My husband and I will be visiting Paris for the first time towards the latter part of October. One of the places we will be visiting is the Louvre (most likely on a Monday). Can someone advise if there%26#39;s a good time to go when it%26#39;s %26#39;less%26#39; crowded? I realize the Louvre is very popular, but was wondering if the afternoons are better than the mornings. Also, is there only one entrance or is there another entrance that you can enter where the line isn%26#39;t so long?
Sorry if this question was asked before, but I can%26#39;t seem to find the answer after looking through the other posts.
Thanks in advance for your help.
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Go to www.louvre.fr --click %26quot;site map%26quot;-- click %26quot;interactive floor plans%26quot;. It shows there are 10 entrances into the Louvre (I used one of these secondary entries a couple of times and got right in. Most people don%26#39;t know about these other entries and all line up at the main pyramid entry. As for the best time to go -- from my experiences there , I found that the earlier-the-better , was best ------ they open at 9am ---or--- they are open till 9:45 pm (21:45 by their clock) and the crowds ease off after 6:30 (18:30) or so. Tip; while you%26#39;re there, you might want to check-out the little known area in the Louvre called %26quot;Napoleans Apartment%26quot; (a beautiful historic curiousity). Also, the cafe in the main lobby has the best Jambon (ham) sandwiches on the best bagettes I%26#39;ve ever had , if you need a break to avoid %26quot;museum fatigue%26quot;. If you still have energy after the Louvre, you may also want to see the wonderful Musee de Orsay with all its more contemporary art by artist whose names you%26#39;re well acquainted with (Van Gogh etc.). Have fun.
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Make sure you click the %26quot;English%26quot; tab (top right corner) on the main Louvre webpage if you don%26#39;t understand French. Easy to overlook.
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Hi pookster...I just want to slightly correct the above post (or clarify) that the hours for the Louvre are 2145h (closing) only on Wednesday and Friday. Otherwise they close at 1800h (6pm), and they are closed on Tuesday.
Since you%26#39;re visiting in October, I think you%26#39;ll find that the crowds won%26#39;t be that bad any time you go, so with that in mind, if you can be flexble enough, I would say that the best time to go is when it%26#39;s raining. Wake up, if it%26#39;s nice outside, do the outside stuff. If it%26#39;s raining, go to the Louvre. I%26#39;m in Paris right now, and we have no itinerary or agenda whatsoever. We%26#39;re letting the weather dictate what we%26#39;re doing. And if it turns out that it doesn%26#39;t rain the entire time we%26#39;re here...we%26#39;ll just head to those inside things toward the end of our stay.
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When we visited Louvre last October, we went there around 9.30. There we almost no lines or crowds when we bought ticketes. In the museum itself it was lots of people in the room where Mona Lisa is and in the rooms near it, but in other parts of the museum it was much more quieter. When we left the museum around 12.00, there were crowds and long lines for tickets.
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Wow - great advice everyone! Thanks so much!!
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pookster...we went a couple of weeks ago on a Monday morning around 10 and that was a great time to go. There were only about 6 people in the security line at the glass pyramid entrance and about that many in the ticket line downstairs - we breezed right through. It was a cloudy, drizzly day so it was nice to be inside.
If you%26#39;re into the Da Vinci Code thing, there%26#39;s a fun audio tour you can take for an extra 10 euros. You buy the ticket and headset at the top of the escalator of the Denon wing. You%26#39;ll have to leave an i.d. there as hostage so they get their headsets back, but it was no problem for us - I left my drivers license with them - and you need to hold onto your receipt as they write something on it. Give that to them at the end and you get your license back. But the tour was alot of fun with narration from the French Inspector (I forget his name) and very informative. By the time we were done, they were out of headsets, so another good reason to have gotten there early.
Also, if you have time, there%26#39;s a small mall downstairs off of the ticket lobby you can visit - including a Sephora - and of course I had to buy yet another lip gloss - but everytime I use it, I think of the Louvre :-). One of the shops is a post office where you can mail post cards and get a great Louvre cancellation stamp on the cards (or whatever you mail) ! We had just bought some postcards, so we wrote them right there and mailed them. Be sure to send one to yourself - I%26#39;m staring at the one I sent home right now and wishing I was there! Oh, and they sell a nice black Louvre bag in the gift shop for 15 euro - I use it all the time and just love it!
Sorry this is so long! Hope you have a great time!!
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I agree with all the the others...Monday am or late evening...But,
DO NOT forget to go to the Musee du Orsay...! I actually enjoyed it more than the Louvre. (everyone has different tastes).
Also for another great museum, try the Musee du Quai Branly which just opened. The cafe next to it has great food and if it is still nice,
you can sit outside.
Best of luck!
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