faster and save your attention for the stele, not the ticket line

Reserved access with assisted entry

Helpful if the Louvre’s entrances feel confusing; a host gets you oriented before you continue independently

Small-group guided tour

Best if you want the museum decoded quickly and plan to request extra focus on Near Eastern Antiquities

Why it’s worth seeing

What makes the Code of Hammurabi irreplaceable in the Louvre is that it is both sculpture and legal text: a royal monument covered with one of the oldest surviving law codes. Most visitors don’t realize the famous inscription begins below a carved scene of Hammurabi before Shamash, which frames the laws as divinely sanctioned rule. These are the details worth finding before you move on.

The upper relief: start at the rounded top

Before reading the text, look at the carved scene on the rounded top. Hammurabi stands before Shamash, seated at the upper center. This is the key to the whole monument: the laws are presented as royal justice backed by divine authority.

The inscription: let your eyes move downward

The cuneiform begins below the relief and runs in dense vertical blocks. Stand an arm’s length away first to grasp the layout, then move closer. Even if you can’t read Akkadian, the scale of the text tells you this was meant to be seen as public power.

The sides and back: the text doesn’t stop at the front

Walk around the stele. The inscription continues along the sides and back, which many visitors never notice because they treat it like a flat image. Seeing the text wrap around the stone makes the object feel less like a page and more like a monument.

Historical and cultural significance

Created around 1754 BC for King Hammurabi of Babylon, this stele was not just a law list but a royal statement about justice, order, and kingship. Centuries later, it was carried to Susa, where French archaeologists rediscovered it in 1901. Today, it anchors the Louvre’s Near Eastern Antiquities galleries and remains one of the museum’s clearest introductions to Mesopotamian state power, writing, and law.

​Explore the full history of the Louvre Museum

Notable figures

Hammurabi | Babylonian king

Commissioned the stele and framed law as royal justice under divine authority.

Know more

Jean-Vincent Scheil | Assyriologist

Published the stele’s text after its rediscovery, making the inscription widely known.

Know more

Jacques de Morgan | Archaeologist

Led the French excavations at Susa that brought the monument back to scholarly attention.

Know more

Know before you go

  • Open: Monday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday, 9am–6pm
  • Late hours: Wednesday and Friday, 9am–9pm
  • Last entry: 1 hour before closing
  • Room clearing: Galleries begin closing about 30 minutes before museum's closing time
  • Closed: Tuesday, January 1, May 1, and December 25

​Detailed timings

Address: Musée du Louvre, Rue de Rivoli, 75001 Paris

  • Nearest metro: Palais Royal–Musée du Louvre (Lines 1 and 7), about 5 minutes on foot via Carrousel du Louvre
  • Alternative metro: Louvre-Rivoli (Line 1), about 5–7 minutes on foot
  • Entry point: Use the Pyramid or Carrousel entrance, then follow signs to the Richelieu Wing
  • Gallery location: Department of Near Eastern Antiquities, Richelieu Wing, Room 3
  • Time from entrance: Allow about 15–20 minutes from the Pyramid entrance to reach it comfortably
  • Route: You can go there directly once inside; the Louvre does not force a single visitor circuit

​Get directions

  • Wheelchair access: Yes; the Louvre is wheelchair accessible, and this gallery has level flooring
  • Elevators: Available between major levels and wings; staff can direct you to the nearest Richelieu route
  • Seating: Limited benches are available in some surrounding galleries, but not beside every case
  • Visual support: The Louvre audio guide is available in multiple languages and helps with self-paced interpretation
  • Hearing support: Object labels and written gallery texts support visitors who prefer reading over audio
  • Walking demand: Expect a moderate indoor walk from the main entrance, even if you head here first
  • Photography: Non-flash photography is generally allowed; flash, artificial lighting, and selfie sticks are prohibited
  • Bags: Large bags and suitcases are not permitted; free lockers are available for smaller items
  • Food and drink: Not allowed in the galleries
  • Re-entry: Not permitted once you leave the museum
  • Conduct: Keep pathways clear around the case and follow staff instructions during crowding

Frequently asked questions about the Code of Hammurabi

Yes. Entry to the Code of Hammurabi is included with every valid Louvre Museum ticket. No separate ticket exists.

More reads

Louvre Museum tickets and visitor guide for first-timers

History of the Louvre Palace and museum collections

Winged Victory of Samothrace: how to see it well

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