A huge Leonardo da Vinci exhibit is coming to the Louvre this fall, and to handle the massive turnout that’s expected, the museum is implementing a special policy requiring patrons to purchase timed tickets in advance. Jean-Luc Martinez, the Louvre’s president-director, told Art Newspaper, “This will enable us to manage the flow of visitors and prevent them from queuing. It’s about changing our visitors’ habits.”
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The Louvre’s Huge, Upcoming Da Vinci Exhibit Will Require Advance Tickets
The da Vinci exhibition will mark the fifth centenary of his death, and feature collections of several da Vinci masterpieces, including the Mona Lisa, The Virgin of the Rocks, La Belle Ferronniere, Saint John the Baptist, and Saint Anne. A selection of the artist’s drawings will also be shown, along with sculptures and paintings by other artists to provide context to da Vinci’s work.
According to the exhibit’s website, “This international retrospective will present the latest research findings, critical editions of key documents and the results of the latest analysis carried out in laboratories or during recent conservation treatment by the Louvre.”
Reservations will be available online, with tickets sold at 30-minute intervals. Even visitors who normally attend the museum for free, including children and veterans, will be required to make reservations in advance. The online ticket system has worked for the Louvre in the past, including the 2017 Vermeer show and last year’s Delacroix retrospective. The museum sees an average of 25,00 to 50,000 visitors a day, so new methods of crowd control are always being tested.
The da Vinci exhibition is scheduled to launch in October, with tickets available on the website. 
H/T: Smithsonian.com