French museums soon free for visitors under 25? Oui!

French national museums and monuments have just gotten one step closer to cool. Admission for visitors under 25 will soon be free, according to French President Nicolas Sarkozy yesterday.

That’s for the 18 national museums, including the Parisian favorites: the Louvre (usually 9 Euros) and Musée d’Orsay (9.50 Euros). The new policy comes just in time for summer backpacker travel–it starts April 4.

The country’s trial period seems to have worked out–from January to June of last year, visitors of all ages got free admission to 14 of the country’s museums.

Sarkozy’s plan to promote French culture also includes building a new history museum, lifting a partial freeze on state funding for the performing arts, and forming a new arts council.


Click the images to learn about the most unusual museums in the world — covering everything from funeral customs, to penises, to velvet paintings, to stripping.