Lourve, Paris

We are a Family of 5 with 3 kids aged 7-15 travelling to Paris for 4 days on our round the world tour. We have approximately half a day set aside for the Louvre but I am wondering what to see apart from the Mona Lisa.

What things have the wow factor? Are there English guide books and where do I get these? One of my sons is interested in greek art? is there anything of this nature in the lourve? Are there any children%26#39;s tours?

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Any quality bookstore will have good guides to the Louvre, or browse at amazon.com.

For instance, there is %26quot;The Pocket Louvre%26quot; by Claude Mignot. I%26#39;m certain there are many other similar books that can be recommended.

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Hi

I think that in the adjacent room to the Mona Lisa, you%26#39;ll find other paintings from Leonard de Vinci. Given the proximity to the MOna Lisa, you just have to stop there and have a look

The second most popular piece must be the Venus de Milo which is to be seen.

In general, I think sculptures are more approachable and impressive to children than paintings. That%26#39;s what you%26#39;ll find in the Greek and Etruscan section.

There is english guide book, floor plans and audio guides. Go to the Louvre website and make a quick plan ahead of time. It%26#39; impossible to see everything in one session/afternoon.

I would sugest taking some time to see the Jardins des tuileries. Really a beautiful place.

thanks

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The Louvre is wonderful, but see if you can go to the Musee D%26#39;Orsay as well. We loved it! The wow factor was everywhere we looked! There were paintings by Monet, Renoir and Whistler%26#39;s Mother was there. Very cool!!!

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We just returned 2 days ago from Paris and the Louvre. My advice: by the museum pass and be in line well before they open in the morning. We were probably in the first twenty or so people in the museum the morning we went, and it is a run to the Mona Lisa. It seemed like %26quot;combat tourism%26quot; but it was great because we were able to have easy access to seeing the Mona Lisa before all the people waiting in line to buy tickets. By doing this we were then free to spend time actually looking at all the other wonderful things before all the crowds hit. I do agree with other posters buy a good guide book in English before you go. They have the multimedia head/hand sets you can rent and a map in English you can pick up, but other than that, almost everything is strickly in French, We didn%26#39;t bother to rent the headsets, and we lost out on a lot of the information that would have made the museum much more interesting. Also, I agree with the previous poster who suggested the Orsay. It is wonderful, and again the museum pass is a great help there.

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The best way to see Mona Lisa is to get there at opening time and use the entrance to that wing. The room is just a few doors down from that entrance (check hours on Louvre web site, not always open), which can be used only by those with advance tickets or museum passes.

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The previous poster is correct, except the day we were there, the opening to that perticular wing of the musuem was not open. There was only one wing which was actually open, and you had to follow a series for hallways and corridors through the entire musuem to wind your way back to the Mona Lisa.

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Hi;

The easiest entrance closest to the Mona Lisa is the Porte des Lions located towards the end of the Grand Gallery of the Louvre.

When in the courtyard of the Louvre with the pyramid at your back walk to the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel then through the gardens of the Louvre to your left.

That entrance is open 9am to 5:30pm everyday except Tuesday and Friday. You do not need advance tickets. You can buy tickets there.

Upon entrance go up the stairs and you are in the West end of the Grand Gallery, about 200 meters from the Salle d%26#39;Etat where the Mona Lisa is displayed.

As to the WOW things, consider after the Mona Lisa,

Venus de Milo, Winged Victry of Samothrace, heading right over to the Richelieu Wing to see the Cour Marly and Cour Puget, up to the Apartments of Napoleon III, down to the Babylonian temple of Khorshabad, then on to the Temple of Darius.

Also kids like the foundations of the medieval Louve in the lower ground floor of the Sully wing.

From there go to the Sphinx and up to the Egyptian collection...

Depending on your interests, there is little in the collections not owrth seeing. After all, a piece needs to hold a certain significance to be in the Louvre.

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yes we intend to see the Musee de Orsay as well as we have heard that this is spectacular and many of my favourite artists are showcased there.

How long should we allow to see it properly?

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dellfamily,

You can spend a few hours or all day. It is not as large as the Louvre. We spent about 3 hours there. It depends on how much time you spend looking. They have such amazing paintings there.

Another thing that I thought was great was that they have an area devoted to the L%26#39;Opera de Garnier. We had just visited there, and to see this area was wonderful. They also have an old photograph section that I found very interesting.

Besides all that, they have paintings by Monet, Manet, Renoir, Toulouse Letrec, etc. It was wonderful. I loved it!

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Hi, the %26quot;royal castle of the Louvre%26quot; is beautiful. You can start by visiting the foundation of the fortress through by following the map before going upstairs in the halls of Sully. Each room%26#39;s floors, walls and ceilings are quite exquisite, and one forgets to look at the displays of antiquities. There is a long room filled with jewels and crowns. It was a residence of several kings. The other thing my daughters loved was looking at the many enormous paintings. They also got a hotdog in the cafe. It is stuffed into a baguette - fun!