The Louvre seems to be on everyone's list of things to see in Paris. It's easy to understand why since it is one of the most famous museums in the world and located in the heart of Paris. The problem for the average tourist is what to see once you're inside. There are over 30,000 pieces of art spread across 650,000 square feet. Since most tourists are armed with the popular guidebooks, they all seem to take the same 1-2 hour tour through the museum hitting the highlights. Depending on the guidebook, there may be some small deviations in course but there are three main exhibits that EVERYONE checks out: the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo and The Winged Victory of Samothrace. These three women are the real celebrities of the Louvre. They command crowds from opening until close every day. They have literally been photographed millions of times. And they are heavily protected and always have guards present. I found the crowds swarming the Mona Lisa as interesting as the painting itself. It is almost impossible to get a front row spot to look at her; you're probably better off just checking out the Mona Lisa posters in the gift shop.
Jen and I went to the museum with two other BCG ambassadors - Alejandro and Chiara. We planned to take the Louvre in small doses, visting maybe one wing per trip. Somewhat inadvertanly though, we kept pushing deeper and deeper into the museum until four hours later when our overloaded brains and sore feet caught up with our curiousity.
We covered a lot of ground, but will still need a few more trips to see most of it. We are considering an annual pass as it will get us into the museum free the rest of the year. It will also allow us to visit a few times at night when the museum is closed to the masses. Maybe then we could have a little more personal time with the celebrities.
(click for photos)
2 comments:
Neat pictures!
I will have to show your pictures to Paige. Madeline goes to the Louvre in her animated video & see's the three famous ladies also.
Ha! That's what I saw when I was there! (I only had one afternoon.) You'll have to check out Napoleon's apartment as well.
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