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Louvre announces single fare for collection, exhibits

The Musée du Louvre in Paris, the most visited art museum in the world, has announced it will introduce a 15-euro flat fee giving visitors full access in order to create "better synergy" between temporary exhibits and the permanent collection. 

The majestic Louvre drew 9,260,000 visitors in 2014, according to The Art Newspaper, and the museum predicts that attendance could reach 12 million by 2025.

Roughly 70 percent of Louvre visitors are foreign tourists who come to see several famous pieces including "The Winged Victory of Samothrace", Vénus de Milo and, of course, Leonardo Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa. French visitors, on the other hand, tend to skip the permanent connections in favour of the temporary exhibits.

"For the past 18 months, the Louvre has been working on trying to create better balance and stronger links between the permanent collections and the temporary exhibits,” the museum said in a press release published Friday.

The museum said it has made changes to the way that some of the art is displayed with this goal in mind. Staff have also redrawn “visitor trails,” which help guide guests to specific artworks united by a common period, artistic movement or theme. Museum signs as well as labels providing information about the art are currently being translated into three languages.

At present, a ticket for the Louvre’s permanent collection is 12 euros, entrance to a temporary exhibit is 13 euros and a combined ticket sells for 16 euros.

“The unique fare, to take effect July 1, is comparable to those sold by other cultural institutions in France (Musée d’Orsay: 11 euros; Centre Pompidou: 14 euros; Château de Versailles: 15 euros) and is cheaper than many ticket prices in other countries (The Vatican Museum [Rome]: 16 euros; Rijksmuseum [Amsterdam]: 17,5 euros; Ufizzi Gallery [Florence]: 18,5 euros; MoMa [New York]: 25 dollars)”, the Louvre said in a statement.

Museum visitors who qualify for free entrance (children under 18, artists and EU residents between the age of 18 and 25) will now be able to view special exhibitions in addition to the permanent collection.

In 2014, roughly 40 percent of the Louvre's visitors earned free entry, according to the AFP.
 

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