Paris' Louvre raises prices for non-EU tourists to fund renovations

The Louvre in Paris is raising ticket prices by 45 per cent for most non-European Union tourists to help finance renovations of the museum, whose deteriorating state was laid bare by the theft of crown jewels last month.

Visitors from outside the EU or the European Economic Area - which includes Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway - will have to pay 32 euros ($37, AED 135.88) from January 14, a spokesperson said on Friday. Britons will have to pay the higher rate.

Four burglars made off in daylight with jewels worth $102 million on October 19, exposing glaring security gaps at the world's most visited museum. In November, structural weaknesses prompted the partial closure of one of its wings.

The museum's administration, urged by France's state auditor to prioritise security over acquisitions, said last week it would install 100 external cameras by the end of 2026 while pressing on with a six-year renovation project.

Nearly 9 million visitors passed through the museum's doors last year, almost three-quarters of them foreign. The price increase is expected to bring in an extra 15-20 million euros a year.

Other museums such as the Palace of Versailles, built in the 17th century for King Louis XIV, the Gothic-style Sainte Chapelle chapel, the Paris Opera House and Chambord Chateau, in the Loire Valley, are also expected to raise prices next year.

Police have arrested the four suspected burglars and others suspected of complicity. The jewels have not yet been recovered.