A palace before it was a museum
The Louvre started as a medieval fortress built by Philippe II in 1190. It became a royal palace, then a residence, then — after the Revolution — a museum. Napoleon filled it with spoils from his campaigns across Europe. The glass pyramid in the central courtyard was added in 1989 and was controversial for about fifteen minutes. Now it's as Parisian as the building it serves.
With over 35,000 works on display across 72,735 square metres, the Louvre is too large to see in a day. Don't try. Pick a wing, go deep, and leave something for next time.
Start with the Winged Victory
Most people head straight for the Mona Lisa. Go to the Winged Victory of Samothrace first — it's at the top of the Daru staircase in the Denon Wing, and it hits hardest with fresh eyes. The goddess stands on the prow of a ship, wings spread mid-landing, headless, armless, and completely alive. It was carved around 190 BC. Nothing about it feels old.
The scale surprises people. So does the energy. She's not static — she's mid-movement, mid-arrival. Stand at the bottom of the stairs and look up. That's the intended angle.
The Mona Lisa — what to actually expect
The room is chaotic. People are jostling for phone angles, the painting is behind thick glass, and it's smaller than any reproduction suggests (77 cm × 53 cm). But here's what they don't tell you: the Salle des États where she hangs also contains enormous Venetian masterpieces that most visitors walk past completely. Paolo Veronese's The Wedding at Cana covers the entire opposite wall. It's 10 metres wide. It's extraordinary. Almost nobody looks at it.
Go to the Mona Lisa. But give the room thirty seconds, then turn around.
Venus de Milo
She's in the Sully Wing, in a room that feels designed around her — and it was. Carved between 130 and 100 BC, she was discovered on the Greek island of Milos in 1820 and acquired by France almost immediately. Her arms were missing when she was found. Theories about what she held — a shield, an apple, a mirror — have never been resolved. The ambiguity became part of her myth.
She's bigger than you expect and quieter than the crowds around her. Walk around her if you can — the back is as considered as the front.
The Richelieu Wing: go here for breathing room
Most tourists concentrate in the Denon Wing. The Richelieu Wing — where the Northern European, French, and Dutch collections live — is significantly quieter. Vermeer's The Lacemaker hangs here, small and extraordinarily precise. Rembrandt's self-portraits are here. So is the entire Richelieu apartment, with its imperial-era rooms intact.
If you want to look at things slowly, this is where to do it.
Practical notes
Buy timed entry online before you go — same-day queuing at the pyramid can be over an hour. Wednesday and Friday evenings, when the museum stays open until 9:45pm, are dramatically quieter than daytime. The museum is closed on Tuesdays. The permanent collection is free for EU citizens under 26 and free on the first Friday evening of each month for everyone under 26.