What the ticket costs and who goes free
The Arc has one price for all nationalities, set by season rather than by residence. The practical information page and the official CMN ticketing page both give the same prices (checked 9 October 2026), and the Arc's homepage shows €16 for the current season. One ticket covers the whole monument: the museum hall inside the arch and the rooftop terrace.
| Period | Adult | Family of 2 adults + 2 under-18s |
|---|---|---|
| 1 October–31 March | €16 | €32 |
| 1 April–30 September, Wednesday | €16 | €32 |
| 1 April–30 September, other days | €22 | €44 |
Free admission covers:
- under-18s
- people aged 18–25 who are EU nationals or non-European legal residents in France
- a disabled visitor and one accompanying adult
- everyone on the first Sunday of January, February, March, November and December
The ticketing page asks every visitor, children included, to hold a ticket. Disabled visitors are the exception to advance booking: the accessibility page says to turn up at the ticket office on the day with proof, including a disability document issued abroad, for free priority access with a companion.
Opening hours, last entry and closure days
| Season | Wednesday to Monday | Tuesday |
|---|---|---|
| 1 April–30 September | 10am–11pm | 11am–11pm |
| 1 October–31 March | 10am–10:30pm | 11am–10:30pm |
Last admission is 45 minutes before closing: 9:45pm from October to March and 10:15pm from April to September, so an evening visit is possible in every season.
The Arc hosts official ceremonies at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and that shapes its calendar. It closes every year on 1 May, 8 May, 14 July and the morning of 11 November. On 24 and 31 December 2026 it closes early at 4pm. The practical page also warns that official ceremonies or bad weather can close it partly or completely at short notice, and the ticketing page currently asks visitors to check the website the day before for the operating status.
The 284 steps and the lift
The practical page counts 284 steps up to the terrace. It also describes a lift for those who need it, with no need to book. However, on 9 October 2026 the accessibility page carried a current notice: the lift is undergoing maintenance until further notice and access to the terrace is via the steps only.
Until that notice is removed, the terrace is not reachable for wheelchair users or anyone who cannot manage the stairs. The same page still describes lifts between the forecourt, the museum hall and the terrace, and a drop-off point for wheelchair users on the Avenue de la Grande-Armée side; ask the reception staff on arrival which lift, if any, is running. There is a drinking fountain inside the monument, and the terrace has a ramp to the orientation tables.
How to reach the arch without crossing the roundabout
The arch stands in the middle of Place Charles-de-Gaulle (Étoile). The accessibility page is explicit that it is not possible to cross the square on foot. The entrance is the Passage du Souvenir, an underground passage that starts at the top of the Champs-Élysées and on the Avenue de la Grande-Armée.
The nearest station is Charles-de-Gaulle–Étoile, served by metro lines 1, 2 and 6 and RER A. Buses 22, 30, 31, 52, 73 and 92 also stop nearby.
The tunnel leads to the access control. Bags must be no larger than 40 × 40 × 20 cm and there is no left-luggage office. Pushchairs are left with the access control staff and collected at the end of the visit. Flags, banners, selfie sticks, tripods, scooters, rollerblades, sharp objects, glass bottles and weapons are refused.
For the tricks that target visitors around big monuments, see scams near Paris monuments.
Booking and the Paris Museum Pass
Tickets are sold on the CMN ticketing site as e-tickets, printed or shown on a phone, and at the ticket office on site. Unlike the Sainte-Chapelle or the Louvre, the Arc's pages do not describe a compulsory time slot for individual visitors. If you hold a Paris Museum Pass, the Arc appears on the pass's list of sites, and it is not among the sites on the pass reservation page.
Whether the pass is worth it depends on how many other paid sites you add; at €16 in winter the Arc alone is a small share of a €85 two-day pass. The calculation is in whether the Paris Museum Pass is worth it. If you are building a day on the Île de la Cité as well, see Sainte-Chapelle tickets and time slots, which does require a booked slot.