Museum review: Struggling to love the Louvre

As a public historian and museum fan I wanted to be blown away by the Louvre in Paris, but the experience fell short.

I took a trip to France for a magnificent wedding in Bordeaux at the end of July. We then took the train up to Paris and spent a few days there as I had never visited the city before.

In the build-up to the holiday we discussed what to do, see and where to go. We wanted to visit some key sites but we also wanted to take it easy, relax into the exploration.

Still. There was an underlying sense of obligation that played on my mind that I couldn’t ignore.

As someone who used to work in museums and is now an archive editor, there was a fairly large museum-shaped elephant in the room – the Louvre.

It is one of the largest, oldest and most respected institutions of its kind.

Their collection is vast and some of the world’s most famous pieces of art and sculpture live in its galleries.

I felt the need to see the Louvre out of this weird professional and touristic obligation.

We (eventually) made it to the Louvre and here are some of my observations and takeaways on the experience:

We made a rooky error before we even arrived at the Louvre.

Between the two of us we overlooked Googling the opening times so rocked up on a Tuesday only to realise it was closed.

The puzzlement we felt at how quiet it was near the entrance quickly turned to amusement at our mistake.

But we pivoted to other activities and had a fab day anyway.

That’ll teach us for trying to be spontaneous right?

Related to the above point about preparation, and I cannot stress this enough, but book your tickets in advance. Please, I beg you.

We didn’t and queued for two hours and 45 minutes to get in.

It was 29 degrees celsius by 10am and the mercury kept rising.

There is very little shade as you approach the striking glass pyramid that provides entry to the museum.

The café nearby does not sell bottled water.

Safe to say, we felt wilted and more than a little loopy when we finally descended into the sweet, sweet air-conditioned entrance hall.

It meant that my partner and I probably didn’t have the same endurance or attention span on arriving as if we had pre-booked and entered quicker at an allocated time.

So, especially if you are visiting in the height of summer during a seemingly unending heatwave – be smart, book your tickets online and arrive in good time before your slot to avoid heatstroke and sunburn.

After we cooled down a bit, we made a beeline for the Mona Lisa.

I wanted to be able to say I’d seen it but also gauge if it was as small in real life as people say.

I can confirm, it is.

In fact the most impressive painting in that gallery room, in my opinion, sits on the wall directly opposite the Mona Lisa – the Wedding at Cana.

But regardless of what painting, exhibit or statue you want to see, it is very easy to overlook the thousands of artefacts along the way.

The halls and corridors are heaving with things to look at and panels to read.

And it's easy to get caught up in the crowd, propelled along by other visitors.

Some of the paintings that wowed me the most I only saw when I paused and accidentally caught a glimpse of them from the corner of my eye.

Or we had nipped to a quieter room without so many famous items to have a breather and a hidden gem presented itself.

But having so much to see is a double-edged sword.

You won’t see it all. And that’s okay if you let it be.

The enormity of the holdings at the Louvre mean you could spend the entire day trawling the labyrinth of corridors and still miss vast chunks of what it has to offer.

It’s easy to think that you need to see all the big names and explore every exhibit.

The maps dotted around the museum encourage this by having photos of 4-6 key artefacts on each floor.

I can see why they did this – as visitors we want to know where the Venus de Milo, Mona Lisa and other celebrity objects are.

But this almost creates a to-do list. Bullet points of where you must see to have properly ‘done’ the Louvre.

And this leads to a feeling of having to work through the attraction methodically, compulsively ticking boxes for each must-see masterpiece.

Sure, have a few pieces in mind that you genuinely want to see and make it happen.

But if you go in knowing that you realistically can’t do it all in one trip, you’ll improve your experience because what you get to see you’ll enjoy more.

Forgive me for going into museum nerd mode here.

But when you gaze at the marvellous architecture and thousands upon thousands of artefacts you’re only seeing the tip of the iceberg.

Think about the army of employees, volunteers and donors that make it possible.

• Curators working to create engaging and accessible experiences.
• Collection care specialists looking after priceless items.
• Staff selling tickets or snacks.
• Docents overseeing exhibit rooms and answering questions.
• Cleaners tidying up after visitors.
• Marketers promoting the museum.
• Education specialists helping school trips.
• Donation-seeking staff securing funds to keep the museum afloat.
• IT teams keeping the WiFi live and audio guides functional.
• Engineers who maintain the HVAC system so the temperature and humidity levels are just right.

Museums are wonderful resources but so much goes on behind the scenes to keep them running.

Keeping this in mind when visiting the Louvre, for me, heightened the experience. It made me truly appreciate the amazing work that goes on at museums – great and small – to open their doors.

I definitely enjoyed the Louvre, but I struggled to love the Louvre.

It is undoubtedly a marvel.

But it felt too big to ignore while at the same time too huge to enjoy.

If you are thinking of visiting perhaps the most famous museum in the world, I hope some of these observations on the experience will help if you decide to visit:

• Even impromptu visits need prep
• Book tickets ahead of time - seriously
• Remember to enjoy the in-between
• Accept the vastness
• Appreciate the operations behind the scenes

I hope you enjoyed this Louvre Museum review helpful and enjoyable.

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