The Louvre is, by most measures, the largest and most visited art museum on Earth, housed in a former royal palace so vast that seeing everything in a single visit is essentially impossible. From the glass pyramid entrance designed by I.M. Pei to galleries stretching across three wings, the museum holds work spanning ancient Mesopotamia to 19th-century French painting, with a handful of pieces so famous they’ve become tourist attractions in their own right.
Related: Prague Castle Tickets: What to See at the World’s Largest Castle Complex
Top-Rated Louvre Museum Tours & Tickets
Best Things to See at the Louvre
See the Mona Lisa
Leonardo da Vinci’s portrait, housed behind glass in the Salle des États, draws the museum’s largest crowds by far, and the room around it can feel more like a scrum than a gallery during peak hours, though the painting itself remains smaller and quieter in person than expectations suggest.
Admire the Winged Victory of Samothrace
This headless, armless marble Greek sculpture of the goddess Nike, positioned dramatically at the top of a staircase with wings seemingly still caught in wind, is one of the museum’s most theatrically displayed pieces and a highlight of the ancient Greek collection.
Explore the Egyptian Antiquities Wing
One of the world’s most extensive collections outside Egypt itself, this wing includes sarcophagi, statues, and everyday objects spanning thousands of years, and tends to draw smaller crowds than the museum’s headline paintings despite its scale.
View the Venus de Milo
This armless marble statue of Aphrodite, discovered on the Greek island of Milos in the 19th century, remains one of the most studied and debated works of ancient sculpture, prized for its idealized proportions and mysterious missing limbs.
Wander the Denon Wing’s French Paintings
Beyond the Mona Lisa, this wing holds monumental works including Delacroix’s “Liberty Leading the People” and Géricault’s “The Raft of the Medusa,” both large enough to command a room and reward a slower look than the crowded Mona Lisa gallery allows.
Best Time to Visit
Weekday mornings right at opening tend to be calmest, while Wednesday and Friday evening hours, when offered, provide a notably quieter alternative to daytime visits. Summer months and weekends bring the heaviest crowds, particularly around the Mona Lisa and pyramid entrance.
How to Get There
The museum sits centrally on the Right Bank, served directly by its own metro station, making it easy to reach from almost anywhere in Paris without a car. The Seine riverbanks and Tuileries Garden both sit within a short walk, making it easy to combine with other central Paris sights.
Good to Know
Booking a timed-entry ticket in advance is close to essential, since walk-up lines at the pyramid can stretch long, especially in high season, and some entrances bypass the main pyramid queue entirely. Given the museum’s scale, picking two or three wings or eras to focus on works far better than trying to see everything in one visit.
Whatever combination of galleries you choose, the Louvre rewards a plan rather than aimless wandering — with this much art under one roof, a little direction goes a long way toward an experience that feels rich rather than overwhelming.
Write Your Review
No reviews yet. Be the first to share your experience!