We have both been to Paris many times and absolutely love visiting this beautiful city. The is something truly special about the 'City of Lights'. Of course, there is plenty to enjoy in the culture, restaurants and bars of Paris, but for the first (or many times) visitor, there are some must-see places.
France: Paris – The Louvre Museum
The Louvre is one of the most famous museums in the world and is treasure trove of incredible and famous works of art, including the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo
The Louvre Museum is a former fortress and royal palace and is one of the world’s most visited museums. It is one of those places you can visit over and over again and find something new. In a single day, you will only see a fraction of what is on offer. So, it is best to plan ahead if you have limited time!
We had both visited before seperately but that was over 30 years ago, so we decided to go back and discover if we would see the Louvre in a new light.
During the summer months the Louvre becomes really busy. Like many of the most popular tourist sites in the World, especially since the Covid-19 pandemic, entry to the Louvre is based on a timed entry ticket. You”ll need to book this online, in advance. I also recommend going for the earliest possible time in the morning, despite a timed ticket, there is no limit on how long people can stay, so by late morning to early afternoon the more popular galleries will be very busy.
Below are highlights of our visit to the Louvre Museum.
The Mona Lisa
We decided to go and see the Mona Lisa first of all. It is something we had both seen before and remember it not impressing us at the time. Being open-minded we thought that we give the Mona Lisa a second chance. As soon as we got into the museum we made a dash to the gallery where the Mona Lisa is located, which is a fair distance from the entrance.
By the time we got there a fair number of people were already waiting in the queue to get to the Mona Lisa. Somewhat crazy, but it was at least organised. Eventually, we got to the front. Unfortunately, quite a number of people stood in front of the Mona Lisa. posing for pictures and selfies. Very annoying.
We are not sure that our view of the Mona Lisa has changed, but are glad we went back.
Having reached the Mona Lisa we went to look at some of the other pictures in the Mona Lisa room and the galleries around it. Our personal taste in art is more contemporary than much of the art in the Louvre but we still enjoyed walking around the galleries.
Venus de Milo & other classic statues
Greek art of ancient times holds a rich historical significance and includes the full panoply of sculptures, paintings, pottery, statues, coin design, and gem engraving. One such archaeological statue that has captivated the attention of millions of people from across the globe is the Venus de Milo, a lustrous, graceful, white, female statue placed in the Louvre Museum. Depicting the mythological Greek goddess Aphrodite, this semi-nude effigy is a masterpiece of paramount proportions. This enduring statue standing tall at 6 feet 8 inches is also believed to be the depiction of Venus, the Greek goddess of love and beauty.
A young farmer named Yorgos Kentrotas discovered this statue on the Greek island of Melos (Milos) on 8 April 1820. The effigy was unearthed into two pieces while various other ruins of the statue were found nearby which were later reassembled. The first piece discovered was the upper torso with a classical S-curve while the second piece found was her legs and hips wrapped in draped clothing.
French art and the Louvre were struggling when Venus was discovered. A large cache of art, looted by Napoleon from around the world, had recently been returned to various home countries, and that left a huge gap in the Louvre’s classical art collection. Venus was the perfect solution — and the French went to extreme lengths to make sure nobody questioned her legitimacy. The result was a globally famous statue with a complicated and secretive history.
Of course, there are many more amazing statues to see in the Louvre’s Antiquities Gallery and other areas throughout the museum.
Near Eastern Antiquities
One of the sections of the Louvre we enjoyed most was the Department of Near Eastern Antiquities, which is divided into three collections corresponding to the geographical areas from the eastern Mediterranean, through the Arabic peninsula and the Black Sea to India. These are Mesopotamia, Persia and the Levant (Lucia, Lydia, Cilicia, Phoenicia, Cyprus).
Located on the ground floor in the Sully, Sackler & Richelieu wings, the 26 rooms of the collections of the Near Eastern Antiquities will dazzle you by the richness of the master pieces that are exhibited.
Interior Sculpture Gallery
Many of the galleries of the Louvre are dark and somewhat oppressive. This cannot be said of the Interior Sculpture Gallery, which is impressive in its scale, but the natural lighting from the glass roof makes this place special, especially on a sunny day.
One of the most eye-catching statues in the Gallery are the four captive statues that were taken from the pedestal of the statue in the Place des Victoires, these captives represent the nations defeated by the Treaty of Nijmegen (1679). Each expresses a different reaction to captivity: revolt, hope, resignation, or grief.
One of the most eye-catching statues in the Gallery are the four captive statues that were taken from the pedestal of the statue in the Place des Victoires, these captives represent the nations defeated by the Treaty of Nijmegen (1679). Each expresses a different reaction to captivity: revolt, hope, resignation, or grief.
The Egyptian Galleries
The Louvre, the Department of Egyptian Antiquities occupies two floors. On the lower level, you will find a themed display on the daily lives of Ancient Egyptians and on the upper level, you will find a chronological display on Ancient Egypt, from prehistory to the Ptolemaic Period.
The exhibits focus not on Egyptian art but document the history and culture of this fascinating ancient society. On display are many incredible artefacts including numerous sarcophagi (such as the Sarcophagus box of Ramesses III), and well-preserved mummies and The Great Sphinx of Tanis.
Planning your visit to the Louvre
Getting there
The Louvre is very central and easy to get to. By Paris Metro the Louvre has its own metro station on line 1 called Palais-Royal–Musee du Louvre.
All of the popular Paris hop on, hop off sightseeing buses stop here and the Batobus river bus service also has a stop for the Louvre.
The Louvre is within 5-10 minutes walk of Notre Dame and the Orsay Museum.
| Address: | Rue de Rivoli, 75001 Paris |
| Website: | https://www.louvre.fr/en |
| Telephone: | T: +33 1 40 20 50 50 |
| Hours: | The museum is open daily except for Tuesdays. 9:00 AMTO6:00 PM Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. 9:00 AMTO9:45 PM Friday Last entry 1 hour before closure. Visitors will be asked to vacate the exhibition rooms 30 minutes before closure. |
| Fees | Tickets purchased online €17 Tickets purchased at the museum €15 -18 year olds, -26 year old residents of the EEA – FREE |
Getting in
There are four entrances to the Louvre Museum.
The I.M. Pei Pyramid Entrance is the main entrance (this is the big glass pyramid in the centre of the forecourt of the museum – so hard to miss! This entrance is to be used by visitors with tickets, those with a Paris Museum Pass, membership card, and even visitors without tickets. Disabled visitors and staff members who receive priority access can also enter from this entrance.
Carrousel du Louvre Entrance is often called “the mall entrance to the Louvre”. The Carrousel entrance can be used by all, disabled visitors, groups, visitors with membership cards, and visitors with tickets.
The Passage Richelieu entrance is reserved for those travelling as a group and visitors with membership cards (Amis du Louvre, Louvre Pro, Ministère de la Culture, Pass Education, ICOM).
The Porte des Lions Entrance is located in the internal part of the Louvres and attracts an average amount of visitors. However, there are no lockers at this entrance and you will be refused entry if you have a large bag or helmet. Only visitors who have made prior reservations can enter by the Porte des Lions.
Getting around the Louvre
There are many ways to experience the Louvre Museum. We chose to just walk around and see what we discovered using the printed map you can pick up inside the museum. It comes in several languages. There is free Wi-Fi around the museum if you want to look things up. You can also download the museum map
You can also use the Louvre’s audio guide which is available in several languages and costs €5 to rent.
Alternatively, you can get a real, in-person guide there are several options for guided tours.
Best time to visit Paris
You’ll experience crowds from May to September, but encounter the most people in July (followed closely by June and August). We’d recommend visiting between October and April if your main objective is to avoid crowds. For the warmest temperatures, October and April are the best times to visit Paris sans crowds.
Other places to visit while in Paris
1. Banks of the River Seine
The banks of the River Seine through the heart of Paris are listed as UNESCO world heritage site due to the incredible architecture of buildings such as Notre Dame, the Louvre and the Grand Palais and the examples of outstanding town planning, in particular, the large squares and avenues built by Haussmann at the time of Napoleon III have influenced town planning throughout the world.
2. Musee D’Orsay
Housed in a train station built for the 1900 World’s Fair, the Musée d’Orsay is known throughout the world for its rich collection of Impressionist paintings including masterpieces as iconic as the Bal au Moulin de la galette from Renoir or The room at Arles de Van Gogh. Its collections include works of architecture, decorative arts and photography in addition to traditional artistic fields (painting, sculpture, graphic arts). They thus draw a broad panorama of French and European art from 1848 to 1914.
3. Palace of Versailles
The Palace of Versailles was the principal residence of the French kings from the time of Louis XIV to Louis XVI. Embellished by several generations of architects, sculptors, decorators and landscape architects, it provided Europe with a model of the ideal royal residence for over a century.
4. The Louvre Museum
The Louvre, or the Louvre Museum, is the world’s most-visited museum, and a historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo. At any given point in time, approximately 38,000 objects from prehistory to the 21st century are being exhibited over an area of 72,735 square metres.
5. The Palais Garnier
The Palais Garnier, also known as Opéra Garnier, is a 1,979-seat opera house at the Place de l’Opéra in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, France. It was built for the Paris Opera from 1861 to 1875 at the behest of Emperor Napoleon III. It is also famous due to its use as the setting for Gaston Leroux’s 1910 novel The Phantom of the Opera.
6. Château Fontainebleau
The Château de Fontainebleau is located in the small town bearing the same name and lies 40 miles (65 km) south-southeast of Paris by road. It has been the residence of 34 kings and two emperors, Fontainebleau is the only château that was lived in by every French monarch for almost eight centuries. With 1500 rooms, it is one of the biggest châteaux in France, and the most furnished in Europe.
Getting around Paris
The centre of Paris, where tourists are likely to spend most of their time is compact and easy to get around using a combination of public transport and walking. It also quite friendly towards cyclists. Below are some of the options for getting around this beautiful city.
The Metro
Paris Metro (Métro in French, Subway or Underground in English) is the fastest way of getting around the city. The underground system has 14 interconnected lines (and 4 others under construction) and is also linked with the other RER trains.
RER
The Paris RER is a regional train transport system connecting the centre to its surrounding suburbs. RER stands for Réseau Express Régional. The RER also complements the Paris Metro, giving Parisians and tourists a larger transport network in the centre of Paris. The RER also connects the city centre with Charles de Gaulle Airport, Disneyland and Versailles.
Paris City Buses
One of the easiest and most convenient ways of getting around Paris is by bus. The buses in Paris travel 60-day routes and 40-night ones.
Taxis
Paris has over 20,000 taxis (cabs) on its streets 24 hours a day. It normally isn’t hard to hail a cab, except after midnight.
Ride Hailing
Both Uber and Bolt ride-hailing apps work in Paris.
Batobus
Both Uber and Bolt ride-hailing apps work in Paris.
Cycling
With 1,000 km of bike paths and bike lanes across the city, Paris offers a great choice of cycling routes.
If you don’t have a bicycle there are plenty of places to hire one or use one of the bicycle-sharing options, the most popular being Vélib’
Eating in Paris
French cooking is full-flavored and varied thanks to the fresh ingredients and the country’s cultural diversity.
Traditional dishes
These are some of the traditional dishes that you can try in the restaurants of Paris:
- Foie gras: fattened duck or goose liver.
- Boeuf Bourguignon: known in English as Burgundy beef, is beef stewed in red wine.
- Escargots: snails.
- Croque-monsieur: baked or fried ham and cheese sandwich.
- Quiche Lorraine: savoury open pie made of eggs, cream and other ingredients such as bacon, cheese or different varieties of vegetables.
- Fromage: cheese.
- Coq au vin: chicken and vegetable casserole cooked in wine.
- Pot-au-feu: beef stew with vegetables.
- Brioche: pastry made of eggs, baking powder, milk and sugar.
- Tarte Tatin: thin caramelised apple pie.
- Crepe: thin type of flour pancake that can be filled with savoury or sweet ingredients.
- Ratatouille: stewed dish made of aubergines, tomato, courgette, peppers and basil.
French cheeses
France is one of the top cheese makers worldwide. Known by many as the country of 1,000 cheeses, it is possible to eat a different type of cheese every day of the year.
Walking around the city and especially its markets, visitors will be surprised by the quality and quantity of cheese available. The country produces over 400 different varieties.
Patisseries and pastries
Some of the most exquisite French foods are the bread, pastries and desserts. Paris has thousands of boulangeries and patisseries (bakeries), where visitors will be able to enjoy some of the most delicious sweet goodies just out of the oven.
We recommend all travellers to try the brioche and the renowned pain au chocolat, similar to a croissant, but with an oozing chocolate centre. A curious fact is that the famous croissant is originally from Austria, not from France.
When to eat?
Generally, the French eat quite early. Most restaurants in Paris open from midday until 3 pm for lunch and then from 7:30 pm – 11 pm for dinner.
Be that as it may, it won’t be difficult for tourists to find restaurants open for longer hours since Paris is a very cosmopolitan city and is used to tourism.
Prices
Although it’s not a cheap city, the prices of restaurants in Paris are not much higher than those usually found in the main European capitals.
Where to stay in Paris
Paris is very spread out and its top attractions are far apart. If you want to find accommodation in the most elegant parts of the city, the best options are Champs-Élysées, Place de la Concorde, the Louvre, and Opéra Garnier. If, on the other hand, you prefer a lively neighbourhood and want to enjoy the city’s nightlife, we recommend the Latin Quarter.
To summarize, we recommend finding accommodation on both sides of the Seine, from the Île de la Cité to the Eiffel Tower. These areas are safe, central and ideal to stay in.
More to Explore
