Paris is always a dream destination: but how can you visit the most beautiful museum in the world without wasting an entire day? The advice in the post!
Go to Paris and don't visit at least once the Louvre it is truly a mortal sin!
This museum, in addition to being a splendid palace with ancient origins (it was the fortress of Philip II in 1200), houses some of the most beautiful collections of sculpture and painting in the world. Many define it the most beautiful museum in the world and I must say they are not far from the truth.
Optimize your times, visit the Louvre
When you visit a city, however, you usually don't have many days available, so optimizing time becomes a necessity.
That's why on my last visit to Paris with my daughter I thought about organizing a nice one visit of the Louvre in 4 hours, even less.
You cannot expect to see all the works in this short time, but with this itinerary you can admire at least the most significant ones.
When to visit the Louvre
First we decide which day of the week it is best to visit the Louvre Museum.
Well, always with a view to saving time within a busy Parisian day, I would say in one of the two days of prolonged opening until 21.45pm - Wednesday and Friday.
In this way, you will have the rest of the day at your disposal for visiting other sites that may close much earlier.
Obviously, buy tickets online on the official website and remember that European students under 25 get in for FREE!
Another tip: avoid the entrance from the Pyramid and outsmart everyone entering the Galerie du Carrousel.
This entrance can be reached by Metro lines 1 or 7 - stop Palais Royal-Musée du Louvre.
Follow the signs for the Museum and you will find yourself in the gallery of the large underground shopping center, up to the entrance to the main Hall of the Louvre, the Napoleon Hall. With the ticket already purchased online you will enter in a second!
How the Louvre works
To orient yourself, remember that the Museum is spread over 4 levels in addition to the entrance floor (level -2) where all the services are located, and three wings: Richelieu, Sully and Denon, which can be accessed from the Napoleon Hall, the large entrance below the glass pyramid.
Bring with you a map that you can download from the website or take it at the information point on the -2 floor of the museum, the one from which you will enter.
Very useful is also the Louvre APP to find your way around the visit and look for the most interesting works.
Clearly you cannot bring bulky bags with you, and in any case it would be inconvenient: you can leave everything in the wardrobe, free of charge, with lockers locked by code. The lockers are always on the -2 floor of the services.
What to see in the Louvre in less than 4 hours
Arm yourself with a nice pair of comfortable shoes and set off to explore the magical Louvre!
By following this itinerary you will be able to see, in just under 4 hours:
The corridor of French painting
The corridor of Italian painting
Some relief sculptures
The section of Ancient Egypt
The section of Mesopotamian civilizations
From the Denon entrance on floor -2 go up the escalators, continue straight, go up the stairs again and then the spiral staircase following the signs for Italian sculptures on the right.
Follow the map to room 403 (floor 0, rez de chaussée) where you will find among other works: Cupid and Psyche by Canova and Michelangelo's slaves.
From here go upstairs and follow the signs for the famous corridor of Italian paintings.
Go up the stairs towards the Nike of Samothrace but stop before the last ramp and turn right or left.
We are on floor 1, in the French painting rooms. Here you will find among the most famous paintings to admire: The coronation of Napoleon, The shipwreck of the Medusa and Freedom leading the people.
The Mona Lisa room
Go back and follow the path to the room of the Mona Lisa (number 711).
Too much has been said about this work, and everyone has their own opinion. True, it is a rather small and apparently insignificant picture, but try this experiment.
Start from a corner of the room, at a fair distance (mandatory, because the space in front of the painting is always crowded) and keep your gaze fixed on Monnalisa's eyes.
Then, without ever taking your eyes off, move in a semicircle arriving exactly at the opposite corner of the room. What will happen?
It will happen that the Monnalisa will never take her gaze away from your eyes and indeed will seem to turn around and follow you with her gaze. Really impressive !!!
Exactly in front of the Mona Lisa there is another wonderful piece by Veronese: The wedding at Cana. To be admired in its majesty.
If you then pass to the left of this painting you will enter the corridor of Italian painting, all to be seen. Here among the pictorial wonders is Leonardo's Virgin of the Rocks. But not only: works by Giotto, Cimabue, Raphael, Michelangelo, Leonardo, Caravaggio, just to name a few.
The corridors of French and Italian painting are very long, it is impossible to dwell on all the works.
So with some reluctance you will have to leave this area to be able to go down to floor 0, Sully wing, to visit the section dedicated to Ancient Egypt.
Also on level 0 is the beautiful section dedicated to the ancient civilizations of the Middle East, where among others you can admire the famous code of Hammurabi in room 227.
Staying in the Sully wing, drop down to level -1 and go see the ancient foundations of the "old" Louvre palace, the fortress of Philip II.
Considering the length of the corridors and the vastness of the museum, even if you have limited the itinerary to these essential points you will be very tired!
Reward yourself by booking a nice dinner at one of the many magnificent French restaurants in the area.
