The French Culture Ministry has confirmed to The Local that non-EU citizens who live in France will not have to pay the new higher museum ticket prices for non-European visitors.
At the start of 2026 France unveiled a new price structure for its national museums – including the Louvre and Versailles – that charges higher prices to non-EU visitors.
However, it was not clear whether this new price hike also affected non-EU citizens who are residents in France and have a carte de séjour.
The Local France reached out to the French Culture Ministry for clarification on who is exempt from the price increase.
The Ministry confirmed to us that the new price would not apply to non-EU citizens living in France, saying “a foreign national holding a residency permit is recognised as a resident of an EEA Member State as this permit allows them to reside legally in the territory of an EEA Member State. With such proof of residence, there is no difficulty in benefiting from an EEA rate.”
Non-EU citizens living in France – for example Americans, Brits, Brazilians or Canadians – will therefore need to show their carte de séjour at a museum, and will then be charged the lower ticket price.
This follows the existing guidance for tickets for young people – EU/EEA citizens under the age of 26 benefit from free entry to museums in France, and that includes non-EU citizens who are resident in France.
So far, only the Louvre, Versailles and the Chateau de Chambord have confirmed that they will be charging higher prices to non-EU visitors (the Louvre now charges €32 for entry, compared to €22 for an EU/EEA citizen).
However the Culture Ministry’s policy allows all of France’s state-run museums and tourist sites, to apply the higher pricing if they wish.
Other sites including Paris’ Opéra Garnier, Conciergerie and Saint-Chapelle have said that they are considering it, while other sites follow throughout the year.
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