The Louvre. I had heard stories about this place since I was a kid. I had heard it's so big you can get lost for days. I had heard the lines to get in are massive. I heard you can't take it all in. So I did some research.
First, as big as this place is, King Louis XIV thought it was too small. Despite being the largest palace in Europe, he felt cramped. So he began work on the great palace of Versailles. As you walk around the grounds outside you can see why the people finally had enough and rebelled. Not only is it massive, it's extremely ornate. Huge statues, decorations inlaid with gold, all right in the middle of town. Not only was the king rich, he rubbed his wealth in the people's faces.
First, we read to avoid the main entrance, the one by I.M. Pei's glass pyramid. Everyone goes that way. So we purchased timed tickets in advance for a 9:00 am slot when the museum opens. We also had read to use the Pont des Lions entrance. This entrance is only about 200 yards away from the main entrance. It's between two massive lion statues so you can't miss it. We got to the entrance about 8:55 am and there was only one other couple in line. I thought maybe we had come to the wrong place.
But promptly at 9:00 am the security guard moved the rope and let us through...just us and the other couple. There was no one else in line behind us. We walked straight through security, got our tickets scanned and were in. No wait. But we could see the massive line, moving slowly through corralled gates by the big glass pyramid. All it took was five minutes of googling to find an alternative entrance.
We had also downloaded the Louvre's official app. The app has a GPS feature which allows you to type in a work of art and it will guide you straight there. We already had the Mona Lisa dialed in and we quickly followed the blue line on my phone screen. We fast-walked down one big corridor then turned left and into her room. We really wanted to beat the crowds.
And there she was. And the room was nearly empty. There was only like six or seven people there when usually there are hundreds. We had an unobstructed view of Mona. No jostling, no pushing and it was very quiet as everyone looked at her in awe.
I immediately appreciated the hype. Many who see the actual Mona Lisa say they are disappointed, mainly because the painting is smaller than they expected...but I already knew that she would be small. Plus, usually you are fighting crowds for a view. And we had the room to ourselves and a few other quiet souls.
See, here's the deal...all those prints, postcards, umbrellas, photos in books, none of them can truly capture the essence of this painting. She seems to float in front of the background. Her eyes follow you around the room. The background seems alive with a translucent mist. It is a spectacular painting, especially when you're not fighting for position with hundreds of other admirers.
That's me...with Mona Lisa looking over my shoulder. And she truly seemed to be looking over my shoulder. She seemed to follow me with her eyes wherever I went and we had room to roam to look at her at every angle. But not for long. People soon began streaming in and we left her to look at the other majestic works of art all around. When we passed by that same room an hour or so later it was crammed with people and selfie-sticks. She was definitely worth getting to early.
So what else to say about The Louvre. You could spend days there. No way you can see everything in one day. We had made a list of some must-see works and used the Louvre App to find them. Some of those works included the Venus de Milo, Winged Victory, Delacroix's Liberty Leads the People and The Coronation of Napoleon. We saw sculptures by Michelangelo. We focused mainly on the great paintings and sculptures. We didn't spend as much time in the rooms of Egyptian antiquities or treasures from the Americas. We enjoyed every minute of it.
So, go early. Go through a side entrance. Make a plan. It was definitely worth it. If I lived in Paris I would meander more and go for days.
