I’ve been to the Louvre twice. the first time I went, the line wasn’t so bad. then I went on new years eve and of course the line was so long I couldn’t believe it! I don’t think it’s really worth buying your tickets online if you’re paying for postage as well. It depends on how long you’re willing to spend lining up. It’s hard to predict how long the lines will be when you go, but I think you’ll find it shouldn’t be too bad. If you think it looks like it might be more busy than usual, try going early and make it a morning trip. People usually go around midday or after lunch time so if you get there before then, you’ll miss the peak.
I recommend you read The Davinci Code if you haven’t already, purely because it’s great to read that book then go and see all the places Dan Brown referred to in the Louvre. I think you’ll find it really interesting. It’s a riveting read and I’m sure many people will back me up on that.
Have fun!
Soph

If I remember correctly, the Louvre has one night a week with extended hours. Anyhow, you could go in the evening a couple hours before it closes and avoid some of the crowds. I did that and had to wait in line only a few minutes, and the museum wasn’t crowded at all. In fact, I saw the Mona Lisa up close with maybe 8 other people around. Granted, this was last winter, but check it out anyway. I don’t think it’s worth it to order online.
Also, I agree, the Da Vinci code is a must read.
Good Luck!

I thought the Mona Lisa sucked. Its a mini-painting, almost invisible with all the Japanese people in front of it. There are better paintings there.

quote:I thought the Mona Lisa sucked. Its a mini-painting, almost invisible with all the Japanese people in front of it. There are better paintings there.

I was like 6 when I was there, but do remember that there were a lot of people around the Mona Lisa. Others were less crowded, including a Monet that I reached out to point at probably got within an inch of touching. I think I nearly gave my dad and the security guard a art attack.

In other words, don’t just go to the Lourve for the Mona Lisa. There are large number of other fabulous works as well.

I don’t know about then, but anything by Monet and most artists of the 19th century (including all Impressionists and post-Impressionists) is now housed in the Musée d’Orsay, within walking distance from the Louvre.

As for the Mona Lisa being taken temporarily off display…yay! It’s kind of sad when you see hordes of tourists walk past all those works of art by Rubens, Delacroix, Rembrandt, Da Vinci (besides the Mona Lisa), and others just to catch a glimpse of the Mona Lisa.

If you get there and see long lines, don’t be alarmed…they often move fast.

I had no idea the word Japanese was synonymous with Asian.

It’s like "American" and "United Statsian," or "Herr" and "idiot."

only on april 4th right?
i dont want to tell people that i went to paris without seeing the monalisa..haha..i will hopefully be one of the many asians crowding in the front..

Hi
When I was in Paris I bought a musueum pass for like two days. It let me into all these fabulous museums in Paris (including the Louvre, d’orsay,and Versailles). I think they are available throughout Paris at tourist offices etc. I bought mine under the Arc de Triomphe. Also, I’ve heard that there is another entrance to the Louvre near the glass pyramid that helps bypass crowds. Also someone said in this forum before that you can arrive by train and bypass crowds as well. Hope this helps!
Bridget

And ‘delfrio’ and ‘funny’

The Mona Lisa isn’t worth viewing, it’s a tiny painting, behind a thick glass shield (makes photographing it difficult), and you have to fight you way through loads of other tourists to see it. There are other far more impressive paintings to see than this one. If you really want to se the whole place plan on spending two days, it’s that big and there is so much to see.

Not worth seeing? Are you kidding? If you are at all interested in art DEFINATELY see the Mona Lisa. Sure it’s not the biggest, brightest painting but it is arguably the most famous painting ever painted. Why wouldn’t you see it?

About bypassing lines. If you’re going to be visiting a few other museums in Paris I suggest buying the museum pass. We bought ours at a metro station. W were able to walk right into the Louvre through a side entrance, no line to get in, no line to buy tickets. Well worth it in my opinion.

quote:
Not worth seeing? Are you kidding? If you are at all interested in art DEFINATELY see the Mona Lisa. Sure it’s not the biggest, brightest painting but it is arguably the most famous painting ever painted. Why wouldn’t you see it?

No I didn’t think it was worth seeing after I saw it. I wanted to see it and was rather unimpressed once I saw it, there are much more interesting and attravtive paintings in the building. I just can’t see what makes this little one so amazing.

Maybe the history and the mystery..

and a smile as inscrutable as the sphinx’s…

maybe glorified and exaggerated…that it has turned into folklore.

Thanks a lot all..for your responses.

quote:
I had no idea the word Japanese was synonymous with Asian.

the people i asked back then were Japanese, k?

its also not unheard of for somebody to be able to tell the difference between nationalities of different people from the continent of asia (trust me as an engineering grad student the only people i meet are asian, and there are different physical attributes). I also don’t think that it’s politially incorrect to say that somebody is japanese as supposed to ‘asian’.

Mona Lisa—worth seeing, but the rest of the Louvre is must see as well so don’t walk that grand hallway with your eyes on the person in front of you waddling your way until you get to the mona lisa

Im sorry I’ve gotta be the pessimist here and agree with those whove said it’s no big deal.

I think it’s famous because we’ll we expect it to be, and we want to see it, and thus it gets fame. Sorta a vicious circle.

Basically it is the size of a legal pad of paper, mounted behind glass, and surronding by tourists of varying nationalities that block most access to it.

That said, there is a lot of Amazing art to see at Le Louvre. I especially enjoyed the Hammurabi’s Code and other Egyptian type artifacts.

-A

quote:
its also not unheard of for somebody to be able to tell the difference between nationalities of different people from the continent of asia (trust me as an engineering grad student the only people i meet are asian, and there are different physical attributes). I also don’t think that it’s politially incorrect to say that somebody is japanese as supposed to ‘asian’.

Mona Lisa—worth seeing, but the rest of the Louvre is must see as well so don’t walk that grand hallway with your eyes on the person in front of you waddling your way until you get to the mona lisa

They were Japanese. I asked ok?

Sickboy,

I too can pick out Japanese tourists just by hearing them speak Japanese, which sounds nothing like Korean or Chinese.

Of course it is worth going to see the Mona Lisa, but seeing the painting is only part of the experience.

The part I enjoyed more than the actual painting was watching the non-stop barrage of pushing, shoving, elbowing, and all-around physicality that was going on amongst those that were trying to get to the front row to view it. Coupled with the people running past long corridors of magnificent Renaissance works without even a passing glance to get to that painting, and you just have to wonder…

But I’ll concur with most: don’t go to the Louvre JUST to see the Mona Lisa… there are plenty of far more beautiful works to be seen, that often go overlooked. And you won’t be in a borderline fistfight to get a glimpse of them.

I actually find most of Leonardo’s art to be great. There are other works by him there, so don’t pass them up. The Mona Lisa probably impresses me the least, but if you’re already in the Louvre…

I found the Orsay and Rodin museums to be much more enjoyable, but then again, I’m not an arty-farty type. After traipsing through enough museums to never want to see the inside of one again, I realized that I really do like sculpture, at least more than paintings, for the most part.

I just returned from Paris and the Louvre was Fabulous! Thankfully no lines this time of year….I agree with the most of you, the asians crowd the Mona Lisa. I watched one lady stand in front of it for ovver 10 minutes taking snapshots, eventually i had to push my way to the front. The rest of the museum is better. The artwork is overwhelming in beauty and design. I couldn’t pick my favorite between wall sized, hand-sewn rugs and the handcrafted bricks with images of lions and other animals created within. I definitely recommend the museum pass. The pstage is worth not waiting, especially if you pan on visitng multiple museums in the summer.

Thanks for the input On the Scene!

In the rush to see the Mona Lisa, most tourists not only miss all the other artwork, they also neglect the building itself, in my opinion. The building is an excellent example of French Renaissance style, built in the early 16th century (and expanded in later centuries) on the remains of a medieval fortress. The building served as the country’s royal palace and center of government, until the royal court was moved to Versailles in the late 17th century by Louis XIV. It eventually became a museum in the 19th century, and major projects were undertaken in the late 20th century to renovate the building and accomodate the millions of people who visit the museum every year.

Throughout the interior of the building, there are Bourbon symbols on the walls and ceilings. On the exterior, the building shows off its graceful Renaissance style, far better than the silly/whimsical little Renaissance palaces of the Loire region (the "chateaux" or "castles" -they’re not really castles). Famous architect I.M.Pei designed the controversial pyramid and little pyramids added to the main courtyard in 1989 (among other projects in the museum). The building is an architectural masterpiece.

www.louvre.fr

luv the beach, just curious, what exactly are the bourbon symbols? I’ll be at the louvre in about 2 weeks and would like to keep an eye out.

The Bourbons were a dynasty that ruled France from 1589 until 1793 when King Louis (Bourbon) XVI and his wife Queen Marie Antoinette were executed during the French Revolution. After the defeat and decline of Emperor Napoleon I, the Bourbons were reinstated by foreign powers for a brief time from 1814 to 1824. In addition to the infamous and beheaded Louis XVI, another famous member of this royal family was his grandfather, King Louis XIV the "Sun King" who built Versailles. Both then and now, the Bourbons were/are seen as bad rulers who dragged the country into wars and bankruptcy at that time. Spain’s current royal family are also Bourbons (Borbón in Spanish).

One very famous symbol used by the Bourbons is the fleur-de-lis which was on France’s old (pre-revolution) national flag (and today, there’s four of them on Quebec’s provincial flag). You’ll also see this symbol three of them on Spain’s flag (if you look close enough) in the center of the coat of arms.

I don’t remember any fleur-de-lis around the Louvre, but I do remember several ceiling engravings that represented either the royal family, or specific members of the royal family. One such example is here: http://www.louvre.fr… According to the caption, it’s a symbol of King Louis XIV.

I tried looking for more info for you on the internet, but there isn’t any!

Don’t know how cheap you are, but if you’re under 26, the louvre was free on friday evenings and we had barely any lineup to wait in. (as of sept 04)

Elana

quote:
I recommend you read The Davinci Code if you haven’t already, purely because it’s great to read that book then go and see all the places Dan Brown referred to in the Louvre. I think you’ll find it really interesting. It’s a riveting read and I’m sure many people will back me up on that.

I strongly recommend you not. Especially if you think you may be uncomfortable being stigmatized as an American at the Louvre or in Paris in general.
Be aware that despite decent good sales rate, that book is considered the epythome of American mis-representation of facts (or more plainly, a confused amount of mistakes) that do not involve americans at all. And this is the widespread opinion in the entire Europe, where american experts about European matters (art, history, language, etc..) are usually considered either a nuisance or just ignorant fools. You can read thousands of articles about how silly things in the book are and the many huge mistakes done in it and then corrected in translation to try to make it readable by people aware of the real facts.
Americans are often not really welcomed in Europe, especially from the young generations (phenomenon very present in the Parisian counterculture as well as in the social centres in Italy).

I think avoiding the usual topic of conversation for once about this book, would put you one step above of others, ready to enjoy the museum and the locals as well.

Oh for heaven’s sake, it’s a novel. It’s FICTION. Read it, don’t read it, whatever. Sure it’s full of mistakes and plot holes and all of that, but if people find it entertaining, what’s the harm?

And does anyone else think that the subtle America-bashing that goes on on this board is more than a little distasteful? I nominate that we stop trying to make Americans feel ashamed of their nationality and stop implying that when they travel, they should disavow all things American lest they be hated. Sure, some people in Europe hold anti-American attitudes… but not everyone. And rather than walking around saying "I’m ashamed to be American" or "I voted for the other guy", shouldn’t we be encouraging Americans to just be themselves, be friendly, and not worry so much about it?

I thought the DaVinci Code was a great book, and I’m not big on novels. Some of the points in the novel that Dan Brown presents as true have been argued against by other scholars. But who cares? If you approach this book as a work of fiction, it does make a great read. And it’s really cool to know that, perhaps everything may not be true, but just the possibility that some of that stuff may indeed be true, is both creepy and fun at the same time. I suggest not doing any research on the topic before reading the book, because it makes reading the book more fun. Afterwards, feel free to do all the research in the world.

They say that if you casually walked through every room in the Louvre without stopping, it would take you about a week. To see every painting and sculpture would require 35 miles of walking. I glymped the Mona Lisa from the rear of a large crowd, but quickly moved on to find the Greek and Eqyptian antiquities.

I agree with Luv the Beach. The Louve itself is a fascinating building that was built almost 900 years ago. Shankee, even if the Mona Lisa isn’t on display when you arrive, there are literally thousands of wonderous objects to see.

I was inspired most by the huge sculptures of Egyptian antiquities – not just for their ornate design, but how they were able to transport these massive objects from Egypt in one piece!