The Louvre is one of the most popular museums in the world. Those who don’t know it by name are sure at least to recognize the iconic and controversial glass pyramid that sits in the middle of the courtyard and houses the main entry point for the museum. In 2015 alone, the Louvre attracted nearly 9 million annual visitors, more than any other museum in the world.
Dan and I visited the museum for the first time in late May 2016, bypassing the line outside thanks to the Paris Museum Pass and stepping into the bright, airy space beneath the Pyramid.
An excited hum filled the room, and despite the humid air and the mass of visitors already pulsing through the lobby, we couldn’t help but be excited ourselves. We picked up a detailed fold-out map from the service desk and set out to explore as much as we possibly could on our last day in Paris.
This might be a good time to emphasize that I don’t really consider myself to be a museum person. I love art and history, but given the chance, I prefer to spend my time hitting the streets (or hiking trails) and exploring new places on foot. That being said, I was cautiously optimistic about the day ahead. After all, the Louvre must be famous for a reason. If the collections didn’t hold my interest, I was bound to enjoy the building itself.
The former royal residence did not disappoint. Our game plan was to see the Mona Lisa first and have the rest of the day free to wander wherever we pleased. Our route to the Louvre’s most famous painting took us through so many gorgeous rooms, it was difficult not to stop and stare.
So what was it like, seeing the Mona Lisa?
Apologies for the terrible, shaky video quality. I decided to include it anyway to show the crowd on the other side of the camera.
The painting itself occupied a small wall in a much larger room of Italian paintings. It was roped off and protected by a thick wall of bulletproof glass, with alert security guards on either side to ensure that the painting stayed safely in place. The room was busy but not jam-packed with people, so it was easy to step right up to the Mona Lisa. The rope barrier allowed a great unobstructed view, without standing on tiptoes to see over the heads of everyone else in the room.
Looking at the painting was odd. Unlike the Van Gogh paintings at the Musee D’Orsay, the Mona Lisa did not elicit any emotion. It’s been so widely reproduced, in textbooks and in postcards, that seeing it in person had no real effect on me. Like everyone else, I simply snapped a few photos, stood for a moment, and moved on to the next thing.
The next thing happened to be a gift shop. If that’s not mass tourism at its most cynical, I don’t know what is. With the Mona Lisa checked off the single-item to do list, Dan and I were free to wander for the rest of the day. Every room we’d passed through had been uncomfortably warm and sticky, so we returned to the lobby to grab a snack, and more importantly, a drink. Then it was back to business!
It turns out, the Louvre was much more than a museum! Some of the rooms we visited rivaled those seen at Versailles, and the collection of world-famous paintings, sculptures and more was almost overwhelming. Keep on scrolling to take a peek at some of our favorite parts of our museum visit. Whenever possible, I will link each photo to the Louvre web page dedicated to each piece shown, so click away if you want to learn more about a given piece!
Click here for a 360 degree tour of the room that holds the above painting.
At this point we’d already been inside the Louvre for an hour or two, and barely scratched the surface of its treasured contents. In fact, we hadn’t even left the Denon wing!
We really enjoyed the Greek, Etruscan and Roman Antiquities section, which featured classical figures such as the well-known Venus de Milo.
After our visit with the Greek and Roman gods of old, we transitioned into the Egyptian Antiquities wing, a seriously cool collection of housewares, jewelry, tools, sarcophagi, and even an actual mummy!
Venturing upstairs, we found dozens of sarcophagi.
And here is an actual preserved mummy!
Pretty cool, right? The museum definitely came to life in this room, where we could see the remnants of real, actual people rather than their works alone. It was humbling to think of what this “mummy man’s” life might have been like. Tired and hungry at this point, we decided to make our way back toward the center of the museum.
We had a bit of a hard time finding our way back, however, and found ourselves ascending a set of stairs into the Department of the Decorative Arts. Here we saw incredible collections of all kinds of pretty trinkets…jewelry, weapons and fine dishes, to name a few! I do regret that we weren’t able to take the time to appreciate them better. By this point, I was eager escape from the hot, humid rooms and back into the streets of the city. We passed through some really cool exhibits, including the former apartments of Marie Antoinette as well as Emperor Napoleon. We couldn’t help but stop in the grand salons of Napoleon’s personal quarters and gape at the lavish details and furniture.
Having finally navigated our way back to the reception area beneath the grand pyramid and feeling sleepy from the afternoon’s explorations, we decided to grab a quick espresso and hopefully wake ourselves up before continuing on with the day. After all, it was our last full day in the city, and we didn’t want to waste it by napping in the apartment for the rest of the afternoon! There was just one more thing to be seen at the Louvre before heading out…the Inverted Pyramid, or La Pyramide Inversée.
Made famous by the novel and subsequent film The Da Vinvi Code, the inverted pyramid is in fact a skylight into the Carrousel du Louvre shopping mall just outside the museum exit. After that, it was on with the show! To see what we did before and after our trip to the Louvre, be sure to check out my day four trip recap!
And for my readers who have been to the Louvre…what else would you recommend to visitors? We spent hours in the museum and probably didn’t even see 5% of the items on display, so I’d love to know what else is worth seeking out!
Alina Leggett says
Good read. Honest and filled with subtle humor. I would have shared many of the same thoughts and feelings in experiencing the museum.
Adventuring The Great Wide Somewhere says
Thank you Aliner! 😀
Clarissa says
These photos are stunning!! I love all the Egyptian relics – what an amazing trip! <3
-Clarissa @ The View From Here
Adventuring The Great Wide Somewhere says
Thank you Clarissa! We also loved that section. It was like peeking into someone’s life, one very different from our own!
Barbara says
Fantastic! One day I’ll get there… I’m sure it would take much more than a day to see it all. 🙂
Adventuring The Great Wide Somewhere says
Oh for sure! I think I read once that it would take 100 days to see it all, and that’s if you only spend 30 seconds per piece!
The Alaya Memoirs says
I am in awe of how beautiful your pictures are! Very visually stimulating 🙂 Great read as well!
Adventuring The Great Wide Somewhere says
Thank you so much! It’s a beautiful place to begin with. 😉
maryanecuisine says
Amazing! Always wanted to visited Louvre, it’s on my bucket list. Never been to France though, but I’m sure that Louvre will be my first “tourist visit” when I get there! 😀
Adventuring The Great Wide Somewhere says
And every other visit after, I’ll bet! I’m so curious to see the rooms that I missed.
Brita says
I told my husband beforehand that every time I’ve visited Le Louvre, I’ve gotten lost. (I used to live near Paris). He didn’t say anything snide, but I knew he was thinking that with his amazing sense of direction (which I admit) and map-reading skills, that we wouldn’t get lost.
Lo and behold, it took us at least half an hour to find our way out of the museum because we kept getting lost. I was just a little smug, and he admitted that he hadn’t believed me before.
Adventuring The Great Wide Somewhere says
Haha, that’s great! The rooms all just run together after a while, and it’s hard to find the exit doors and stairs hidden along the way. I feel better knowing that I wasn’t the only one just walking for ages in vain search of a way out. 😀
Sofia says
Wow, great roundup! You covered all the good stuff 🙂 Also, your photos are stunning!
Adventuring The Great Wide Somewhere says
😀 Thank you Sofia!
Kandja Abigail Sylla says
Your photos made me miss Paris! This museum was one of the highlights of my trip. There are so much inspiration in one place. The history and architecture–just WOW! Great post! xx
http://www.prettyweirdbombshell.com/new-year-still-me/
Adventuring The Great Wide Somewhere says
Thank you so much! Paris as a whole is just stunning and there is so much history on every street corner, and I can definitely understand why the Louvre rates so highly among the must-see spots.
MacKenzie says
Your photos are absolutely stunning! Your pictures made me feel like I was actually there myself. I have always wanted to visit this museum since high school. I actually lived in Europe for a year, but never had a chance to make it to France. I could totally kick myself now lol.
Adventuring The Great Wide Somewhere says
Thank you so much! Meanwhile, I’ve always wanted to live in Europe – that is so cool! Where in Europe??
Charlotte says
This was fun to read! I would love to visit the Louvre some day. The Egyptian relics and the crown jewels looks especially interesting 🙂
Adventuring The Great Wide Somewhere says
Thanks Charlotte! They added a lot of interest to the museum and made it much more interactive than just looking at hundreds of paintings.
Gay Stepdad says
Epic photos …always wanted to go…and it’s only 3 hours on the train from London!!
Adventuring The Great Wide Somewhere says
What are you waiting for!? GO! I’ve always been jealous of anyone who can just hop a train and be in Paris.
Cindy Collins says
Haven’t visited yet, even though I am French!! But that post really makes me want to go. Great photos.
Adventuring The Great Wide Somewhere says
Ahhh you should give it a shot! If I lived nearby I would definitely try to go back and see more art a little bit at a time.
janerebecca says
I love how much care you took in captioning your photos! I didn’t make it to the Louvre during my Paris trip, but I definitely hope to next time. It looks so overwhelming – but in the best kind of way!
Adventuring The Great Wide Somewhere says
It’s a big undertaking for sure! I didn’t see it on my first adult visit to Paris either, just because there is so much to see and we only had a couple of days to take it all in. If you visit again and have a little more time, give it a shot. I was expecting a load of repetitive paintings and sculptures, but I was delighted by how varied and interesting the exhibits were. There truly is something for everyone!
Mama802 says
WOW! Your photos are amazing! It looks like you had such a wonderful time.
Adventuring The Great Wide Somewhere says
Thank you! I just loved the variety of exhibits. I do wish we had more time to enjoy. If I could do it all over, I’d probably spend a full day in the museum, and leave the grounds altogether for a nice long lunch break elsewhere. A relaxed lunch with wine and espresso is just the thing to recharge and return to the museum for round two!
artistexplorestheworld says
Wow this article is packed with pictures! Brought back a lot of really lovely memories for me. I want to go back to the Louvre so much. It’s so beautiful! I didn’t know the pyramids were so young as well, whoop 1989 birth year! 😉
Adventuring The Great Wide Somewhere says
Isn’t that crazy? I knew they were a newer addition, but I was thinking they were added in…maybe the 1930-40s. I’m older than those pyramids! Ha!
This is Us... Living says
I generally am not a fan of massive crowds, although we love walking and exploring the city on foot like you. However this post has sold me on wanting to visit the Louvre, I loved your pics and now I must get there to snap my own pics!
Adventuring The Great Wide Somewhere says
Awesome! I felt the same way, and was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked the Louvre after all! Definitely worth a visit; I hope you make it over soon!