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| If you come in the evening, you may get a view like this. |
First off, I'd like to explain why the Louvre is worth visiting. There are few places on Earth where you can find so many great works of art under one roof. Art is a form of storytelling, and especially concerning religious art, it was a means of communicating with the illiterate masses. There is much to be learned about culture, history, and how we got here in art. Much of this is what you find in the Louvre.
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| A beautiful example of the interior of the Louvre- it was originally a palace |
Next, if you are visiting the Louvre, I recommend you have a plan. Know what it is that you want to see (and if you don't know, I can help), and look on the Louvre website to find out here those pieces are located. In case you haven't heard (wink, nudge), the Louvre is huge. I once spent 7 hours in the Louvre and saw a heck of a lot. Something tells me you don't care to spend 7 hours looking at art (unless you're a budding art historian). In that case, go in with a plan, mapping your must-see pieces.
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| Mona Lisa- as you can see, she draws a crowd |
Once you know which pieces you want to visit, figure out a timeline for your day. I highly recommend getting the the Louvre right when it opens so that you don't have to deal with crowds. If the Venus de Milo and Mona Lisa are on your list of must-sees, beeline straight for them first, as they are the most popular. The two are at least in the same wing of the Louvre, so this is not hard to do (unless you have limited mobility- I'm a fast walker). I would suggest seeing Venus first, because you will want to spend some time perusing the Renaissance gallery, as well as the nearby large-scale French painting gallery after seeing the Mona Lisa.
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| Raft of the Medusa- large-scale French paintings |
As for what I recommend visiting, it certainly depends on your tastes. I adore paintings, so those are definitely my preferred galleries. The large-scale French paintings are not to be missed- they are full of drama, and stunning in their sheer magnitude. For sculpture, I like heading over to the Richelieu wing for the courtyard displaying French sculptures- it is a very appealing space with a much different feel from the Denon wing where you find the Renaissance and large-scale French paintings.
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| Courtyard in Denon WIng |
If you have any questions or suggestions, please leave them in the comments. This is a topic near and dear to my soul, and I would love to discuss it further.
Interesting. Hopefully, someday, I will step out of this country and see something. If I ever go to the Louvre, I'll definitely need to seek your opinions beforehand. I'm also interested in your opinions on what makes someone awesome at karaoke. Perhaps a future blog post?
ReplyDelete-Emily
Thank you, Emily! It is definitely worth it to make that leap and get out of the country, and I would love to be of help. Perhaps I will do a blog post about karaoke...stay tuned! :)
DeleteIt was really great hearing your take on the Louvre, especially as someone with an art history background. I don't know much about art, but I did study French in university as well, so that does help to... inform some of the paintings I saw while there. I'm not much of a museum person to be honest, and I actually tend to skip them most places I travel, but I have to agree with you: the Louvre is a must-see for any person who is able. Even stepping in for a couple of hours is worth it, in my opinion. I also think your tips are great.
ReplyDeleteI also think one thing people should prepare themselves for is the lack of air-conditioning. People forget it was a castle built in the middle ages and so when you mix that with crowds, it can become a kind of... not-so-fun experience. But your tip for getting there right when it opens should help with that for sure!
Thanks for this! :)