Tips for Visiting the Louvre

With more than 8 million visitors a year, the Musée du Louvre is the most popular museum in the world, housing around 70,000 pieces of art across 650,000 square feet of galleries. With so much to see, follow these tips to get the most out of the museum.

Plan ahead

The Louvre is seriously big. So big it would be impossible to see everything in one go, and you better believe every other tourist wants to see the same masterpieces you do, so prepare before you go. Tickets can be purchased ahead of time and the staff likes to move their famous works around without notice, so check out their interactive map and plot a route.

Dodge the crowds

If you’re planning on seeing the Mona Lisa, get there as early as possible to avoid the crowds. The place gets busier than a Manhattan subway station, and it’s impossible to appreciate the work with all the camera flashes. If you do happen to get in early, take advantage of the privacy and hit the Big Three: the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo and the Winged Victory. Going at night will also afford you some privacy as the tourists and school trips leave. On Wednesdays and Fridays, the doors are open until 10 p.m., with reduced admission beginning at 6 p.m.

Make an entrance

The chief complaint about the museum is the long lines, which can go as long as two hours at the main entrance through I.M. Pei’s Glass Pyramid. There are a few secret entrances that have been floating around on the Internet, the most popular being the Carrousel du Louvre, an underground mall entrance to the museum. Porte des Lions is another mystery passage, located close to the Glass Pyramid, though the Louvre officially states this entrance is sometimes closed for technical reasons. Groups and museum-pass holders can try their luck through the Richelieu Wing, located in a less-frequented section of the museum.

Learn from an expert

Paintings, statues and artifacts might be of the visual medium, but there is an entire story behind the work that will enhance your appreciation of it. Much to the chagrin of American tourists, all the signs in the Louvre are in French, so consider doing an audio or guided tour. Guides are available in a variety of languages aimed at multiple levels of experience