A visit to the world’s most-visited museum is about to value Canadians considerably extra.
France has hiked ticket costs on the Louvre by 45 per cent for guests from exterior the European Union, a transfer that’s fuelling debate over so-called twin pricing and the rising backlash in opposition to overtourism.
Beginning this week, grownup guests from non-EU nations, together with Canada, should pay €32 to enter the Paris landmark, up from €22. That’s a rise from about $35 to $52 Canadian.
Guests from EU nations, in addition to Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, will proceed to pay the decrease price.
The value hike comes because the Louvre grapples with repeated labour strikes, a high-profile daylight jewel heist final October that prompted a pricey safety overhaul, and years of power overcrowding. The museum attracts roughly 9 million guests yearly.
Get every day Nationwide information
Get the day’s high information, political, financial, and present affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox as soon as a day.
Some Canadian vacationers informed World Information they really feel unfairly focused.
“We didn’t trigger the robberies or a few of the different points that occurred and we’re paying the results,” stated Allison Moore, visiting Paris from Newfoundland along with her daughter. “[In] Canada we don’t discriminate over pricing like that.”
Others argue vacationers already shoulder larger prices just by travelling lengthy distances.
“Generally for vacationers, I feel issues needs to be a bit cheaper than for native individuals, as a result of now we have to journey to come back all the best way right here,” stated Darla Daniela Quiroz, one other Canadian customer. “It needs to be equal pricing, or a bit bit cheaper.”
Even some Europeans query the two-tiered system. A French vacationer interviewed exterior the museum stated there was “no purpose” to cost non-Europeans extra and that the charge needs to be the identical for everybody.
Tourism specialists say the Louvre’s monetary pressures assist clarify the choice.
“The Louvre is absolutely cash-strapped proper now and must do one thing,” stated Marion Joppe, a professor on the College of Guelph. “It will probably’t actually look to the federal government, which is already battling its personal finances.”
The transfer additionally displays a broader international pushback in opposition to mass tourism. Anti-tourism protests have unfold throughout components of Spain, New Zealand has elevated its entry tax, and america not too long ago raised nationwide park charges for international guests.
“You are taking Paris — it will get about 50 million vacationers a yr,” stated Julian Karaguesian, an economist at McGill College. “That’s roughly 1,000,000 per week. Town merely wasn’t constructed for these sorts of numbers.”
Regardless of the upper worth, many guests say they are going to nonetheless line as much as see the Mona Lisa and different of the museum’s well-known artworks.
“It’s one of many primary sights. It’s on everyone’s checklist,” Moore stated. “We’re nonetheless going to go, and hopefully it will likely be value it ultimately.”
© 2026 World Information, a division of Corus Leisure Inc.
