Le brush-off: Britons must pay more to visit Louvre

British tourists will have to pay more to enter the Louvre in Paris under new plans announced by French president Emmanuel Macron during a visit to the museum yesterday.

- ALEX CROFT

Mr Macron said non-EU visitors will be charged a higher entrance fee to visit the Louvre, which is the world’s most visited museum and is plagued by overcrowding and outdated facilities.

The Mona Lisa will be given its own dedicated room as part of a major renovation of what is one of the world’s most famous art galleries. Brand new underground rooms and a new entrance near the River Seine will be part of the building’s overhaul, which is expected to take years to complete, Mr Macron said, speaking in the room where Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece is displayed.

The renovation is expected to cost hundreds of millions of euros. Mr Macron did not disclose the cost.

Mr Macron’s speech came after Louvre director Laurence des Cars recently expressed her concern regarding the “very poor condition” of the museum’s spaces, with reports of water leaks, temperature variations and other issues “endangering the preservation of artworks”.