2022 - September - Paris - Louvre

Just spontaneously: Think of three things that come to your mind when you hear the word Louvre.

For me, it's always been the following: Paris, Mona Lisa, and endless long lines. The latter is what always prevented me from visiting there.

However, since it was supposed to rain on both days we were in Paris, we decided to take the risk. And let me tell you, it wasn't as bad as feared. To make it easier, we had purchased tickets in advance with a time slot for admission.

There were still lines, of course, for example at the ticket control and security check, but otherwise everything was actually quite relaxed.

So far so simple. The exhibition itself is indescribable. The amount of exhibits, the diversity, the constantly surprising. It's simply incredible! Something new follows every room and every floor.

And although we were there for over 5 hours, we didn't even come close to seeing everything. If you really wanted to engage with each artwork, you would probably be busy for weeks, if not years. I now know that the Louvre is the largest and most visited museum in the world.

It is housed and named in the Palais du Louvre, the former residence of the kings. While the rulers themselves collected art, they did not make it or hardly made it available to the public. That changed only after the French Revolution. Exactly one year after the abolition of the monarchy, the art museum was opened. The "Grand-Louvre" project was only initiated in 1981 by François Mitterrand. This made the entire building complex available for use as a museum.

And even though the space has grown, currently only about 35,000 of 380,000 pieces are exhibited.

But what surprised us the most was the room design. Of course, we expected painting galleries and showcases like in other museums. But then large courtyards opened up in front of us, where we could stroll.

Also fantastic and completely unexpected were the chambers of Napoleon III. It had nothing to do with a museum anymore, it felt like being in his residence. We only heard 'wow' everywhere.

On the other hand, the Mona Lisa was somewhat disappointing. Packed behind glass and obscured by crowds, it was not enjoyable to look at.

Finally, a tip about opening hours: It is open until 9:30 pm every Wednesday and Friday. Towards the evening, it becomes less crowded. And you don't need to plan a visit on Tuesdays, it's closed.