... There may have been a part of the Louvre which had the orignial palace set up but I didn't stick around long enough to see.
The two exhibitions I viewed were the Greek and Egyptian ones. The Egyptian one was the main one I wanted to view, whilst it had some interesting statues etc I did find ... Read review
Advantages: Really pretty courtyard Disadvantages: No provisions for immense heat
I'm going to go against the general consensus view and say that I really didn't enjoy the Louvre. In fact after seeing two exhibitions me and my sister left early! I will explain my opinion and visit, but I am not going to go into a lot of depth about the museum because all that information can be obtained from http://www.louvre.fr/llv/commun/home.jsp which can be changed to English by clicking in the top right.
For starters, upon entering ... ...impressed with the building. I loved the architecture and the fountains and walkways. This part of the Louvre is free to enter so if you just want to stroll around there it wont cost you anything. After this we walked around for a bit attempting to find the entrance and when we did we went down several escalators to the part of the building directly under the pyramid. This part was rather busy, although it only took a 20 minute que to get tickets. ... more
I'm going to go against the general consensus view and say that I really didn't enjoy the Louvre. In fact after seeing two exhibitions me and my sister left early! I will explain my opinion and visit, but I am not going to go into a lot of depth about the museum because all that information can be obtained from http://www.louvre.fr/llv/commun/home.jsp which can be changed to English by clicking in the top right.
For starters, upon entering the court yard with the famous pyramid I was rather impressed with the building. I loved the architecture and the fountains and walkways. This part of the Louvre is free to enter so if you just want to stroll around there it wont cost you anything. After this we walked around for a bit attempting to find the entrance and when we did we went down several escalators to the part of the building directly under the pyramid. This part was rather busy, although it only took a 20 minute que to get tickets. Turns out I could have got in for free as I'm under 26 but I didn't take proof so if you do visit and that applies take a driving liscence or passport and don't make my mistake. Otherwise the ticket prices are 9 euros. I think they are 6euros on the late night openings. Another important tip to note is that the Louvre is closed on Tuesdays!
One point to make is that my sister qued for over 40 minutes to use not very clean toilets. If you can wait until you have your ticket then use the toilets after you have entered an exhibition hallway because whilst I can't promise they will be cleaner they will have lesser ques!
Upon entering we picked up a map and tried to decide which corridor out of the main hall we should take. This part of the museum was very modern, so I was looking forward to getting to the actual palace bit so I could see the history. Unfortunately I was to be dissapointed. Throughout the two exhibitions I viewed, the building was still rather modern and I felt like they had stripped the history of the once French palace out in order to display other people's history. There may have been a part of the Louvre which had the orignial palace set up but I didn't stick around long enough to see.
The two exhibitions I viewed were the Greek and Egyptian ones. The Egyptian one was the main one I wanted to view, whilst it had some interesting statues etc I did find that after a while it became a bit repetitive. Furthermore I had to guess what I was looking at as there were no English translations on the descriptions. I'm sure that it would have been possible to pay for a guidebook or something but I didn't want to pay out more. There was one really impressive room with incredibly large egyptian statues in it which I liked, but overall I wasn't overly impressed as I wasn't sure what I was looking at! The Greek art exhibition was good, it has a few English translations which was good but overall it wasn't amazing either. My view at this point however may have been tainted by my overwhelming desire to get out.
The main reason I wanted to leave was the unbearable heat. Due to the large numbers of people and the fact no windows are open or air conditioning in operation, the Louvre was just too hot. I think the windows were closed to possibly preserve the art? It may have been simply to try and stop people getting in without paying/stealing art etc. I don't understand the lack of air conditioning. Maybe it's not feasible to install it in the building or something. I just think they need to do something to control the temperature because it was unbearable. Moreover I had forgotten my asthma pump which was silly of me!
I think that I would possibly visit again in the winter to have a more enjoyable experience and try again with the exhibitions. If I do so then I will update accordingly, but overall I'm not massively impressed at the moment!
Comment and let me know your experiences and what I missed if anything :)
I'm giving it 3/5 because it was clean and well maintained (minus the toliets!) just not in the traditional period I would have liked. The outside was lovely and the entry price reasonable so I am only marking it down by two stars as I am aware that the heat that day may well have clouded my views. I am going to tick recommend because I think everyone should visit the courtyard. The rest is enter in Winter only!
*Not sure how to rate 'ease of installation' and 'reliability' and 'manufacturer support, not really relevant to this review surely?*'
Advantages: everything, see review Disadvantages: nothing at all apart from achy feet!
...a long weekend in Paris, the trip itself was a birthday present from my lovely mum and dad.
It was the first time either me or my man had been so we spent the 2 and a half days trying to fit all the major tourist attractions in!
On the Saturday we visited The Louvre; this was a must see for me as I'm very much into all my arty stuff and he was pretty excited about seeing it too.
It was an absolutely freezing cold day and having spent the morning ... ...on one of the red open top tour buses to get us around the city and this thankfully stopped right outside The Louvre (one of the many entrances that is!)
I got off the bus and just stared in awe at this magnificent building in front of us, I knew it was the biggest museum/gallery in the world but the size when you're stood there in front of it is still overwhelming! I hadn't done much research into the place itself and looking up at this fantastic ...
leanne8686 26.01.2009
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of The Louvre Museum
Advantages: Beautiful building, The Mona Lisa, great collections Disadvantages: None
...to Paris and one of the things that I really wanted to see was the Louvre, or to give it it's correct name, The Musée du Louvre. The Louvre is the largest national museum of France, the most visited museum in the world, and a historic monument. It is a central landmark of Paris, located on the Right Bank of the Seine. To me the building itself is worth seeing just on it's own as it's as beautiful inside as it is outside and a spectacle to be seen. ... ...in the Louvre Palace (Palais du Louvre) which began as a fortress built in the late 12th century under Philip II. The museum opened on 10 August 1793. On the outside of the building you will see the famous pyramids. The largest pyramid actually is the main entrance to the museum. which is then surrounded by three smaller pyramids. THe pyramids were added in 1989, and have become a landmark for the city of Paris. They were probably made more famous ...
Spottydog11 07.10.2009
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of The Louvre Museum
Advantages: its the louvre for goodness sake! you HAVE to see it before you die Disadvantages: heating pretty poor, alot to see so need to really take time out for it
...it Impossible to sum up the city in a short review.. or even a long one. So instead I will write reviews of places I went and things I did while in paris.... The louvre sits proudly in central paris and has a history spanning 800 years. Built originally in 1190 as a fort to protect the wealthiest city in europe (known as christendom at the time) from invaders. It later went onto become a home to king;s and princes and in opened it doors as a museum ... ...over the world. We were stunned at the sheer size of this museum and it is only comparable in size to the Queen's Palaces I saw on a previous trip to Beijing. The glass pyramids which stands in the middle of one of the courtyards looks a little strange as it is surrounded by such old and ornate buildings yet this is the entrance to the louvre. Once inside the vast interior is marble white and there is a comprehensive guide telling visitors what is ...
sarima 17.10.2009
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of The Louvre Museum
Advantages: great art, amazing experience Disadvantages: you would need a few days to appreciate everything on offer
...had four days to cover the city we knew the Louvre was a must see and it did not fail to produce the expected reaction from me.
The day was scorching and we were desperate to find the building the housed the most prominent masterpieces of all time, all under one roof. After climbing the eiffel tower we were feeling pretty exhausted so our quest to find the glass pyramind was becoming tiresome. We found ourselves in a beautiful part of Paris, decorated ... ...slowly making our way around the perimeter or the Louvre.
The building is shaped like a giant horse-shoe and is the equivalent of three eiffel towers laying end to end. I'd expect nothing less considering its contents.
We walked through into the courtyard and there it stood, tall and proud, the glass pyramid, made up of 666 pieces of glass. Though many French feel it ruin the classicism, I felt that the connotations of this pyramid made my jaw ...
lisaa_p 25.08.2008
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of The Louvre Museum
