9 Million Visit 'Louvre' Museum, Unshaken Despite Theft Incident

Annual Visitors Surpass 9 Million

The Louvre Museum in France attracted 9 million visitors over the past year. Despite the commotion caused by a jewel theft incident in October last year, public interest in the museum remained unchanged.

According to Yonhap News, citing BFM TV on January 6, the number of visitors to the Louvre Museum increased by 300,000 compared to 8.7 million in 2024. However, in 2024, there was a slight decrease in visitors due to the impact of the Paris Olympics and Paralympics.

Louvre Museum in France. Photo by Yonhap News

The majority of Louvre visitors last year were foreigners. French nationals accounted for 27%, while foreigners made up 73%. Among foreign visitors, about 40% came from outside the European Economic Area (EEA). Approximately 3 million visitors, or 30% of last year's total, received free admission benefits.

Among major museums in Paris, both the Mus?e d'Orsay and the Mus?e de l'Orangerie welcomed a total of 4.9 million visitors, a decrease of about 1% compared to the previous year.

In addition, around 100 national heritage sites recorded a combined total of 12 million visitors. According to the National Monuments Center, the most visited sites were the Arc de Triomphe with 1.85 million visitors and Mont-Saint-Michel Abbey with 1.6 million visitors.

These popular museums and sites raised their admission fees at the beginning of the year. The French government announced its intention to further increase admission fees for non-European visitors and use the additional revenue for the restoration of national heritage sites.

Starting January 14, the Louvre Museum will raise admission fees for visitors from outside Europe by 45%, from the current 22 euros (37,000 won) to 32 euros (54,000 won).

At the Palace of Versailles, non-European visitors will be charged 35 euros (59,000 won) during peak season (April 1 to October 30) and 25 euros (42,000 won) during the off-season. These rates are 3 euros higher than those for European visitors in each respective season.

Meanwhile, after the theft incident at the end of October, security wire mesh was installed on the exterior windows of the royal jewel exhibition hall at the Louvre Museum in France. According to AFP, the exterior windows of the Apollo Gallery previously had wire mesh, but it was removed during the gallery's restoration work between 2003 and 2004.