The Louvre is a beautiful series of palatial buildings surrounding a huge
courtyard. The glass pyramid is the central entrance and covers the modern
underground section linked to a mall and metro station. The ticketing was
automatic and there were no queues at 6.30pm on a Friday night. We had about 3
hrs before closing.
Whilst it was very busy, there is so much to see that it is
not hard to get away from the hum of tourists. The hum increases when you near
a checkbox landmark – Mona, Venus de Milo, the winged Victory of Samothrace,
King Tut’s left fingernail,
We spent some time in the Egyptian antiquities section as
both Arkady and Anika had studied this recently. The range and quality of the
exhibition is incredible but ultimately a bit overwhelming. Anika found it
tiring early on but Jood and Arkady were enjoying the many tools,
hieroglyphics, statues, sarcophagi, mummies, bits of stone etc. They were in
remarkable condition – Jood and Arkady after an hour of Egyptian history.
I was happy to find the Lost Ramones.
Things picked up in the Greek and Roman sections with some
great sculptures as well as over-the top-decorations in the apartments of
Napoleon III. Ceilings covered in frescoes and circular paintings, wall friezes,
wall sculptures, intricate doors, arches and stairways. It pretty much
overwhelmed the artworks.
So glad you enjoyed the Louvre. We only went there last time cause it was so hot and the museum was air conditioned. We had been 30 years ago and it was a big building full of stuff, badly displayed, badly labelled and boring.
ReplyDeleteSo last time, Mike only wanted to spend an hour there and I could have spent soooo long. I got as far as the Egyptian rooms, but couldn't linger dammit, and the state rooms were magnificent. I also saw Mona, not too crowded then I must admit. I would love to return ....
I've never really been that interested in visiting The Louvre either as I've always liked the Musée d'Orsay and the Le Orangerie for their impressionists sections however, Arkady was keen to visit again after his school trip last year and Anika expressed interest too as she'd done a powerpoint display on the architect of the glass pyramid. The few hours we had there I really enjoyed mainly because we only picked a few sections to visit - the Egyptian section (fantastic sarcophagi of cats!), the sculpture room with it's massive greek and roman statues, Mona of course and some Italian painter who did a great series of 4 paintings of faces made out of fruit and vegetables. I hadn't realised that the Louvre was also made up of some fantastically sumptuous apartment rooms. All in all another first this time around in Paris. Don't know if you've ever visited Rodin's sculpture garden (you can pay 1 euro just to go into the garden) which is very peaceful with some lovely sculptures dotted around the grounds.It's also highly recommended too.
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed the Louvre cause like you, I didn't want to visit it again after my first impressions, which were that it was like a fantastic junk shop full of treasures, if you could only work out what you were looking at. Haven't been to Rodin's garden, but will have to add it to my list of things to see. What is great about your blog is seeing things that we missed and hoping that we get a chance to go again. Paris is definitely one of those cities that you could visit again and again.
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