Palais Garnier to the Louvre, Paris: free self-guided walking tour
Quick answer. A free self-guided walking tour from the Palais Garnier to the Louvre in Paris: 3 stops, about 1.7 km, about 25 minutes of walking plus about 21 minutes of listening. Start at the Palais Garnier, the opera house Napoleon III ordered after escaping an assassination attempt in 1858. Walk down the Avenue de l’Opéra to the Palais-Royal, built for Cardinal Richelieu to live near the king, where Daniel Buren’s 260 striped columns fill the courtyard. Finish at the Louvre, the royal palace that opened to the public in 1793, with Ieoh Ming Pei’s glass pyramid in its Napoleon Courtyard. Entry to the Louvre is by timed ticket.
- Stops:
- 3
- Distance:
- about 1.7 km
- Walking:
- about 25 min
- Listening:
- about 21 min
Palais Garnier to the Louvre, Paris: how long does the walk take?
About 46 minutes in all: about 25 minutes on foot over about 1.7 km, plus about 21 minutes of audio at the 3 stops. Time inside the sites is extra.
Palais Garnier to the Louvre, Paris: in what order should you visit the stops?
Follow the stops in this order: Palais Garnier, Palais-Royal, and Louvre Museum. The longest stretch between two stops is about 1.3 km, about 17 min on foot.
Route and map
Navigate with Google Maps, listen with Mappu: the stories keep playing while you follow the route.
Opens Google Maps with walking directions through every stop.
Stop 1
Marc Chagall painted the auditorium ceiling in 1964 on a removable canvas that hides the original painting by Jules-Eugène Lenepveu.
about 7 min of audio
Next stop: Palais-Royal · about 1.3 km, about 17 min on foot
Stop 2
In 1789 the palace was one of the great gathering places of revolutionary Paris, and on 12 July Camille Desmoulins called for revolution from its garden.
about 7 min of audio
Next stop: Louvre Museum · about 0.4 km, about 6 min on foot
Stop 3
In the Sully Wing the excavated walls of the fortress King Philip II built in the late twelfth century are still on display.
about 7 min of audio
The stop stories are AI-generated audio guides and can contain mistakes. Check opening hours and tickets on the official sites.
How does this self-guided walking tour work?
The audio guides on this page stay free: open any stop to listen in your browser.
Walk Mode uses your location to narrate places as you walk. It opens in the Mappu app at the first stop, Palais Garnier. Your first walk is free for three stops with a free Mappu account.
Walk Mode: 2 hours for 50 credits (€4.99 Starter pack)
Self-guided audio walk. No guide accompanies you. Not affiliated with the sites.
Before you go
- Check opening hours, tickets and access on each site’s official page before you go.
- Distances and times are estimates: the walking route between stops, from OpenStreetMap, at 4.5 km/h. Your route on the street may differ.
More walking tours in Paris
Plan more days in Paris
These day-by-day Mappu itineraries include Paris. The day links open the days that visit stops on this walk.
Route checked by Mappu on October 21, 2026. Stop descriptions come from each place’s published Mappu audio guide. Mappu is a Fenutech product.