The Louvre
Paris, France
Ah, the Louvre. Everyone's heard of it and few tourists visit Paris without checking it out. And why not? It's the world's largest and most visited art museum attracting over eight million folks every year. Branelle and I finally checked this off our "100 Places" list so here are a few pictures and comments about it.
Located on the Right Bank of the Seine, this place is HUGE! There are over 38,000 pieces on exhibit and they aren't even crammed together. It's just multiple levels of massive hall after massive hall.
Of course, the museum's most famous resident is the Mona Lisa. Everyone packs in to get a glimpse of the rather small painting, and you have to as well. We visited on a Wednesday evening (more on that later) when it's probably the least crowded you'll ever find it and this is still about as close as we dared get.
This is what it looks like from Mona's point of view. Like I said, you have to see the great works like Nike and Mona Lisa. Going to the Louvre without seeing the ML would be like visiting the Vatican and not going into the Sistine Chapel, or eating at a BBQ place in Texas and ordering a salad - Nel!
Aside from the special exhibits, the Louvre is just hall after hall that looks kind of like this. I like visiting great museums but I typically say "I'm not really an art guy." - To which my wife will say "You collect art, idiot!" She has a point, but regardless, in places like the Louvre, or the Prado, or the Uffizi, everything just starts to blur together for me. If you're an art aficionado or it's your passion then of course, the Louvre is a Mecca type place for you. For everyone else, here are a few tips:
- There are lots of entrances to the Louvre. Your best bet is to buy tickets ahead of time thus avoiding the crazy lines that form. I would say that more important than where you enter is when you enter. I've read that if you get there first thing most mornings when they open at 9:00am it's not too bad. If you show up at 11:00am or after, especially without tickets, forget it. The Louvre typically closes at 6:00pm, but on Wednesdays and Fridays they stay open until 9:45. That's when we went and it was great. We walked right up to the Pyramid and bought tickets with no lines at all. Going late also means very few if any of the school groups or tour groups that add to the congestion.
- I wouldn't waste my time with the audio guide. That's just me - others may disagree. The audio guide will slow you down and put you on the same path as everyone else. You can use a guide book it you want, but do you really care if Vermeer's "The Lacemaker" is similar in tone to Caspar Netscher's work from 1662?
- Try to have some kind of a plan. You can't see everything, even in a full day - the place is way too big. It's also easy to get lost in as it's multiple levels of similar looking rooms that you have to backtrack through on occasion.
- Make sure you're ready to do some walking. This isn't the place to try out those new super-cute boots you bought on the Champs yesterday.
- There are plenty of places to eat. In fact, there's basically a mall underground. They're all expensive, as you would imagine, but if you're doing a full day they will hit the spot for lunch. I think there are about 15 different places to grab a bite.
- The same issues with ticketing apply to bathrooms. If you see one without a line and think you might need one in the near future, go! You might not be so lucky the next time you happen upon one.
This is where I usually ask and answer the "So, should you go?" question. I'd love to say no, but come on. If you're in Paris you're going to the Louvre. Again, if art is your jam, I can't tell you anything that's going to change your experience. But if you're a tourist and just checking out Paris, do yourself a favor and go early or late and just breeze through the place in a few hours. Nel and I saw everything we needed to see in about 4 hours on a Wednesday evening.
Bonus Tip: If you aren't scared to be out late (and there are certainly reasons you should be in Paris if you don't feel comfortable defending yourself) then the outside of the Louvre after midnight is awesome. We had the advantage of our apartment being just across the Seine - our balcony even overlooked the Louvre - so we would walk past it many evenings on the way home. I love iconic places when you have them all to yourself. At one point one evening we were the only people in the pyramid yard. We could have gone skinny dipping in the fountains and no one would have noticed.
