A night at the museum: Paris Louvre to open non-stop

The three nights will be February Friday 21, Saturday 22, and Sunday 23. They will conclude the retrospective, which is the largest ever of da Vinci’s work.

Visitors for the nighttime entry will have access from 21h to 8h30. Entrance will be free, but spaces must be booked online in advance, at the Louvre website louvre.fr.

Almost 300,000 nighttime tickets will go on sale at midday this Tuesday (February 11).

Museum president-director, Jean-Luc Martinez, told newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche: “For visitors, this is their only chance to see, or see again, so many works brought together by this Renaissance genius, and in this unique, nighttime atmosphere.”

Mr Martinez said that these free nights are a way to “remind everyone that the museum is open to all”, adding that almost 40% of the museum’s 10 million annual visitors do not spend anything when they go.

The highly-anticipated Leonardo da Vinci show opened on October 24. With 162 pieces on show, it is the largest-ever exhibition of work by the Renaissance polymath.