Cluster · Paris
Louvre, Tuileries & Musée d'Orsay
Museum morning: book a timed slot, enter at opening, leave at lunch; the Tuileries garden is the rest stop between the Louvre and the Orsay.
Key facts
- 28″ bags
- forbidden
- Time budget
- half
- Rescue coverage
- 100% ≤7′
- max p90 4.7′
- Places
- 5
- 3 sleep areas in reach
Rules in force · 10Non-EU visitors get 90 days in any rolling 180-day window…The Louvre, Sainte-Chapelle, the Eiffel Tower and most mo…
- Europe ↗Non-EU visitors get 90 days in any rolling 180-day window, counted across all 29 Schengen states together — not per country; the Entry/Exit System now logs each crossing, so an overstay is detected automatically.
- Europe ↗On the first Schengen entry since EES began, non-EU travellers give four fingerprints and a face photo at the border instead of a passport stamp; there is nothing to apply for or pay in advance.
- France and Monaco ↗France has run temporary identity checks at its internal Schengen land borders since 2015; carry a passport or EU/EEA national ID on trains and buses from Italy, Spain, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland and Luxembourg.
- France and Monaco ↗Nights in France and Monaco draw on the same Schengen 90-in-180-day allowance as the rest of the area; Monaco does not reset or pause it.
- France ↗France is in the Schengen area. Check the entry rules for your passport on official sources; the EU's Entry/Exit System registers non-EU visitors' fingerprints and photo at the first Schengen border, and further pre-travel authorisation rules are being introduced.
- France ↗TGV (including the low-cost Ouigo) and Intercités night trains need a seat reservation: a rail pass alone does not let you board.
- France ↗Paris, Lyon and other large cities run low-emission zones that require a Crit'Air sticker on cars; check before you drive a hire car or your own car into a city.
- France ↗Carry your passport or national ID card: police can ask for identification, and hotels register foreign guests.
- Paris ↗The Louvre, Sainte-Chapelle, the Eiffel Tower and most monuments refuse suitcases and large bags at security and have no reliable storage: leave big bags at the hotel and carry a day bag.
- Paris ↗The Louvre, Musée d'Orsay, Sainte-Chapelle and the Eiffel Tower sell timed entry: book the slot on the official site before you go, and remember that the Louvre closes on Tuesdays and the Musée d'Orsay on Mondays.
More
Map to the centre
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Walking weather, next 5 days
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Forecast: Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0), model data for this point.
Plan
How the ground walks, and what is here
Bound and physics
The Louvre courtyard and Palais-Royal, west along the Tuileries garden, south across the river to the Orsay.
- Slope
- flat
- Stairs
- Museum stairs; lifts
- Shade
- medium
- Surface
- gravel garden paths and paved streets
- Sleep here or visit
- visit
Eat and drink here
A tea room on Rue de Rivoli famous for thick hot chocolate and the Mont-Blanc pastry; go at opening or late afternoon to avoid the queue.
A Japanese-French coffee bar in the Palais-Royal gallery for flat whites and pastries; a short, calm break next to the garden and the Louvre.
A café under the Louvre arcades overlooking the pyramid: coffee or lunch after a morning inside the museum.
A restaurant dining room from 1784 under the Palais-Royal arcades, for a long, formal meal; book ahead and expect a high price. A special-occasion choice.
On the ground
Where to rest, how to leave, where to sleep nearby
Rescue anchors
A rescue anchor is a spot where you can stop and recover if the walk goes wrong: a bench, a café, a toilet. Every letter on the map is one anchor, and each has a card below. We check that any point in the cluster is within about 7 minutes’ walk of one, so you are never far from somewhere to sit down.
Lettered circles: rescue anchors (green works in any conditions, amber only on hot days). Dashed outline: the cluster. Red dots: spots more than 7 min from any anchor. Drag to move; click the map, then scroll to zoom.
Louvre Pyramid courtyard (Cour Napoléon)
Place to sit · works in any conditions
Tuileries garden pond chairs
Place to sit · works in any conditions
Palais-Royal gardens (benches, cafés)
Place to sit · Food & drink · works in any conditions
north-west of the cluster: café or bench
Place to sit · Food & drink · works in any conditions
north of the cluster: café or bench
Place to sit · Food & drink · works in any conditions
north-east of the cluster: café or bench
Place to sit · Food & drink · works in any conditions
west of the cluster: café or bench
Place to sit · Food & drink · works in any conditions
centre of the cluster: café or bench
Place to sit · Toilet · Food & drink · works in any conditions
east of the cluster: café or bench
Place to sit · Food & drink · works in any conditions
south-west of the cluster: café or bench
Place to sit · Food & drink · works in any conditions
south of the cluster: café or bench
Place to sit · Food & drink · works in any conditions
south-east of the cluster: café or bench
Place to sit · Food & drink · works in any conditions
100% of the cluster is within 7 min of an anchor in any conditions (slowest walker, worst cell 4.7 min) · 100% on hot days
Nodes in this cluster
- Book a timed slot, go in at opening and choose two or three wings: the Mona Lisa room is a crush after 10:30; the museum is closed on Tuesdays.Book a timed slot, go in at opening and choose two or three wings: the Mona Lisa room is a crush after 10:30 AM; the museum is closed on Tuesdays.
- Impressionists in a former railway station: plan 90–120 minutes with a timed ticket; closed on Mondays.
- Walk it between the Louvre and Place de la Concorde: free, shaded in parts, with chairs and a pond; 20–60 minutes at any pace. Good after a museum.
- Stop for 20–40 minutes in a quiet arcaded garden behind the Louvre, with the Buren columns in the courtyard; free, good for a bench and a coffee.
- Go for design, furniture, fashion and toys in a wing of the Louvre palace on the Rue de Rivoli; 90 minutes, usually quiet. Closed Mondays.
Edges out
| To | How | p50 | Climb |
|---|---|---|---|
| Le Marais | Metro line 1 | ~16 min | flat |
| Île de la Cité & Latin Quarter | Walk east along the quays | ~20 min | flat |
| Eiffel Tower & Trocadéro | Metro or RER C | ~25 min | flat |
Sleep within reach
- 7th arrondissement (Eiffel Tower and Invalides) — 25–34 min
- Palais-Royal and Louvre — 4–8 min
- Saint-Germain-des-Prés — 18–26 min
Red lines here
- Bags: suitcases and large bags are refused at the museum door; there is no reliable left-luggage.
Deep dive
Around this cluster
Straight-line distance; walk time adds 30% for streets.