The Louvre: A Must-See For All Visitors

The Louvre is the most visited museum in the world. The Louvre is home to over 3,000 years of history, art, and culture. It’s one of the largest museums in the world, with over 35,000 square meters of space. The Louvre contains multiple wings and galleries, including the Denon Wing (which houses Egyptian artefacts), the Islamic Art Gallery, and the Greek and Roman Antiquities Wing (home to some of the museum’s most famous pieces). So get your walking shoes out, spend the month before endurance training, and be ready for a long day’s walk, this museum is massive.

I’ll start by saying we most recently visited the Louvre literally the week France opened back up after the COVID lockdown. I point out this point as you’re going to see some amazing pictures in this post. Not because the pictures are by themselves great, but the fact that you will likely never see pictures with so few people in them at the Louvre. As you can see from the picture above, this was shortly before opening, and not a person in sight.

Main Lobby

When you first enter the museum, it can be a bit overwhelming. There are so many paintings, sculptures, and other works of art to see! But don’t worry, there’s plenty of help available. Pick up a map at the entrance and take some time to plan your route through the museum. You can also join a guided tour, which is a great way to learn more about the Louvre’s collection.

Where to Begin

With any visit to the Louvre, you should always start with the Mona Lisa if you plan on seeing it. As the day goes on this will be by far the busiest area later in the day. As I stated in the intro it was an unbelievable sight on our latest trip shortly after the country opened when compared to a trip I took the year before the pandemic.

I suspect at this point, crowds are back to “normal” so head there first, otherwise you’ll be lucky to see it from across the room, little lone walk right up to it as we did on our most recent trip.

From there you can explore as you wish. There are endless halls and rooms of art everywhere you turn, so just pick a direction and stick with it. Certainly, if there are particular pieces you want to not miss, such as Venus de Milo, you and shoot back and forth across the museum, but at some point, you will want to just pick a direction and go with it.

I can’t say I am much of an art buff, so for me, it was more about just walking around and soaking in the fact you were in France at the Louvre. The amount of paintings is almost too much to really take in and at some point, you realize you just need to walk through it. I think I read once ahead of our trip that if you spent 3 seconds at each piece of art and did that for everything at the Louvre it was years of time that you would have to spend in order to do that.

Personally, I enjoyed the sculptures more than the paintings. That’s not to say they are better or worse, just personal preference.

Last but not least, take it easy. There is tons to see and you won’t see it all in one visit. Be sure to take breaks along the way, grab some food in the cafe and just soak it in. I have to think even the biggest art fans will admit, there comes a point where there is just too much, and the Louvre clearly fits into that category at some point.

It’s Not What My Parent Told Me Growing Up

An interesting note for those that have not been to the Louvre, but have seen the movie Angels and Demons. Where you do think this picture is within the Louvre itself?

If you recall from the movie this area is shown I believe from the street level looking down where the virgin Mary was to be laid to rest. I don’t know about you but I always pictured it in the main lobby of the Louvre or perhaps in some special area within the Louvre.

So, for those that have not been, where do you think this is? Spoiler alert, it’s not even in the Louvre!

Well, it may come as a surprise for you to know, it’s actually outside the exit past the Louvre shops which exit into an underground shopping mall. You heard me right, the picture your seeing above is in a shopping mall! That all said, during “normal” times this area is still a big tourist attraction and people are taking their pictures in front of it. So whatever you do, don’t spend the day in the Louvre looking for it. You won’t find it.

Surrounding Area

I think this article is about the Louvre, but the surrounding grounds are impressive by themselves. Even if you don’t end up going inside the Louvre, which I think would be a big mistake, still make your way over to the courtyard and gardens that surround it and spend time roaming around the area.

A quick word of caution, there tend to be a lot of vendors (illegal, mind you) that set up shops on blankets in the area. Do not buy anything from them. The Paris police, and their horses, do a pretty good job of rounding them up and asking them to leave, but usually, within a matter of minutes, they show up again.

Final Thoughts

So there you have it. If you’re planning a trip to Paris it’s a must-do regardless of your stance on art museums. I suspect if you’re reading this you didn’t need much convincing, but certainly take your time and enjoy soaking in what the Louvre has to offer – which is a lot. Don’t overdo it. If you are really into art, certainly plan multiple days there as you could easily spend the time with little effort.

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