Now Playing- The Louvre by Lorde
Le Louvre is definitely in the top 5 symbolic representations of Paris as a culture and a city. Truly an exquisite place.
(A brief) History
Le Louvre is the world’s largest and was the most visited art museum in 2018 and is most famous for its pyramids and Mona Lisa.
Originally, like all things in Paris, originally a castle-built under Philip II. Initially a fort, it became the royal residence under Francis I and Louis XIV used it primarily to house the royal collection.
Skip skip skip~ During the revolution, the National Assembly decreed the louvre as a place to store the nation’s masterpieces. August 10, 1793 the museum opened and was open to the public with much of the work confiscated property through conquering other countries. Napoleon expanded the collection and zoom zoom zoom Mona Lisa zoom zoom zoom restoration and closure and reopening. By 1874 the palace had been expanded mostly to its current state, but then the French president in the 1980s decided to expand! The famous pyramids were built by architect I.M Pei (who my grandfather worked for throughout his career!) which have become synonymous and potentially more symbolic of Le Louvre than the Mona Lisa (IMO).
My Experience
I was in awe of truly how breathtaking the pyramids are at night. The art was of course astounding and the collection varied and exquisite. However, of course the shining star is Mona Lisa and I had to see her. It really is quite a small painting with signs pointing towards her all the way from the entrance. For me the highlights of the museum are Winged Victory of Samothrace and simply the ceilings in all of the rooms. I cannot believe how large some of the paintings were-taking up entire walls or the way the halls were packed floor to ceiling with beautiful works.
The crowds weren’t that bad and I enjoyed wandering the halls admiring the works. I didn’t have much time here ~2 hours, but definitely enough time if you want to just see the famous ones!
Tips
- Go at night! On Fridays it is open until 930-crowds were not bad and I walked right up to Mona Lisa.
- Go with someone who lives in the EU it was free! (Free for anyone <18 and free for <26 who lives in the EU)
- Explore and wander beyond the famous works-there is a reason it’s all in the Louvre
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