When I made my list of what to see in Paris, the Louvre wasn’t very high on the list. Quite frankly, I was ready to skip it entirely if it weren’t for a few key pieces, and, of course, the fact that visiting the Louvre is almost a rite of passage for tourists in the City of Light.
The Winged Victory of Samothrace was really the only piece I felt I needed to see. The Winged Victory of Samothrace is a Greek sculpture of the goddess Nike, discovered on the island of Samothrace in the Aegean Sea. I had pictured that scene from Funny Face, where Audrey Hepburn descends the grand staircase while shouting, “Take the picture! Take the picture!” to Fred Astaire, and I was excited to frame my own photo of the staircase leading up to the statue.
The statue itself is magnificent, but unfortunately, it was surrounded by so many tourists that the impact of seeing it atop the grand staircase was somewhat lost. Visitors are allowed to walk right up to the statue for a closer look, but for me, that took away some of the drama of seeing it elevated above the staircase.
I was also interested in seeing the Venus de Milo, discovered on the island of Melos in 1820. This sculpture, depicting Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, was smaller in scale than I had imagined, standing at just over six feet tall. Although the museum was very busy when we visited, there were relatively few people around the Venus de Milo, and we were able to walk right up to it and spend some time admiring the sculpture.
We also enjoyed the Gallery of Antiquities, filled with Greek sculptures depicting the gods and goddesses worshiped during the time.
Then, of course, there is the box that every tourist needs to tick: the Mona Lisa.
When it comes to paintings, I am a fan of the Impressionists, so the paintings in the Louvre, although historic and beautiful, aren’t really my cup of tea. But there was one painting we had to see—and not necessarily for the purpose of admiring the artwork itself.
The Mona Lisa is surprisingly small and displayed high on the gallery wall, so even if you are a fan of that style of painting, it is difficult to get close enough to really examine it. Instead, we wanted to see the crowd, be part of the mass of selfie-takers, and join in the fun. And that’s exactly what we did.
Navigating the Louvre is a challenge. The museum has more than 700,000 square feet of gallery space and miles of corridors, and those are not easy to navigate. My daughter tried to use the map to guide us through the galleries and maximize our time in the museum that afternoon. By the end of our visit, she joked that her advice to others was to pick up a map and then promptly deposit it in the trash.
It is entirely useless.
I think part of the problem is that there are so many levels, staircases, and changes in elevation that don’t necessarily correspond to the floor levels shown on the map. This is likely the result of the museum expanding over the years and different buildings and sections being connected. Regardless, I think the best approach is to identify a few items you really want to see, and then abandon the navigation plan and simply explore.
A bit of advice: Before leaving for Paris, I read the book Adventures in the Louvre: How to Fall in Love with the World’s Greatest Museum by Elaine Sciolino. It provides an easy-to-read history of the museum, along with interesting anecdotes about the museum and the stories behind some of its acquisitions. Having this background helped me appreciate what I was seeing and made it easier to choose my own path through this massive museum.
Although it may seem cliché to visit the Louvre, it really is a must-see when visiting Paris. Even if it wasn’t at the top of my list, I’m glad we went. We saw the pieces I wanted to see, experienced the spectacle of the Mona Lisa, got a little lost along the way—and came away with a much better appreciation for the enormity of the place.
