Musee de Louvre: Magnifique! (If you know how to speak French)
Written: Feb 11 '06 (Updated Feb 11 '06)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Beautiful works of art, looks modern, FREE Public Toilets
Cons: All the darn placards are in FRENCH!!!!
The Bottom Line: The Louvre is a sight worth seeing
|
|
|
| teentraveler's Full Review: Musée du Louvre |
Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, has heard about the Louvre at some point. The most famous in the world, it hosts several of the worlds most famous paintings and sculptures (The Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, and Winged Victory come to mind here). All of the art historians, lovers, and aficionados come here. Although I personally am not an art lover, I (with my family) decided to take a day trip to Paris from London, where we were staying for four days. We decided to check out the Louvre and see if it could live up to "the hype."
HISTORY
Musee de Louvre was originally a castle where the French kings used to rule. It was built in 1190 under the rule of Philippe II, which was used originally not as a palace but as a fortress against the Vikings. As centuries progressed, new wings where added to the palace and it slowly became what it is today. The most radical change to the Louvre, however came in the form of a glass pyramid enterance, which was comissioned by the then president/prime minister/premier of France, Francois Mitterand, or "the Sphinx." The pyramid was made by the Chinese-born American I.M. Pei, and, contrary to popular belief, officially has 698 panes of glass. This was the first in a series of changes/renovations, which was called, The Grand Louvre Renovation Project.
Official Address
If, for some reason, you choose to commandeer a car for yourself, the official address is:
36, Quai du Louvre, 75001 Paris, France
We personally went by taxi, which dropped us off in front of the Louvre.
If you wish to take a cheap and efficient form of transportation, then the Paris Metro can get you to either Palais Royale Musee de Louvre, or Louvre Rivoli, both of which are stations.
COST OF ENTERING THE MUSEUM
The following was taken directly from the Musee de Louvre website:
Tickets for the Permanent Collections
Ԉ.50
This ticket provides full-day access to the Louvre, except for temporary exhibitions in the Hall Napoléon. It is also valid for the Musée Eugène Delacroix.
Ԇ
(from 6 p.m. to 9:45 p.m.)
This ticket provides access to the Louvre, except for temporary exhibitions in the Hall Napoléon, on Wednesday and Friday evenings.
Tickets for Exhibitions in the Hall Napoléon
Ԉ.50
This ticket is valid for temporary exhibitions in the Hall Napoléon.
Combined Ticket
㈍
The combined ticket provides access to the permanent collections, as well as all temporary exhibitions in both the Louvre and the Musée Eugène Delacroix.
㈋
(from 6 p.m. to 9:45 p.m.)
The evening combined ticket provides access to the permanent collections, as well as all temporary exhibitions in the Louvre on Wednesday and Friday evenings.
I would also like to point out that children under 16, unemployed people or people receiving benefits, disabled visitors, teachers with degrees in art history and other art degrees, and people who belong to the Maison de Artistes or Association Internationale des Arts Plastiques can get in to the museum free. Something that I found very nice as the French generally like to soak tourists for all their worth (You have to pay to use a toilet).
You can get "in" to the lobby of the museum without a ticket, but there is security guarding the entrances to the three wings of the museum, so buy your tickets at the ticket counter next to the (I think its Richelieu) wing.
SEEING THE MUSEUM
There is a visitor counter next to the ticket counter. The staff there all have to speak English, and they speak very well. They will direct you to the exhibits.
There are three wings, the Denon, the Sully (pronounced SOO-YEE) and the Richelieu. The Denon houses the Mona Lisa, which is where we headed to. There is an entrance to each in the main lobby. As I said before, there is security watching the gates. They will make sure you have your ticket. And they will not allow you to bring strollers up the escalators to the wings.
To get to the Mona Lisa, you will have to go to Salle de Etats, which is in the Denon Wing. There will be signs showing you the way to the Mona Lisa.
The Louvre toilets are actually free (and very clean too) so I would recommend using them instead of going to a McCleans and paying a euro for the privilege.
To get any maps/floor plans of the Louvre, visit www.louvre.fr/llv/pratique/tarifs.jsp?tarif=1
WARNING:
In order to properly enjoy your trip to the Louvre, learn French. I'm not kidding. ALL of the little placards about the artists and ideas and stuff are in French. Since English is the most globally diverse language (notice I said globally diverse) and the Louvre is the worlds top art museum, you'd think you would see either English placards, or French placards with English at the bottom. I know I sound like the monolingual American, but I really feel that this is something the Louvre should implement.
CONCLUSION
The Louvre is definitely a sight worth seeing. And it probably has the best value for money deal in France. So if you ever swing 'round Paris, you better come see the Louvre!
HOW TO ACCESS THE LOUVRE ONLINE
Go to:
www.louvre.fr/llv (For English speakers)
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Students
Best Time to Travel Here: Jun - Aug
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
teentraveler
|
|
Location: Kansas, USA
Reviews written: 13
Trusted by: 2 members
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.