Musée du Louvre Reviews (Paris, France)

Repeat visits to the Louvre and still more to see

Calgary, Alberta

September 27, 2012

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We had been to the Louvre on a previous visit to Paris, but no one visit will allow you to see everything so we made a return visit.A good tip, go into the museum through the Caroussel entrance, not the entrance at the glass pyramid. There are far ...Read more

From journal Half a month in Paris

This is the most beautiful palace in the world.

by Zhebiton

Moscow, Moskva, Russia

April 21, 2012

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If we talk about the size of the Louvre, it is the world's third floor space museum. There are so intricately intertwined multiple exposures, the incredible luxury of age and architectural styles that walking through the Louvre, it is impossible to ...Read more If we talk about the size of the Louvre, it is the world's third floor space museum. There are so intricately intertwined multiple exposures, the incredible luxury of age and architectural styles that walking through the Louvre, it is impossible to absorb all its beauty and splendor of the first, and even the second time. Visiting Paris, you are guaranteed to be back here again and again and discover something new.
Find the Louvre is quite easy. It is spread in the heart of Paris, on the right bank of the Seine, the Rue de Rivoli.
The building of the Louvre is huge. To make the exposition was open all the rooms Louvre, it is simply not enough staff. At the entrance to the Louvre, you will meet a statue of the King - the sun of Louis XIV. This statue is the starting point of the historical axis of Paris.
To date, the Louvre - one of the oldest museums in France with a rich history and exposure. He will present your eye on the kind of history of France Kapettingov to the present day.

The collection laid Francis I, and continued his case Louis XIV. Gallery biographical paintings that adorned the palace hall, ordered from Rubens' Marie de Medici widow of Henry IV and mother of Louis XIII. But the biggest acquisition yet made Louis XIV. He purchased the largest of the paintings at a time - 200 pictures Everara Zhebaha. When the Louvre only meant as a museum, the royal art collection numbered more than 2,500 paintings. A large number of sculptures in the Louvre has removed from the museum's sculpture. Many paintings and sculptures were received during the Napoleonic wars, as trophies. Many artifacts of ancient Egypt, the Middle East - the result of wars of Napoleon Bonaparte. Venus de Milo acquired the French ambassador at the Turkish government.

The Louvre is considered the most visited museum in the world. Here you can easily take the audio guide in Russian, and enjoy the beauty of the Louvre on a self-guided tours.
Speaking in numbers, the Louvre collection contains about 300,000 items. To everyone's review exhibited only 35 000. All of the Louvre exhibition, figuratively can be divided into groups: the Ancient East, Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece and Rome, Islamic Art, sculpture, paintings, graphics.
Initially, in the Louvre were only antique statues. The most famous statue Zamli, incidentally, are found in the Louvre. Here you can see the Venus de Milo and Nike of Samothrace. Exception of a number of ancient masterpieces, made up only of Michelangelo. In 1824 the Louvre begin their work, five new rooms dedicated to the Renaissance, until the 18th century. Then there are the medieval statues.
As for the art, the Louvre and there is no equal. Here are a variety of jewelry, figurines, glassware, furniture and tapestries. Period - from the Middle Ages to the 19th century.
As for the paintings, the Louvre has more than 6,000 paintings, including the famous "Mona Lisa" by Leonardo da Vinci. The collection includes a 130,000 graphics items, which are divided into a collection of drawings, including prints. Close

From journal The most popular tourist destinations in the world.

A Mecca for artists and art lovers

by marif

Birchircara, Malta Majjistral, Malta

April 9, 2012

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Best of IgoUgo All the world knows that the Musee du Louvre sits on a huge stretch of land in …guess where?... but those who have yet never put their feet inside do not know that the Louvre is mostly filled in with foreign masterpieces with only a minority of ...Read more

From journal Get a breath of air in Paris

Where's Mona?

by two cruisers

Ames, Iowa

March 4, 2012

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Best of IgoUgo We arrived at the zig-zag of ropes for the entrance to the Lourve early. It was a misty turning to rainy day. A really good time to spend all day inside...of course they have to open the doors first. We marveled at yet another French royal ...Read more We arrived at the zig-zag of ropes for the entrance to the Lourve early. It was a misty turning to rainy day. A really good time to spend all day inside...of course they have to open the doors first. We marveled at yet another French royal extravagance. In the last century a controversial addition the Pyramids, have added a startling contrast to the existing architecture. The pyramids do add a source of light to the cavernous lobby. This museum was formally the Royal Palace and it has been added to in large and small sections over the centuries. The Louvre was built over an former palace. Once inside we could even see a section that had been excavated showing the walls and moat.
We were allowed to use flashless cameras. And there is much to photograph. My friend Marilyn and I decided to follow the guide map and check off as many of the numbered highlights as possible. Actually this should be done over several days, but honestly how many of us have that luxury! These are my highlights, presented in no particular order. Hammurabi's code; it took my breath away to see this odelisk of the first recorded laws. Assyrian sculpture of the Winged man-bull creature: been looking for this guy since Art History 101. Venus de Milo: she was into sleeveless before Michelle Obama. Winged Victory of Samothrace: guarding the staircase and causing traffic jams as people stop to take her picture. Egyptian blue glass: would look so good in my living room. The Lacemaker: Vermeer knew how to light a picture. Napoean III Apartments: suited my tastes better than Versailles and yet it too was opulent. Egyptian columns: organic and to me more appealing than the Greek classics.
And finally Mona Lisa: the mystery is why she is so sought after! At at my height of 5', she is not very visable. The crowds around her are twenty deep. I suggest if you are a Mona fan, go there first.
We were able to grab a fast food lunch of a mini quiche and a mini tart. Be prepared to stand up to eat, very few tables and even fewer chairs are available. If you need sit down time, there are benches in the interior courtyards, but no food is allowed there.
The shops are of two varieties: kids souvenirs and museum shop quality. I did buy a replica of the blue Egyptian glass at a reasonable price. My friend Sarah found a tablerunner she liked but it was 2,200 Euros. Skip that one. Exiting through tunnels lined with other shops I did find a charm for my collection. Close

From journal Three Friends Tour Paris

Art... art and more art!

by Judibo

Rockville, Maryland

January 4, 2012

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Great museum located in Paris, France, has a valuable selection of works of art. The main work of this museum is the Monalisa by Leonardo Da Vinci. Which is located in a room that was quite full with tourists taking pictures of it. I admit that was ...Read more

From journal Paris!

5. The Louvre

by dkm1981

Blackburn, England, United Kingdom

September 30, 2011

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Best of IgoUgo The Louvre is one of, if not the most prestigious art museum in the world and it houses a simply fantastic collection of paintings, sculptures and other precious objects. It is an absolute must for the first time visitor to Paris.The museum is ...Read more The Louvre is one of, if not the most prestigious art museum in the world and it houses a simply fantastic collection of paintings, sculptures and other precious objects. It is an absolute must for the first time visitor to Paris.

The museum is located at the bottom of the Champs Elysees in the very centre of Paris. Even if you don’t fancy going into the Louvre, you should absolutely visit because the buildings in which it is housed are worthy of a look themselves. The building was originally a palace, built in the twelfth century, which was home to the Royal Family until Louis XIV chose to move to the Palace of Versailles just outside Paris. After that it was used to display the Royal collection until it opened as a museum during the French Revolution in 1793. The buildings are opulent and certainly befitting a Royal Family and you are free to wander around them without charge. Right at the centre of the museum in the courtyard is the most recent addition to the buildings. IM Pei’s glass pyramid was installed in 1989 and just like the Eiffel Tower before it, it caused a lot of controversy. Many Parisians thought it was ugly and not in keeping with the rest of the old buildings that surround it. I can see what they are saying, but I personally think it is a wonderful addition that blends old with new in a striking way.

The museum has various opening hours throughout the week. It opens each day at 9am. On Mondays and Wednesdays it closes at 9.45 in the evening, whilst on Thursdays to Sundays it closes at 6pm. It is closed on Tuesdays. Entry is free on the first Sunday of each month, otherwise it is eight Euros per person to get it and it is slightly cheaper if you go just before closing. Unless you are only visiting for something specific, I’d strongly recommend that you leave at least a full morning or afternoon to visit. There are so many pieces (over thirty five thousand in fact) in the Louvre that you could spend a whole week in here and still miss a lot of it, but we found that the best way to do it was to pick the four or five main things we wanted to see and then plan a route, admiring everything else on the way. If you don’t do something similar you will simply be overwhelmed by the sheer volume of art work on display. You’ll also get very, very lost!

You enter the museum through the glass pyramid and descend down into the basement, which is surprisingly light and airy space. Here you will have to queue for your ticket if you have not already pre booked one. You also get a floor plan, available in many different languages. Once you have decided where you are going you need to go up one of the small escalators to the museum proper, where your ticket is checked. Understandably, due to the many priceless items in the museum, security is tight and you can expect to have your bag checked several times.

When we went, like most other visitors, we made a beeline for the Mona Lisa. It’s actually not a bad idea because it is so far from the entrance that you will in fact see a lot of other things on the way naturally. I particularly enjoyed the corridor that was lined with busts as I thought it had a slightly macabre feel to it and it felt like the heads were following me along the corridor – almost like an interactive display if you will. Throughout the museum the walls everywhere are lined with paintings of all sizes, many of them are religious paintings that stretch from floor to ceiling, some are better than others and undoubtedly you find one you love right next to one you hate. Getting to the Mona Lisa is a trek, but it is a trek that is well signposted throughout the museum. It is housed in a room by itself and the queue to get in is understandably long – to avoid this you are better visiting first thing in the morning or last thing at night. To be honest, I was completely underwhelmed by the Mona Lisa. The first thing you notice is how small it is. After walking through the corridors and seeing the giant paintings everywhere I thought it would be much bigger and more impressive. Certainly the famous enigmatic smile is eye catching, but behind the super thick bullet proof glass and surrounded by hundreds of people it just looks a little small and oddly insignificant. Perhaps I am demonstrating a certain ignorance by saying that, but that is predominantly how it made me feel. You can’t take any pictures of the Mona Lisa and to be honest you’d be lucky to get close enough to try.

The second thing we really wanted to see was the Venus Di Milo statue that is located at the other end of the museum. Once again, being one of the most popular exhibits, it is well sign posted throughout the museum. This time the statue is in open display with only a red velvet rope separating you from her. Again there are always many people around but it is much easier to get a good look. The statue is very impressive and surprisingly well intact considering that it dates back to the second century BC.

One of the other parts of the museum that I really enjoyed was the Egyptian antiquities section. Located down in the cellar, the collection is very atmospheric. Whilst all of the crowds are upstairs looking at the more famous works, this impressive section is a lot quieter and sedate, adding to the eeriness of it. My favourite piece here was the crypt of the Sphinx, although I also enjoyed the comprehensive collections of mummified cats and sarcophagi.

On the whole, the museum is well presented and well maintained and there are so many things to see that you can spend hours there. No doubt you will, like I did, make a beeline for the most famous pieces, but I strongly recommend that you slow your pace down and soak up the atmosphere and grandeur of the world’s most visited museum.
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From journals My Paris Top Five, Top Five Paris Museums

Frustratingly difficult to find the amazing masterpieces!

by RLB2

Scarborough, England, United Kingdom

August 16, 2011

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Best of IgoUgo I'll begin this review by saying that, one, I am not really an art connoisseur of art, but I know what I like. Two, I don't speak french and three, I'm not the best person with a map. If you combine all of these things together you get one ...Read more I'll begin this review by saying that, one, I am not really an art connoisseur of art, but I know what I like. Two, I don't speak french and three, I'm not the best person with a map. If you combine all of these things together you get one frustrated tourist and one annoyed friend in the Musee du Louvre.

Now having said that we did get round and see all of the masterpieces eventually but I did find the process quite stressful, to the point that I was wondering whether it was worth it. We had read all the advice about visiting the Louvre, including arrive early, don't try and get round everything, just try and do a small section etc etc. We were in Paris in April and we had purchased something called a Paris Pass, which meant that our entry to the Louvre was included and we had a queue jumper.

We arrived at the Louvre around 9.30am and wandered into the central courtyard (the one with the pyramids made famous by the movie The Da Vinci Code). We had walked straight past one line of people but then noticed that there was another across the courtyard. So after asking we found that the first line was in fact the queue jumping line...crazyness...it was longer than the other line. Anyway we got in without too much hassle and then we were presented with another problem...the map. I had real difficulty with the map, it wasn't that easy to figure out where everything was and then when we had worked it out it wasn't very easy to navigate around the place. Things were not signposted very well and we did end up going in circles a few times. The other problem we had was that some parts of the museum were closed off for various works and finding an alternative route was almost impossible. It took us almost 30 minutes to find the most famous painting in the place, the Mona Lisa (or La Jaconde)!!

The Louvre is massive and there really is no way that you are going to get around everything in one day, and you won't enjoy anything if you try. The day we were there it was pretty busy with Chinese and Japanese tourists in very big groups. We decided to just try and find the main exhibits that were marked on the free map, so it would give us a nice overview of the main exhibits. This included the Mona Lisa, The Seated Scribe, the Nike of Samothrace and the Venus de Milo. We also had a good look around the Egyptian, Roman and Greek areas. The art itself is outstanding, amazing, beautiful, intriguing and a whole host of other things. Your own opinion of the various pieces will probably differ from mine, but I don't think that anyone can disagree that the setting that they are all in is magnificent. The Louvre was a palace and you can really imagine what it was like when it was first built. Wandering around some of the less popular galleries was pretty amazing. Outside too the architecture was fabulous, to the point that I couldn't quite believe that I was there.

My top tips for a visit to the Louvre are:
1) Arrive early, possibly before it opens to ensure you are the first in and can get to where you want to go first.

2) Avoid the advertised top exhibits, they will invariably be packed and you'll just end up not enjoying the experience.

3) If you want to go and see the postage stamp sized Mona Lisa, by all means do, and when you are getting stressed about the crowds pushing and disappointed because of the size, turn around and feast your eyes on the Marriage at Cana, I promise you will not be disappointed.

4) If you want more than a stroll around the museum looking at the various works of art, then purchase an audio guide from the desk as you walk in. Unless you speak and read french very well they really are a must have.

5. Wear comfy shoes that have grip on their soles, my friend wore sandles and spent the whole day slipping around on the marble floors.

6) Finally, don't try and do it all, you will not manage it and leave feeling frustrated and grumpy, just choose a section and enjoy. Think of it as an excuse to visit Paris another time! Close

From journal Who needs a man to take you to Paris?

Musée du Louvre, eye opener!

by Patrickk19

P0J 1P0, Ontario

May 23, 2011

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I went to the Louvre with my grandparents, and had a great time. I loved all the different paintings, sculptures and especially the architecture of the museum itself. My favorite painting: Guaranteed the Mona Lisa. It`s true, she does follow you!

Frances most famous museum

by alanmack37

Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom

October 26, 2010

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Best of IgoUgo The Louvre, without question is the best and most famous art museum in the world. It isnt the normal sort of museum where you only spend two hours but a museum where you spend a minimum of two days. Our tour guide told us that if we were to look at ...Read more The Louvre, without question is the best and most famous art museum in the world. It isnt the normal sort of museum where you only spend two hours but a museum where you spend a minimum of two days. Our tour guide told us that if we were to look at every single item in the museum for 2 seconds we would be there for over a week, get that! I have never been in such an amazing art museum with so many Greek/Roman sculptures and well behold, upon entrance we were greeted by the famous statue of Venus de Milo.

. Here there were a minimum of five rooms filled with sculptures. It was also interesting to see the sculptures that had been renovated in modern times. The original sculptures were in many cases covered with colorful marble and pieces were added where the sculpture had been damaged. I especially liked the Egyptian exhibition. This was done from a cultural aspect and all of the exhibitions were arranged to explain certain parts of the Egyptian culture.

After several hours of walking in the museum I started to get weary so i was glad to see rooms of famous Renaisence sculptors as painters such as Michaelango, and i noticed walking through this room that there were more people assembling. Eventually we got to the end into a room full of people and security guards standing holding back the crowds. There was the famous Mona Lisa. Everyone has to see it when they visit the Louvre, but I do not see the point. There is a railing placed 10m in front of the painting to prevent tourists was getting to close to it…. Now can you only really appreciate a painting when standing right next to it and not from 10m distance. The crowd standing in front of the painting is annoying and there are signs up forbidding photography but everyone takes pictures of the Mona Lisa. Legend has it that the painting is a copy with the original stolen several years ago.

A great tip is to buy the ticket in advance online from the Virgin Megastore. This will save you time since you will not have to wait in line to get a ticket and the crowds are swarming to get in. Another tip do not use the main entrance when getting into the Louvre. The line here is the longest. There are other side entrances into the Louvre. Also pay for the audio/video guide as half the time you will not notice the importance of the objects that you view, and will not pay due attention. My visit there was so much more enriching since through the audio/video guide. I had an interactive map which gave detailed explanations to many pieces of artwork that are not available without the guide.

The disadvantages of the Louvre include the mass of crowds, there is a necessity to use a map, this place is so big that you will get lost. Also it is expensive and the queues to get in are big, there doesnt seem to be anywhere to get a snack or a drink.

However the Louvre is well known for its treasures and the buildings exterior is amazing so i would definitely schedule a visit.

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From journal A touch of Paris

Time at the Louvre

by KatyRae

Norman, Oklahoma

September 27, 2010

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The Louvre is a terrific experience for art lovers! I have to agree with the international assumption that the Louvre is one of the best art museums in the world: full of incredible history, art, and interior design.I was surprised to find that the ...Read more

From journal A Weekend in Paris

IgoUgo

Musée du Louvre

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