Paris Tickets
The Louvre Museum

Richelieu Wing Tickets

Included with The Louvre Museum tickets

Timings

RECOMMENDED DURATION

5 hours

Louvre Museum interior with sculptures and visitors exploring the gallery.

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Quick overview

Access: Included in all standard Musée du Louvre tickets
Separate ticket: Not required
When you'll see it: Ideal as a quiet start or midway retreat to escape main crowds
Visit duration: 60–90 mins self-guided/90–120 mins with guide
Best time: Early morning or late night openings (Wednesday and Friday)
Restrictions: No flash photography. Large bags/umbrellas must be cloaked.

Sculptures in the Richelieu Wing courtyard at the Louvre Museum, Paris.

The Richelieu Wing is included with all Louvre Museum tickets. No separate ticket is needed. It is 1 of the Louvre’s 3 main wings, reached from the central hall after security, and you can choose to start here rather than follow a fixed route. Book a reserved access ticket or a guided tour if you want to reach its courtyards and apartments before the museum’s midday pinch points.

How to best experience Richelieu Wing

Best time to visit

Start Richelieu in the first weekday entry slot, especially on Wednesday or Friday if you want the option of late-hours pacing. By 11am, the courtyards and apartments slow down noticeably, so don’t save this wing for midday.

How long to spend

Give Richelieu 60–90 minutes for the courtyards, Napoleon III Apartments, and 1 gallery cluster. Allow about 2 hours if you add Near Eastern antiquities or northern European painting rooms. Under 45 minutes, it feels like a corridor, not a wing.

Where it fits in your itinerary

Put Richelieu first if it is a priority. From the Pyramid or Carrousel entrance, you can reach it early and move outward from quieter rooms. If you do Denon first, you’ll likely reach Richelieu after your energy drops.

Crowd patterns

Richelieu is usually calmer than Denon, but circulation thickens between 11am and 2pm near Cour Marly, the main escalators, and the Napoleon III Apartments. Wednesday and Friday evenings are often easier for slow viewing, so avoid midday if you want space.

What to prioritize if time is short

Start with Cour Marly, cross to Cour Puget, and finish in the Napoleon III Apartments. That trio gives you Richelieu’s clearest mix of sculpture, scale, and palace interiors. Skip deep side galleries before those core spaces.

Common mistakes to avoid

Most visitors look at the sculpture courts only from ground level and miss the upper walkways. Also, don’t assume Richelieu is a quick add-on; the distances are long, and backtracking wastes more time than expected.

Best tickets to experience the Richelieu Wing

Ticket typeWhy choose it

Reserved access

Lock in a museum slot and start Richelieu early, before the courtyards and apartments slow down around midday.

Guided tour

Best if you want context in the apartments and help navigating a wing many self-guided visitors underestimate.

Assisted entry

Good for first-timers who want help through arrival, then the freedom to explore Richelieu independently.

Why it’s worth seeing

What makes the Richelieu Wing irreplaceable is that it shows 3 Louvres at once: a palace, a sculpture museum, and a deep antiquities wing. Many visitors don’t realize these galleries were occupied by France’s Ministry of Finance until 1989, which is why parts of Richelieu feel newer in museum terms than their 19th-century ceilings suggest. Follow the wing in order, and its courtyards, apartments, and monument-scale rooms start making sense.

Entry zone: Cour Marly and Cour Puget

After you follow Richelieu signs from the central hall, the 2 glazed sculpture courts are the wing’s clearest starting point. Cour Marly holds large outdoor sculptures once made for the Tuileries gardens, while Cour Puget feels denser and more theatrical. Walk the floor first, then the upper perimeter, because the sculptures change completely when viewed at balcony height.

First floor: Napoleon III Apartments

From the courtyards, go up to the Napoleon III Apartments to see the wing as an imperial interior rather than a neutral museum shell. The reception rooms, chandeliers, red velvet, and painted ceilings explain why Richelieu feels different from Denon’s painting-led route. This zone is compact, so it works well as a controlled midpoint before returning to deeper galleries.

Deeper galleries: Near Eastern antiquities and quieter rooms

Continue into Richelieu’s quieter rooms for objects that many first-time visitors miss altogether. The Near Eastern galleries include monument-scale Assyrian guardians and the Code of Hammurabi, while upper-level painting rooms shift the pace from spectacle to close looking. This final stretch rewards visitors who want fewer people, longer sightlines, and a better sense of the Louvre’s breadth beyond headline works.

Historical and cultural significance

For almost 140 years, much of the Richelieu Wing was not museum space at all: it housed the French Ministry of Finance until the Grand Louvre project moved those offices out in 1989. Built largely in the mid-19th century under Napoleon III, the wing shifted from imperial palace extension to government workspace, then reopened to visitors in 1993 as part of the modern Louvre. Today it functions as 1 of the museum’s main public wings.

👉 Explore the full history of the Louvre Museum

Notable figures

Hector Lefuel | Architect

Completed much of the Second Empire Louvre and shaped the north wing visitors know as Richelieu today.

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Napoleon III | Emperor

Commissioned the New Louvre expansion that gave the Richelieu Wing its grand palace scale.

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François Mitterrand | President

Launched the Grand Louvre project that returned former Finance Ministry rooms to the museum.

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I. M. Pei | Architect

Designed the Pyramid circulation system that made access to Richelieu far clearer for modern visitors.

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Know before you go

  • Open: Monday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday, 9am–6pm
  • Late hours: Wednesday and Friday, 9am–9pm
  • Closed: Tuesday
  • Last entry: 1 hour before museum closing time

​Detailed timings

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

  • Nearest metro: Palais Royal – Musée du Louvre on Lines 1 and 7, about a 5-minute walk to the main circulation hall
  • Entry point: Use the Pyramid or Carrousel du Louvre public entrances, then follow Richelieu signs inside
  • Direct access: No independent Richelieu entrance exists; you must enter through the Louvre first

​Get directions

  • Wheelchair access: The Louvre and the Richelieu Wing are wheelchair- and stroller-accessible
  • Elevators: Elevators connect the main Richelieu levels; ask staff for the nearest accessible lift if routes shift
  • Floor conditions: The courtyards are broad and mostly flat, but distances are long and standing time adds up
  • Visitor aids: Audio guide options and written gallery materials are available through the museum and selected tickets
  • Rest stops: Benches and seating are available in parts of the wing, especially near the larger galleries
  • Photography: Non-flash photography is generally allowed, but flash, lighting equipment, and selfie sticks are not
  • Bags: Large bags and suitcases are not permitted; free lockers are available for smaller items
  • Re-entry: Re-entry is not permitted once you leave the museum
  • Security: Timed tickets skip the ticket desk, not the security line; allow 15–30 minutes at busy times
  • Food and drink: Not permitted inside gallery spaces

Frequently asked questions about the Richelieu Wing

Yes. Entry to the Richelieu Wing is included with every valid Louvre Museum ticket. No separate ticket exists.

More reads

Louvre Museum tickets and planning guide for first visits

Denon Wing highlights, Mona Lisa, and essential route tips

Louvre Palace history and architecture behind the galleries