Conciergerie Paris Tickets: the HistoPad, Marie-Antoinette's Cell and the Sainte-Chapelle Combo
The queen's former prison, one ticket and a tablet that rebuilds the rooms
- Ticket
- €13
- Hours
- daily 9:30 am–6 pm, last entry 5:30 pm
- Closed
- 1 May and 25 December
The Conciergerie is the way into the real story of the French Revolution: one price, €13, with the HistoPad included. The choice is whether to buy it alone or together with the Sainte-Chapelle, which stands about 50 m away on the same island, and the answer depends on how much of the Conciergerie you actually plan to see.
Alone or with the Sainte-Chapelle
The ticket costs €13 for every adult and includes the HistoPad, a tablet with augmented reality that rebuilds the rooms as they looked in 1793. Combined with the Sainte-Chapelle it costs €30 outside the EEA and €23 inside it. The combo is cheaper than buying both entries separately, but only if you really walk through the Conciergerie and do not treat it as an afterthought.
Under-18s enter free with a ticket, and so do EU and EEA visitors aged 18 to 25 with ID. Booking goes online through the official site, and in spring and autumn it is wise to buy earlier, when the island is at its busiest. On the combined ticket the time slot belongs to the chapel only.
On the first Sunday of the month from November to March entry is free, but without a booked slot.
Official ticket
- Ticket
- €13, HistoPad included
- Combo, non-EEA
- €30
- Combo, EEA
- €23
- Under 18
- free
Through a partner
- options with a guide or audio guide
- usually costs more than the official ticket
When to come
Opening hours: daily 9:30 am–6 pm, last entry 5:30 pm. The Conciergerie is closed on 1 May and 25 December. The HistoPad stops being handed out before closing, so the final slot of the day is a poor time to arrive.
Go in the morning, before the crowd that gathers around midday, and you get the halls with room to move and a tablet that is still on offer. With the combo, fit the Conciergerie around your chapel slot instead of the other way round. Bags are searched at the entrance, so allow a little extra time at the door.
The Salle des Gens d’Armes and the kitchens
The Salle des Gens d’Armes covers around 1,800 square metres in four naves under Gothic vaults, and it is the room most visitors remember. It was built under Philip IV between 1302 and 1315, and standing under that roof it is easy to see why the hall was meant to impress.
Beyond it are the medieval kitchens, with four large fireplaces, which show how much work it took to feed a palace of this size. The scale of the hearths says more than any label does about the people who lived and worked here.
Marie-Antoinette's cell and the HistoPad
Marie-Antoinette was held here from 2 August to 16 October 1793. The cell is a reconstruction, and the chapel of atonement stands on the spot where she was kept, so this is the part of the visit that most people came for and the one where the building gets quiet.
The HistoPad, included in the ticket, uses augmented reality to rebuild rooms as they were in 1793, in several languages. It also covers spaces such as the Revolutionary Tribunal and the Girondins' chapel, which are bare stone without it. Use it where the walls are empty and put it down when the room speaks for itself.
When you only have an hour
A visit takes an hour to an hour and a half, and if you have less, the hall and the cell are the core.
- Start with the Salle des Gens d’Armes and the cell of Marie-Antoinette.
- Pick up the HistoPad before the early afternoon, while it is still handed out.
- With the combo, do the chapel first, since its slot is fixed.
- Cité metro station is about a minute on foot, so the exit is easy.
Where to next
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How well does Paris suit you?
→Six questions: a score for this place and others like it.
Nomadinho scores out of 100, the same ones behind “Where to go”.
If you like Paris
Three places with the closest scores, from any country.
Before you go
Short answers to what people ask most before setting out.
Is the Sainte-Chapelle combo ticket worth it?
Only if you really go through the Conciergerie. The combo costs €30 outside the EEA and €23 inside it, which is less than buying both entries separately. The time slot belongs to the chapel.
Who gets into the Conciergerie free?
Children under 18, and EU and EEA visitors aged 18 to 25 with ID. Entry is also free on the first Sunday of the month from November to March, without a booked slot, and other categories such as visitors with disabilities may qualify too.
Do you need to book ahead for the Conciergerie?
Yes, reserve on the official site rather than relying on the day. Buy earlier from spring to autumn, and if you take the combined ticket, plan the whole day around the chapel slot.
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