Wim, Bert and I went to Paris in January 2019 to see a Vladimir Cosma concert at Le Grand Rex. Before the concert, we did a guided tour of the Louvre Museum.

Bert visited the Louvre last in 2000. I visited in 2014, just for ‘Mona Lisa‘ and Les Grand Tableaux – mighty painting such as ‘The Coronation of Napoleon‘ by Jacques-Louis David. Wim had never visited.

So we decided a guided tour called ‘Louvre highlights‘. The tours are in English only.

Getting in

Booking the tour in advance, we received instructions to enter the Louvre via the pyramid. Inside there’s a cloak room and and a special area for groups and tours. Go around the corner. Don’t wait in the main hall.

The tour

You’ll receive a receiver and headphones and then you wait in a smaller, numbered room. A guide will great you and explain what to expect.

Th tour starts in the basement, with remains of the Louvre castle. It is interesting to learn about the building’s history as a defensive castle, royal palace and museum.

You roam the Egyptian, Greek and Roman exhibitions. The guide showed us highlights such as ‘Nike of Samothrace‘ (aka ‘Winged Victory of Samothrace‘), ‘Venus de Milo‘, Leonardo da Vinci‘s ‘Mona Lisa’ and Eugène Delacroix‘ ‘Liberty Leading the People‘ (‘La Liberté guidant le peuple‘). But also Louis XV‘s surviving crown.

In 1.5 hours you get a good sense of the museum, not getting lost or distracted. Explanations are extensive but not overspecialized.

The highlights tour is not only a great introduction, but also a best of the museum.