What Changed at Paris Sights in 2026
A sightseeing list written before September 2025 gets at least one major Paris landmark wrong, and the mistake is not a small one: it either sends you to a building that has been shut for a year, or fails to mention that the building you thought was still closed reopened its towers to the public.
Notre-Dame is not “under restoration” anymore
The cathedral reopened 7 December 2024, and its towers followed on 20 September 2025. Nave entry stays free with no ticket required. The towers cost EUR16 and book only through the official CMN system, since there is no ticket window at the base of the building; tickets.monuments-nationaux.fr is the only legitimate place to reserve a slot. Any older guide still describing Notre-Dame as closed or under scaffolding is describing a building that no longer exists in that state.
The Louvre now has two prices, not one
Since 14 January 2026, EEA residents pay EUR22 and everyone else pays EUR32, a roughly 45 percent increase for most visitors from outside Europe over the previous flat rate. The museum is closed Tuesdays, and from 1 July through 31 August 2026 every visitor needs an advance reservation regardless of membership status. Book a skip-the-line Louvre visit rather than planning to buy at the gate, since the museum’s own booking system has no walk-up counter left to fall back on.
Centre Pompidou: the one building to cross off
Centre Pompidou shut its doors 22 September 2025 for a five-year renovation and will not reopen before 2030. It is not a current sightseeing stop under any framing this cycle, including a quick exterior photo stop built into a walking route. If a modern-art or panoramic-view slot is needed instead, the Arc de Triomphe’s rooftop terrace and the Tour Montparnasse’s 56th-floor deck both remain open and cover the same “view over Paris” need. Book Arc de Triomphe skip-the-line entry as the honest substitute rather than routing a walk past a construction site. Pompidou’s own site carries the closure notice and the touring Constellation programme, not a booking link.
Three museums, three different closed days
The Louvre closes Tuesdays. The Musée d’Orsay and the Palace of Versailles both close Mondays. Older habits of assuming “closed Mondays” across every Paris museum will strand you at the Louvre on a Tuesday specifically, since it is the one exception to that pattern rather than the rule.
Sainte-Chapelle’s stained glass needs its own slot
Sainte-Chapelle runs dual EEA and non-EEA pricing like the Louvre, with mandatory 30-minute entry windows that sell out first in the morning. Book the Sainte-Chapelle and Conciergerie combined ticket since the two sit inside the same Palais de la Cité complex and are easy to pair on one visit. The official ticket portal also covers Notre-Dame’s towers and the Conciergerie on the same booking system.
Verdict: if the trip is a repeat visit, spend the extra planning time on Notre-Dame’s towers and the Louvre’s new pricing, since those are the two facts most likely to be wrong in an old plan. For a guided version of this same list, see the attraction tours guide ; for the full trip outline, start at the main Paris guide .
Screenshot your booking confirmations before you go. Paris museum wifi is patchy at entry gates, and a downloaded QR code beats hunting for a signal at the door.