Any trip to Paris is not complete without visiting two places - the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre. More on the Tower later, but this is about one of the largest and most visited museum in the world. With over 30,000 pieces on display, say if you take 3 minutes to admire each masterpiece, it will take you 1500 hours or 62.5 days around the clock. Again, like at the British Museum, either set aside a day (or days) or strategize and visit what interests you.
The Louvre has a fascinating history. It started as the Louvre Palace under the reign of Philip II, once briefly housed scholarly academies, before "fulfilling its destiny" as a museum from as early as 1793. It even had a brief stint as Musée Napoléon after the most famous French leader.
Knowing the Louvre's background, it's not surprising that in and of itself, the Museum is a work of art. Here's how the surroundings and the exterior of the Museum looks like on a typical summer day:
The glass pyramids are a hint that there's more within. The various wings of the museum in the buildings are connected underground.
You would need to have your baggage checked before you can enter the Museum.
You can buy tickets from the vending machines. I used the Paris Museum Pass.
The museum is connected to a mall - the Carrousel du Louvre, which is another entrance to the Museum (heard the queue to enter here is shorter).
P.S, The wait to enter the museum via the Glass Pyramid wasn't too bad for me, but if it bothers you, do a quick search for other obscure entrances to enter.
Visit: http://www.louvre.fr/en
