Museums want to hike entry fees

SOME of the large Paris museums are reported to be seeking permission to hike their charges.

The demands come as the Paris Opera increases its ticket prices by an average of 10% for better seats (20% on the popular Friday and Saturday nights; but balanced by a 20% drop on Monday nights and Saturday matinées).

The opera has justified increases by citing lowered state funding and saying their prices are not high compared to some other countries’ - this argument has now being taken up by museums like the Louvre.

The Finance Ministry is said to be favourable to the idea, but the Culture Ministry is reportedly less so unless major works are planned, such as renovation of the Louvre pyramid which are expected to lead to price increases this year.

Some museums are said to be looking at having variable prices; more expensive for popular times and less for ones where they have fewer visitors.

The RMN-GP, which runs the Grand Palais exhibition hall and has partnership links with other major museums nationwide, states it is under pressure due to rising costs of the insurance for transporting works of art.

Director Valérie Vesque-Jeancard told Le Figaro she thought most visitors would not be bothered by a rise of a euro or two. “We do regular visitor surveys and ticket prices are rarely raised as a problem, unlike queues,” she said.

Many major Paris museums including the Louvre open free on the first Sunday of the month. See: Free museums

Photo:Milan Nykodym