In 2024, Parisian museums, including the Louvre and Palace of Versailles, displayed resilience despite a summer dip during the Olympic Games, with the Louvre nearing 9 million visitors. While attendance at some sites decreased, others, like the Pompidou Center and Petit Palais, reported increases due to successful exhibitions. Notably, there was a resurgence of Chinese tourists, and overall, foreign visitor numbers remained substantial, showcasing the enduring appeal of Paris’s cultural attractions.
In 2024, major museums and iconic tourist attractions in Paris demonstrated remarkable resilience, maintaining and even enhancing their visitor numbers, despite a temporary decline during the summer due to the Paris Games. The Louvre, for instance, is nearing the impressive milestone of 9 million entries.
As the largest museum globally, the Louvre has successfully upheld its attendance at a level comparable to 2023, with 8.7 million visitors recorded (down slightly from 8.9 million in 2023). This achievement comes amidst the unique environment of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, as highlighted in their recent statement.
During the months of July and August, which coincided with part of the Games, the museum welcomed 1.3 million visitors, reflecting a 14% decline year-over-year. Notably, the Louvre was closed on July 25 and 26 due to the Olympic ceremony.
Nevertheless, this high-profile sporting event provided the Louvre with substantial global visibility, especially with the Olympic flame being showcased in the Tuileries estate, drawing thousands of spectators daily. The museum also reported encouraging attendance figures for the later part of the season.
Last year, the Louvre attracted 77% of its visitors from abroad, including 13% from the United States and a significant number of Europeans, with 5% each from Italy, the UK, and Germany, and 4% from Spain.
– Revival of Chinese Tourists –
The museum also observed a significant resurgence in Chinese visitors, with their numbers increasing to 6% compared to 2.4% in previous years.
Similarly, the Palace of Versailles and its surrounding estate saw 8.4 million visitors, experiencing a temporary decline during the Olympic events but ultimately achieving slightly higher attendance than in 2023, marking a 2% increase compared to 2019, the pre-Covid benchmark. This included various shows, as noted in their official statement.
American tourists continue to represent the largest segment of foreign visitors at 15%, though this is a slight dip from 18% in 2023. The return of Chinese visitors is gradual, with 6% in 2024 compared to 4% the previous year, following a significant absence during the post-Covid period (13% in 2019).
Other attractions like the Orsay and Orangerie museums welcomed 4.9 million visitors in 2024, down slightly from 5.07 million the year prior, according to the managing public establishment.
Overall attendance showed a minor decrease of only 3% compared to the record year of 2023. Summer attendance did take a hit during the Olympic Games, with a 26% drop at the Orsay museum and a 22% decline at the Orangerie, although the demographic of visitors during this time was notably younger than usual.
– Highlighting Major Exhibitions –
The year 2024 was particularly distinguished by the success of temporary exhibitions, such as ‘Van Gogh in Auvers-sur-Oise: The Last Months,’ which attracted 794,000 visitors, marking the highest exhibition attendance since the museum’s inception.
The Pompidou Center, slated for closure in September 2025 for extensive asbestos removal and renovations, reported a remarkable 22% increase in attendance, totaling 3.2 million visitors compared to 2023.
Despite experiencing a dip in visits during July and August, the Pompidou Center’s engaging programming, featuring a Brancusi retrospective and exhibitions like ‘Surrealism’ and ‘Comics on Every Floor,’ drew crowds, with one million visitors attending the latter between May and November.
The National Monuments Center (CMN), which oversees numerous monuments and historic sites, announced 11 million visitors in 2024, although it too faced a decline during the Olympic period. Nevertheless, there was a noted increase in popularity at sites that were prominently featured during the Games, such as the Conciergerie, which saw a 40% rise in visitors from October to December year-on-year.
Paris Museums, managing around fifteen museums in the city, recorded 4.8 million visitors in 2024, down 8.5% compared to 2023. This decrease is considered relatively minor given the context of the Games, which saw an overall year-on-year drop of 30% during that period.
The Petit Palais achieved a remarkable milestone with 1.4 million visitors, marking record attendance since its reopening in 2005 and an impressive 22.8% increase compared to the previous year.