What to book ahead in Paris, and what you can just walk into
Two Paris sights sell no tickets at the door: the towers of Notre-Dame and the Catacombs. Book those first. The Louvre and Sainte-Chapelle still sell on site, but both tell you to reserve a time slot, and on a busy day the door is a gamble. The Eiffel Tower and the Musée d'Orsay sell at the door at official prices, so book them only if you want a fixed time. Notre-Dame Cathedral and Sacré-Cœur are free and you can walk in. That's the short list of Paris attractions to book in advance, and every rule below links to the official page that sets it.
Forum threads give different answers because the rules keep moving. Notre-Dame's towers take online tickets only, the Arc de Triomphe has been stairs-only since late July 2026, and the Eiffel Tower publishes new fares from January 2027. So I read each official page again this week and dated what I found.
Last checked: Oct 2026. Hours, prices and booking rules change, so open the official page before you buy.
Paris attractions to book in advance: the table
| Place | Book ahead? | The official rule | Walk-up option |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notre-Dame towers | Yes, required | Online only, time slot compulsory, €16 | No |
| Catacombs | Yes, required | Online only, sales open 7 days ahead, €31 | Free tickets only |
| Sainte-Chapelle | Strongly advised | Time slot; €22, €16 for EEA | Ticket office, possible long wait |
| Louvre | Recommended | Time slot recommended; €32, €22 for EEA | Subject to availability |
| Eiffel Tower | For a set time | Summit tickets online and on site at official rates | Yes |
| Musée d'Orsay | Optional | €16 online, €14 at the museum | Yes |
| Arc de Triomphe | Optional | Online or ticket office; stairs only for now | Yes |
| Notre-Dame Cathedral | No | Free; optional free slot opens a few hours before | Yes |
| Sacré-Cœur | No | Free, open every day | Yes |
| Busy restaurants | Usually | Each place sets its own | Sometimes |
Book these first: no reservation, no entry
The towers of Notre-Dame
The cathedral is free. Its towers are a separate visit, run by the Centre des monuments nationaux, and the towers' practical page says it in capitals: no tickets sold on site, no entry without a reservation. The time slot is compulsory even for people who get in free, such as under-18s. A full ticket is €16.
From 1 October to 31 March the towers open 9:00 to 17:30, with last admission an hour before closing. They can close at short notice in bad weather, and when that happens, tickets bought on the official site are refunded automatically. There are no lockers, so pack light.
The Catacombs
The Catacombs' visitor page puts it in four words: "Online booking only (7 days in advance)." You book a timed ticket, and sales open a week before the date. The full rate is €31 with the audio guide included, €25 reduced and €15 for ages 8 to 17. Children under 8 go free. People entitled to a free ticket can pick it up at the desk on the day.
The ossuary opens Tuesday to Sunday, 9:45 to 20:30, with last admission at 19:30, and it's closed on Mondays. Only 200 visitors are allowed underground at once. Suitcases and large bags aren't allowed. If the official site shows a date as sold out, the museum keeps a list of authorised resellers on its rates page. Use that list, not the first ad in your search results.
Book if the time matters: the door is open, but it can be a long wait
Sainte-Chapelle
You can buy at the ticket office. The chapel's own FAQ still says: "We strongly recommend that you pay in advance, as you run the risk of waiting a very long time, or even not being able to get in during busy periods." Museum pass holders and visitors with free admission must book a time slot too. Your entry is guaranteed within 30 minutes of the time you picked.
From 1 October to 31 March, Sainte-Chapelle opens 9:00 to 17:00, with last access 30 minutes before closing. A ticket is €22, or €16 for EEA nationals and residents, and the twin ticket with the Conciergerie is €30 (€23). The chapel sits inside the Palais de Justice, so expect a security check and possible ID checks around the building.
The Louvre
The Louvre's admission page says "Time-slot bookings are recommended, including for free-admission visitors." Its FAQ lists on-site sales on the day of admission, "subject to availability." So the door can work on a quiet day, and a booked slot is how you know you'll get in.
A ticket is €32, or €22 at the EEA rate. Under-18s and EEA residents under 26 go free, and everyone gets in free on the first Friday of the month after 18:00 (except July and August) and on 14 July. The museum opens 9:00 to 18:00 on Monday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, and 9:00 to 21:00 on Wednesday and Friday. It's closed on Tuesdays. Last entry is an hour before closing, and any exit is final.
Buy from ticket.louvre.fr only. The museum warns about mirror sites and about sellers promising to jump the queue.
Book only for a set time: tickets at the door at official prices
The Eiffel Tower
The tower's rates page says summit tickets "are available online and on-site at the official rates." Combo packages are online only. Booking online buys you a fixed time. Walking up is allowed. For an adult, the second floor by lift costs €23.50 and the summit by lift €36.70. Taking the stairs to the second floor costs €14.80, or €28.00 if you then ride the lift to the top.
On the day I checked, the tower was open 9:30 to 23:00, with last ascents at 22:45. New fares apply from 11 January 2027. The tower also warns about fake ticket sites "promoted on search engines and AI platforms", so type the address yourself.
Musée d'Orsay
Orsay is the one place where the door is cheaper. The museum's visit page lists the full rate at €16 online and €14 at the museum. Under-18s and EEA residents under 26 go free. Booking online settles the ticket before you arrive. The museum warns about fake booking sites and names billetterie.musee-orsay.fr as its official ticket site.
It opens Tuesday to Sunday, 9:30 to 18:00, with last admission at 17:00. On Thursdays it stays open to 21:45, with last admission at 21:00. It's closed on Mondays.
Arc de Triomphe
The Arc de Triomphe sells tickets at its ticket office and through the national monuments' online ticketing. Since late July 2026 the lift has been out for maintenance, so the only way up is 284 steps. The monument says it will announce a return date in 2027. From 1 October to 31 March it opens 10:00 to 22:30 (11:00 on Tuesdays), with last admission 45 minutes before closing. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier under the arch is free. It's closed on 11 November, and ceremonies can close it at short notice, so check the page on the morning you go.
Walk right in: free and no booking needed
Notre-Dame Cathedral
The cathedral is open to everyone, free. Its reservation page offers a free time slot online, and calls it "entirely optional", meant only to shorten the wait at the door. Slots open a few hours before your visit, so you can't book days ahead. The site warns that bookings are free and only available through the cathedral's own website.
The cathedral's hours page lists Monday to Friday 7:50 to 19:00 (Thursday to 22:00), and Saturday and Sunday 8:15 to 19:30, with last entry 30 minutes before closing. Check before you go: services and events can change the times.
Sacré-Cœur
The basilica on Montmartre opens every day from 6:30 to 22:30, and "Admission is free for everyone." Between 10:30 and 17:00 the crowds are biggest and you may have to wait at the door. The dome climb is paid and sold on site at its own ticket window and machine. It runs 10:15 to 17:30 with last admission at 17:00, closes over midday, and means about 300 steps on a narrow staircase.
Day-of-week traps that change what you book
A booking only helps if the place is open. These closures, all from the official pages above, decide what fits on which day:
- Mondays: the Catacombs and the Musée d'Orsay are closed.
- Tuesdays: the Louvre is closed. The Arc de Triomphe opens an hour later, at 11:00.
- Wednesdays and Fridays: the Louvre stays open to 21:00, the best evenings for it.
- Thursdays: Orsay is open to 21:45, and Notre-Dame Cathedral to 22:00.
- First Friday of the month: the Louvre is free after 18:00 (not in July or August).
- 11 November: the Arc de Triomphe is closed.
If your trip has one Tuesday, give it Orsay, the Catacombs or Sainte-Chapelle, and keep the Louvre for another day.
Restaurants: book the ones you'd be sad to miss
Restaurants set their own rules, so check each one's own site. If a meal is the point of the evening, book it on the restaurant's site first and fit the sights around the table.
How I checked a Paris day for what to book ahead
I built a Wednesday in Paris in Passage AI for 21 October 2026: Notre-Dame Cathedral, the Louvre, the Musée d'Orsay and the Eiffel Tower, east to west along the Seine. It's a heavy museum day on purpose, because it puts four of the table's rules in one plan. Wednesday works for all four: the Louvre is open to 21:00 and Orsay is open, and neither closes that day.
The walks between stops come to 15 minutes from Notre-Dame to the Louvre, 10 minutes across the river to Orsay and 29 minutes from Orsay to the tower. Walk times are straight-line estimates between stops, and Directions opens your phone's maps app for the street route. Optimize checked the order and reported that the day already flows well.
The Need tickets? scan
Need tickets? reads the whole trip and lists the stops worth booking ahead, each with a short reason, a confidence tag and a link to the official site. You do the booking yourself on that site. On this day it marked the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower and the Musée d'Orsay as likely, and Notre-Dame as maybe, pointing to the tower climb.
The official pages line up with that. The Louvre recommends a time slot. The Eiffel Tower and Orsay sell online and at the door, and booking is how you lock in your time. The cathedral is free, and the towers are the part of Notre-Dame you can only enter with a reservation.
On the day
Once you're there, Guide opens each stop with a story, and you can tap Listen to hear it. The Notre-Dame story starts on the square in front of the west facade, at Point Zéro, the spot France measures its road distances from. Your saved plans also open without a signal.
If you're spending a full day on foot, the one-day Paris walking itinerary runs the same stretch of the river with Sainte-Chapelle and the Tuileries added. Going on to Italy? Read what to book ahead in Rome.
FAQ
Do you need to book the Louvre in advance?
The Louvre recommends a time slot for everyone, including visitors who get in free. Its FAQ lists on-site sales on the day "subject to availability", so the door can work, but a booked slot is the sure way in. It's closed on Tuesdays.
Can you buy Eiffel Tower tickets at the tower?
Yes. The official site says summit tickets are sold online and on site at the official rates. Combo packages are sold online only. Book online if you want a fixed time.
Do you need tickets for Notre-Dame?
Not for the cathedral. It's free, and the online time slot is optional and opens only a few hours ahead. The towers are different: tickets are sold online only and there's no entry without a reservation.
How far ahead should you book the Paris Catacombs?
Tickets go on sale 7 days before the visit date, online only. Book as soon as your date opens. The Catacombs are closed on Mondays.
Is the Musée d'Orsay cheaper at the door?
Yes. The full rate is €16 online and €14 at the museum. Booking online settles the ticket before you arrive. The museum is closed on Mondays and open late on Thursdays.
How this was made: planned in Passage AI on 18 Oct 2026, facts checked against the official sites of the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, the Musée d'Orsay, Sainte-Chapelle, the towers of Notre-Dame and the Arc de Triomphe (Centre des monuments nationaux), Notre-Dame Cathedral, the Catacombs of Paris and Sacré-Cœur, written by Edward.
Cover photo: Benh LIEU SONG on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0, cropped)
