Visitors’ regulations and photography restrictions

Clause 1

The following regulations apply to visitors to the Musée d’art et d’histoire du Judaïsme (mahJ) and, except for special arrangements, to:

• persons authorized to use certain spaces for meetings, receptions, lectures, concerts, performances and ceremonies,
• persons not employed by the museum on the premises for professional purposes.

Museum access

Clause 2. Opening of the museum

The museum is open daily except Monday, 1 January, 1 May, as well as for the Jewish New Year (Roch Hashanah) and for the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). Opening hours are:

• Tuesday to Friday: 11am - 6pm;
• Saturday, Sunday: 10am - 6pm;
• During temporary exhibitions located in the main building, the museum can be open on Wednesday until 9pm and on Saturday, Sunday and national holidays until 7pm.

Access for groups is subject to booking and to specific times and conditions. In particular, school groups can book from Monday to Friday: 9.30am to 6pm.

Clause 3. Admission

Tickets for the permanent collection and temporary exhibitions are available at 10 € (full rate) and 7 € (reduced rate). The reduced rate is available to 18- to 25-year-olds residing outside the European Union and Amis du Louvre card holders.

The admission rate for the exhibition located in the main building for European Union residents aged 18 to 25 is 5 €. They benefit from free admission to the permanent collection and to the exhibition in the Foyer gallery.

Free admission is granted to:

• Amis du mahJ;
• under 18s;
• disabled ex-servicemen and people with disabilities with an accompanier;
• job seekers;
• basic state pensioners;
• refugees with an OFPRA proof;
• teachers with an Education Pass;
• journalists;
• art, history and religion students, students in the Hebrew Studies Department at Inalco;
• visual artists producing graphic, plastic or photographic works;
• National Lecturer Card holders, guide/interpreters and tourism professionals registered with CRT Ile-de-France;
• French museum curators;
• Culture card holders with an accompanier;
• Icom card holders;
• members of parliament, employees of the City of Paris, Paris municipal councilors.

The reduced rate and free admission are granted with valid proof of eligibility (validated fixed-term cards, certificates less than 6 months old).

Partnerships can occasionally increase this list.

From October to June, on the first Saturday of each month, admission to the permanent collection and the exhibition in the foyer is free for all. On those days visitors can also see the current temporary exhibition located in the main building at the usual rate.

Clause 4. Visitor aids and access

Additional information is available free of charge. The following are available for the permanent collection:

• an audio guide in three languages: French, English and Spanish;
• a visit guide on the ‘Bloomberg Connects’ application, available in forty languages;
• game books for children and a family tour in English;
• an easy-to-read and easy-to-understand tour booklet in French.

The museum is improving visitor comfort by means detailed in a public accessibility register that can be consulted at the ticket office and on the website (in French). In particular, the following facilities are available to visitors:

• folding seats;
• baby carriers;
• wheelchairs;
• magnifying glasses.

This equipment is available to visitors under their own liability. Visitors must return it in good condition at the end of their visit.

The security gate and ticket office are equipped with fixed magnetic induction loops (MIFs) for people with T switch hearing aids or cochlear implants. Audio guides and audio phones can be fitted with neckloops.

Clause 5. Opening

Entry to and circulation in the museum during opening hours is authorized only to persons in possession of a currently valid ticket issued at the ticket desk or purchased in advance, a free admission ticket, a group reservation receipt, a pass or badge issued by the museum. This ticket is valid for entry to the “exhibition located in the main building” area or the “permanent collection-exhibition in the foyer” area at a specific date and time. To access the temporary exhibition located in the main building, holders of Paris Museum Pass or tickets sold without any precise date (tickets sold in numbers) must book online a “reservation of a time slot”.

The time indicated on a “exhibition located in the main building” ticket corresponds to entry to the exhibition. Access to the other areas - the collection, the foyer and the contemporary gallery - is possible throughout the day, with no time restrictions.

However, a fire-safety capacity limits the number of simultaneous visitors in each area: staff ensure that this is respected before authorising access.

Tickets for an activity, such as a guided tour, workshop, tour walk, etc., are valid for the duration of the activity in the areas where it takes place, whether the activity is individual or group.

The temporary closure of one or more rooms in the museum does not entitle ticket holders to reimbursement.

​​​​​​​Clause 6. Equipment and animals allowed in the museum

Are authorized in the building:

• wheelchairs;
• Prawns and children’s pushchairs;
• guide dogs or assistance dogs, including those being trained - staff may ask to see their national certificate (professional card of the dog and of the person accompanying it: professional card of the trainer / foster family card / card bearing the words "invalid" or "priority for disabled persons").

The mahJ is in no way responsible for any injury caused by these vehicles and animals.

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Clause 7. Objects and animals not allowed in the museum

It is prohibited to bring into the museum objects whose purpose or characteristics pose a threat or risk to the security of persons, artworks or the building, notably:

• weapons, firearms and ammunition (including pocketknives);
• explosives, flammable or volatile substances;
• heavy, cumbersome or foul-smelling objects;
• bulky suitcases or backpacks;
• artworks or antiques;
• all animals (including psychological support), with the exceptions listed in clause 6,
• food and drinks;
• bicycles and mopeds (except children's toys).

Any exception to these measures must be personally authorized by the director of the museum. 

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Clause 8. Control of bags

Members of staff may at any moment request visitors to open bags or parcels and show their contents, at the entrance to the museum, on leaving the museum, and anywhere in the museum.

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Clause 9. Refusal of admission

Refusal to comply with the stipulations in clauses 6 and 7 will lead to refusal of admission to or immediate eviction from the museum premises.

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Clause 10. Last sales, last accesses, evacuation

Ticket sales end 45 minutes before the museum’s closure. Access to the permanent collection and exhibitions ends 30 minutes before closure. Staff begin to request visitors to leave the permanent collection and exhibitions 10 minutes before closure. This process can begin earlier for security reasons, notably when the museum is crowded.

Cloakroom

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Clause 11. Free-access lockers

A cloakroom is available free of charge for visitors to leave garments, walking sticks, umbrellas, bags, etc. This is a self-service cloakroom. The cloakroom has lockable boxes of different sizes (H. 32 x W. 33 x D. 53 cm, H. 27 x W. 37 x D. 53 cm and H. 37 x W. 39 x D. 53 cm).

Small suitcases can be stored in a keyless box.

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Clause 12. Deposit of items prohibited in galleries

The following items must be left in the cloakroom before entering the museum’s galleries:

• walking sticks with unprotected tips (rubber tipped crutches and walking sticks are authorized for old and/or disabled visitors);
• umbrellas, except if they can folded and carried in a garment or bag and except when they are used by old or infirm people and have a rubber tip;
• bags, parcels luggage and packages estimated by staff to be too large;
• large non-transparent or non-fireproof plastic or paper bags;
• reproductions or casts of artworks;
• musical instruments;
• folding chairs (except cane chairs);
• camera tripods or monopods (except with authorization, see Clause 28).

Small backpacks must be handheld or carried on the chest to reduce risk of damaging an exhibit or object.

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Clause 13. Unattended cloakroom

The unattended cloakroom capacity is limited. When the cloakroom is full, visitors are requested to wait until other visitors have retrieved their possessions before using the cloakroom and entering the museum proper. The museum does not accept any responsibility for the theft of objects left in the cloakroom.

All items left in the cloakroom must be retrieved the same day before the museum closes. After a delay of 48 hours, unretrieved objects are regarded as found objects. Perishable foodstuffs and objects of no value are destroyed every evening.

It may be closed for sanitary reasons.

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Clause 14. Lost and found

Objects found in the museum are transferred after one month to the Lost and Found Service of the Préfecture de Police, 36 rue des Morillons, 75015 Paris.

Closed bags, luggage or parcels left in the museum and not in the cloakroom and which appear to pose a threat to the security of the museum may be immediately destroyed without notice.

Visitors’ general behavior

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Clause 15. Respect for others

Visitors are required to conduct themselves politely with other visitors and with museum staff. Behaviour (words, dress, gestures or attitude) towards them must not be noisy, insulting, violent, aggressive or indecent.

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Clause 16. Prohibited actions

All acts endangering the security of works on exhibit or compromising visiting conditions for others are strictly forbidden, notably:

• touching works and decorations;
• ignoring barriers intended to restrict the circulation of visitors;
• leaning against display cases, plinths and other presentation elements;
• affixing graffiti and inscriptions or marking or soiling any surface or object in the museum;
• walking barefoot or dressing indecently;
• running, jostling, sliding or climbing anywhere in the museum;
• hindering the circulation of other visitors and blocking passageways and exits, notably by sitting on staircases;
• phoning in the permanent collection and exhibition spaces;
• smoking, eating or drinking outside areas designated for these purposes;
• dropping litter, cigarettes or chewing gum;
• bothering other visitors by noisy behavior;
• lying on benches, on the floor or ground;
• touching or manipulating for no valid reason an alarm box or security equipment (fire extinguishers, fire hydrants, etc.);
• begging on the museum premises;
• engaging in any kind of commerce, advertising, propaganda or soliciting on the museum premises.

Disabled persons may be given special dispensation regarding some of the acts listed above.

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Clause 17. Compliance with staff orders

Visitors must comply with any orders given by museum staff for service reasons.

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Clause 18. A visitors' book available to visitors

A register in which visitors can leave comments is available at the reception desk.

Regulations for groups

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Clause 19. Reservation and use of audiophones

Groups must obligatorily reserve a visiting date and time.

Groups are admitted to the museum on presentation of the confirmation of reservation sent to the group leader.

During the visit of the exhibition located in the main building, groups can use the audio phones provided free of charge if enough audio phones is currently available. For the group to use the audio phones, the group leader must leave his or her identity card or passport at the desk. This will be returned at the end of the visit. In the case of loss or damage, the group leader will be required to reimburse this loss or damage.

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Clause 20. Group size and compliance with the rules

Groups cannot exceed 20 people in the permanent collection and 15 people in temporary exhibitions. School group may not exceed 30 pupils, beyond which it will be divided in two; a maximum of three people will accompany it.

Group visits must take place under the direction of a leader who undertakes to enforce visitors’ regulations, so that no member of his group causes any inconvenience to other visitors.

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Clause 21. Right to speak

The only guides normally authorized to speak to groups must belong to the following categories:

• mahJ lecturers and guides;
• lecturers and guides with cards issued by the Tourism Ministry;
• foreign lecturers and guides with a professional identity card;
• French and foreign museum curators with a professional identity card;
• lecturers at the École du Louvre and the Centre des Monuments Nationaux ;
• French and foreign teachers with school groups;
• persons individually authorized by the director of the museum.

The museum cannot be held responsible for sentiments or views expressed by lecturers who have not received its accreditation. It reserves the right to withdraw permission to speak to groups within the museum from lecturers or guides who have expressed malicious or defamatory views.

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Clause 22. Prohibition on further reservations

Non-compliance with Clauses 21 to 23 can lead to the offender being prohibited from organizing another group visit to the museum.

Photography, video and sound recordings, copies and visitor surveys

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Clause 23. Authorisation for non-commercial videos and photographs

The taking of photographs or films for non-commercial purposes is authorized in the museum in compliance with Clause 28.

Photography and filming can be subject to restrictions indicated at the entrance to rooms or next to works.

To protect works and to not inconvenience visitors, the use of flashes, lamps, other lighting equipment, holders, tripods and monopods is prohibited.

The taking of photographs and films and their exploitation by visitors is restricted to private use only and providing author’s rights and the right to privacy are respected.

The museum declines any responsibility for any exploitation contravening the principles set out in these regulations.

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Clause 24. Protection of technical and security installations

It is forbidden to photograph or film the museum’s technical and security installations.

No sound recording, photography or filming of members of staff or the public can be undertaken without the authorization of the director and the specific agreement of those concerned. The museum declines all responsibility if these measures are not complied with.

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Clause 25. Films and photographs for professional or commercial use

Without prejudice to Clause 26, professional photography or photography for commercial purposes, the shooting of films and the recording of radio and television programs must receive the authorization of the museum’s director, granted in the week following receipt of the written request. It is the applicant’s responsibility to obtain all the other authorizations required, notably those of the rights holders of the works concerned.

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Clause 26. Copies of works

The execution of copies of works cannot be undertaken without authorization. Those who receive this authorization must comply with visitor’s regulations and the specific instructions given to them, concerning notably the protection of the work(s) to be copied and compliance with eventual reproduction rights.

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Clause 27. Surveys

No visitor surveys or interviews can be carried out without the express authorization of the museum’s director.

Safety of people, works of art and the museum premises

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Clause 28. Safety is a matter for all visitors

Visitors must abstain from any act liable to threaten the security of persons and property.

Any accident, person taken ill or abnormal event must be immediately reported to a member of staff or at reception.

If a doctor, nurse or person trained in first aid is present and intervenes, he or she must first show his or her professional card to a member of staff and remain with the sick or injured person until he or she is evacuated from the museum. He or she will then be asked to leave his or her name and address by a member of staff.

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Clause 29. Fire safety measures

In case of a fire outbreak, visitors must remain calm and immediately report it to a member of staff.

If the building has to be evacuated, this must be done in an orderly and disciplined manner under the orders of museum staff.

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Clause 30. Lost children

Any child who is lost must be entrusted to a member of staff and accompanied to reception.

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Clause 31. Reporting theft and damage

In compliance with Clause 73 of the Criminal Procedure Code, any visitor has the right to report a theft or damage to property to a member of staff and aid in apprehending the perpetrator.

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Clause 32. Measures taken in the event of theft

In the case of an attempted theft in the museum, alarm systems and procedures can be activated, including the closure of exits.

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Clause 33. Exceptional partial or total closures

In the event of excessive crowding, disorder, industrial disputes or any situation liable to threaten the security of persons and property, the museum can be totally or partially closed and its opening hours changed. The director or his or her representative can take any measure necessitated by such circumstances.

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Clause 34. Sanitary measures

In the event of an epidemic or pandemic, visitors must comply with hygiene and social distancing measures (compulsory wearing of face masks for visitors over 11 years, hand washing) in force in the museum. Access to the rooms may be conditional on a valid health pass. These measures will be stated on posters and on the museum’s website. The museum’s staff will enforce these measures.

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Clause 35. Measures to implement the regulations

Visitors who are ignorant of or refuse to comply with the above regulations may be liable to be escorted out of the museum and even legal prosecution.

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Clause 36. Establishment under video surveillance

A video surveillance system is installed in the various areas open to the public to ensure the safety of people and property. This installation is subject to prefectoral authorisation (law of 21 January 1995, article 10-2). If you have any questions about the operation of the video surveillance system, please contact the head of the security department.

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Clause 37. Communication of the regulations

The above visitors’ regulations are posted in public in the museum at the ticket desk and on www.mahj.org and can also be provided on demand.

Paris, 19 July 2024