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Paris Travel - The Louvre

Louvre's Mona Lisa

Formally called Musée du Louvre and officially called the Grand Louvre, it is known in english as the Louvre Museum.  A well known national monument, the museum is housed in what is the Palais du Louvre.  Situated on the right bank of the Seine it is one of the major attractions of those on a Paris vacation.  However, it is not for the faint of heart!  It is simply huge.  And to think that you might wander through it all in one visit is near impossible.

In addition, in recent years it is more difficult to enter the Louvre.  You now much go through a security process that is rather extensive for a museum and due to the security the lines have become extremely long.  In my experience I’ve found that the best times are first thing in the morning and late in the afternoon to avoid waits of up to one hour.  The plus of the security process is that the museum is somewhat less crowded during a visit.

The museum was made even more famous due to the filming of scenes from the Da Vinci code in the museum.  Here’s a piece of trivia for you to mention while there to your fellow Paris travel partners, the museum made $2.5 million for allowing those scenes to be filmed.

Perhaps the most famous of all portraits in the Louvre, is Mona Lisa.  While worth a view so that you can see her up close, the rest of the museum is actually more interesting.  The museum is broken up into several collections.  These include:

• Egyptian
• Greece, Etruscan and Roman
• Near East
• Islamic Art
• Decorative Art
• Paintings
• Prints and Drawing

So whatever your interest, you are sure to find a collection or two to enjoy during your visit.  I recommend one or two collections at most during a visit and save the rest for another visit.  My personal favorites are the Paintings and Egyptian collections and I’ve found that children enjoy both as well making it easier for families to tour the Louvre and enjoy it together.
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