Louvre had long been on our list, not having enough time during our 1990's visit to Paris. Now that we finally made it there, I am not convinced of its overall quality (whether the paintings were considered good enough to be in the Louvre, or the paintings automatically become good because they are in the Louvre). Nevertheless the sheer quantity was overwhelming. I was worn out at the end of day.
John: I'm not sure whether we conquered the Louvre or it conquered us. Our only conquest that day was to show up at The Pyramid 30 minutes after the 9:00 am opening, got in the "without having already purchased tickets" channel, and walked right into the museum, bypassing dozens (or hundreds?) of people holding timed tickets.
John continues: The Louvre museum is famous worldwide. Its treasures and architecture are known via art, history, and travel books, novels, cinema, song and stage, memes, and more. Visiting the Louvre in 2022 one finds the most famous paintings and sculptures swamped with visitors; tour groups, schoolkids, bohemians, independent travelers like us, and more. ;-)
We entered the Louvre at 9:50 am and by 10:03 were standing in the line to get close to Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa. 10 minutes later we were in the front row!.
That's me at the right in the blue shirt taking a photo of Venus de Milo.
Here's a group of very well behaved school kids in the vicinity of Liberty Leading the People by Eugène Delacroix.
Even on a rainy day or night, the Louvre Pyramid by I.M. Pei is a destination.
No running down the Grande Galerie of Italian Painting on this day.
Here are a few of our Louvre favorites starting with Michelangelo's The Slaves.
The Coronation of Napoleon (1807) by Jacques-Louis David.
More sculpture.
La Mort de Marat.
Self-Portrait by Albrecht Dürer.
The Lacemaker by Vermeer.
The Cheat with the Ace of Diamonds by Georges de La Tour.
The artifacts from Palace of Darius in Susa in the Ancient Persia Room were amazing. The Palace at Susa is now on my list of places to visit: although, it's in Iran. :-(.
Sun-Ling and John have been traveling the earth since 2008 while blogging, eating vegetarian and vegan, and riding public transportation. We love uphill day hikes, 20th-century architecture, Roman ruins, all bodies of water, local markets, shopping for groceries, aqueducts, miradors, trip planning, blablacar, and more.
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