ONE of the world’s most famous museums is set to nearly double its entry fee for tourists.
The Louvre museum in Paris will increase its ticket prices by 45 per cent for most non-European Union visitors, which includes Brits.
The price hike is set to be introduced early next year, with tourists from countries including the UK, US and China having to pay €32 (£28) to enter the museum.
It is set to raise millions of euros each year to fund a huge overhaul of the Louvre’s most famous gallery.
The price increase follows a heist that took place in October that hit the news globally.
Security and management have been criticised since the incident, which saw four people steal jewellery worth over £76million from the museum.
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After the heist, an audit on the museum was carried out which highlighted how the museum has inadequate security systems and aging infrastructure.
As a result, from January 14, visitors from countries outside the European Economic Area (EU member states, as well as Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein) will need to pay an extra €10 (£8.76) to enter the museum.
The new price jump is estimated to raise between €15million (£13.1million) to €20million (£17.5million) each year for the museum, which will go towards supporting the Louvre’s modernisation plans.
Over the past year, the museum has faced a number of issues to do with its structure.
Back in January, French President Emmanuel Macron and the Louvre announced that the museum would be getting improvements and as a part of that suggested higher fees for non-EU residents in 2026.
As part of the report, Macron also said that the Mona Lisa would be moved to a new room to deal with the overcrowding.
It followed the leak of a letter from the museum’s director Laurence des Cars, which highlighted how the museum had several structural issues, water leaks and even that the museum could no longer cope with the current numbers of visitors heading to the attraction each day.
The Louvre will also have a number of other areas renovated, with new facilities added too, such as toilets and restaurants.
And earlier this month, the museum announced that the gallery which houses Greek ceramics was closed due to structural issues.
Each year the Louvre welcomes around nine million people, and more than a 10th of visitors are from the US.
Complaints about overcrowding and long queues at the museum have been going on for a while now, especially through the Salle des Etats gallery, which is where the famous Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa is displayed.
Many visitors note how you actually only get a few seconds to see the painting and snap a picture.
The report carried out after the heist last month also revealed that the museum was spending more money on buying new artworks than actually maintaining the attraction itself.
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