For well over a decade, the Musée du Louvre has posed probably one of the greatest challenges for me. I remember the first time that I visited some years ago, I thought it was fun and exciting, probably because it was also my first trip to Europe. So of course it was great. But after that one visit, I found going there to be not so enjoyable after all. I would feel overwhelmed, first by the enormous size of the former palace. It is after all the largest museum in the world with over 35,000 artworks on display. Then there’s the long wait in lines and the crowds pushing and shoving everywhere with their tablets and backpacks in your face, that at the end, the very thought of visiting the Louvre became unappealing to me. In fact, whenever friends would visit from the US, I would normally suggest someplace else such as the D’Orsay or Rodin, places that I find more manageable and not so exhausting.

But for this trip to Paris, I came prepared to find a way to tackle this issue. I mean there is a reason why the Louvre is the most visited museum in the world. The collections here are first class, and I thought if only I could find a way to access these masterpieces without feeling so drained at the end, that would be a good thing. So I came up with an idea to do exactly that and it really is as easy as 1-2-3! So here it goes…

#1. Pick a specific collection. When I’m at home in the States and go for an outing at the museum, in my case that would be the High Museum of Atlanta, I go there for a specific exhibit. I find that this same approach is especially helpful at the Louvre because of its size. Yes, I know, the rebuttal from the average tourist is going to be, “Well I want to see as much as I can”, without realizing how massive this place really is. With a space of over 785,000 square feet, you realize very quickly that you’re walking and walking with no end in sight, and the whole museum tour cannot be done in a day, not even in several days. The Sully wing for example in itself is the size of a palace!

What I did was I chose one topic that I personally found interesting, and that was Objets d’Arts (decorative objects) from Louis XIV to Louis VXI. It was through social media that I heard about this new collection at the Louvre. What happens is, besides the artwork on display, there’s also a private collection on reserve that includes thousands of other pieces that are brought out every few years or so, and this collection is one of them. The exhibit features everyday items such as home furnishings, toiletries, and other domestic items that were used during that period, many by the Kings and Queens themselves.

Table clocks

Tea set and chocolate pot

Oil and vinegar bottles & salière or salt cellar

Chocolate & coffee pot

Ceramic flasks

Large dish cover with hunting scene; bottle cooler

Tea set and tea ball

Tea set (not sure what the little bottle was for though)

Wall clock and snuff boxes

Porcelain cups and saucers & table barrel

Terrine with cover & liqueur serving set

Bust of Marie Antoinette and her travel accessories

Double-case watches made of gold and gems

Small painting of Louis XV and sand clocks

One observation that I made was that most visitors to this exhibit were French speakers. I guess while everyone else is at the Denon wing for the Mona Lisa, the locals spend time in the other galleries. So in short, have a narrow focus (e.g. Islamic art) or choose one of the temporary exhibits, go straight to that exhibition hall for a couple of hours, and then you leave, or head to the beautiful Café Marly!

Click on the links below to see the museum collections, temporary exhibits and suggested itineraries.

Collections Temporary Exhibits Suggested Itineraries

#2. Go during “odd” hours. Many visitors to Paris don’t know that the Louvre has two nights during the week, Wednesdays and Fridays that it stays open late, until 9:45 pm (except holidays of course). During the daytime is when you’ll find LOADS of tourist buses, and although they have their own entrance, you’ll still run into these large groups once inside. Some may try to beat the crowds by going first thing in the morning, at 9am when the museum opens. Unfortunately, there are hundreds of other people with the same idea so the outcome is still the same, crowds and more crowds.

I chose to go around 7pm, the time when buses have taken the tourists back to the hotel for dinner. A couple of hours is just enough to enjoy an exhibit (maybe 2 exhibits depending on the number of artworks involved) without exhausting yourself. You’ll see in the photos below several shots with no people. That would never happen if I were there during the daytime!

#3 Know that there are other entrances besides the pyramid entrance. Besides the main entrance at the pyramids, there are three other entrances: The Carrousel du Louvre (access Rue de Rivoli), Passage Richelieu (access Rue de Rivoli) and Porte des Lions (access Quai François Mitterand, facing the river), although this one is sometimes closed. All of them have different hours so check the website for opening and closing times.

When I got to the Carousel entrance around 7:00pm, there was no line so I was able to go straight to the automated ticket machines, which accept American credit cards by the way! From there I went to the security checkpoint which there were about 3 people ahead of me and I was able to get through with no wait at all. If you walk by the pyramids and there’s no one there, then great. But if you see a long cue, then try one of the other access points. Also, there are numerous self-serve ticketing machines which eliminates waiting in line to purchase a ticket. You can also buy advance tickets online on the Musée du Louvre website.

More photos from the exhibit…

Serving dishes