A glass pyramid in the middle of an old palace courtyard?
Written: Dec 09 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: just incredible
Cons: descriptions are all in French, long lines if you don't get a museum pass
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| LauraRN's Full Review: Musée du Louvre |
My husband and I visited the Louvre in November 1999. It was one of those places I have always wanted to go, and I was so excited to be there. It was well worth it.
Secret trick for not waiting in line!
A friend who had been there before let us know about the "museum pass." This is a pass you can buy which I think costs about the same as a one day admission to the Louvre. It will let into any of several museums for that day all for one price. Of course, there is no way you can see all of them in one day, but I think you can buy multi-day passes. We chose the day that Louvre was open the latest and spent half the day at the Louvre and half the day at the Musee d'Orsay.
Even if you don't go to more than one museum, buy the museum pass. The pass will also get you a discount in the gift shop. Take the metro to the Louvre and follow the signs into the Louvre. You will come into an underground mall which if you look up is actually under the pyramid. (It points downward too) There is a little store in this mall right near the entrance to the Louvre where you can buy the museum pass. (There are other places in Paris to buy them too but I can't remember where.) There was hardly any line and once we had the pass, we did not have to wait in the HUGE line to get into the Louvre! Buy this pass, you will not regret it. Some people spend hours in line and you need all the time you can get in the Louvre. When you are in the lobby, make sure to get a map. You'll need it!
What to see
This place is huge and there is actually no way to see it all in one day. But there are some really famous stuff that you can't miss. The Venus de Milo is a famous statue in the Greek statue area.
I can't remember where exactly it is but you can actually see the stone that Hammorabbi's code (I don't know how to spell that, sorry!!) is carved on. It's kind of amazing to stare at a stone that contains the first laws on it which were made thousands of years ago.
Of course, you can't miss the Mona Lisa. It is breathtaking to actually see it in person. It's in the Italian art section and behind some glass. You'll spot it by the crowd in front of it... make your way through the crowd and get a look at it.
The place is full of incredible art from many masters. You could probably spend days in the place and not see it all. So look at your map and pick the most important stuff.
One complaint..actually two..
Yes, I know they speak French in France. But all the descriptions of the exhibits are in French. I can barely read French but I was able to figure out what most of them said. The Louvre gets thousands of international visitors every year, it would be nice if they could translate the descriptions into other languages. They do have maps in several languages.
My other complaint is that there are no impressionist paintings in the Louvre. But they are all in the Musee d'Orsay, so we saw them there. :)
To sum it up, don't miss the Louvre.. but avoid the line and get a museum pass first!
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
LauraRN
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Location: Rochester, NY
Reviews written: 64
Trusted by: 22 members
About Me:
Nurse practitioner seeking employment.
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