If you are traveling to Paris, you can’t miss the Louvre. It’s actually the only thing I bought advance tickets for. We arrived in Paris on Monday and Tuesday the Louvre is closed. So Wednesday was our day to visit. I scheduled our time for 9am when the doors open.
We woke at 7 and had a quick breakfast at the hotel. I liked granola and yoghurt and croissant. So that’s what I had. I only had one cup of coffee though so I was kind of sluggish.
We were originally going to call an Uber but my app said the museum was less than a mile away. We actually saw the sun rise over the Seine. Sunrise is pretty late, 8:26.
When we reached the museum the line had already started to form.
We waited about half an hour. They were right on time opening. By that time the line was 10 deep, and that was just for the 9am visitors.
We rushed through the museum to get to the Mona Lisa. No problem seeing the painting up close and quickly. The line was very short. If we had waited or took our time getting there, we would have been on a very long line again. So if you plan to do this, make sure you book the earliest time.
Afterwards we sauntered around the museum. I wasn’t expecting it to be so massive. There were rooms off of rooms.
There were lovely views out the windows as well.
We stopped at the cafe for a very much needed cup of coffee and croissant. There wasn’t a line when we went, but as we sat there drinking our beverages, the lines again grew longer and longer.
Refueled, we went in search of the Venus de Milo. It took a bit of up and down and crossing over but we found her. Luckily the crowd was still not too crazy.
We also spent a little time in the Egyptian exhibit. And the Islamic and Middle East section. We stopped to rest a bit as well.
My take on the Louvre is go early and plan to see what you want to see. By noon it was extremely crowded. Bruce and I were starting to get claustrophobic. Finding our way out took a bit of doing as well but we finally got there. And we came out to this lovely music.
We walked out through the Jardin des Tuileries, with interesting fountains and art.
I especially liked this sign.
The Luxor Obelisk stands 23 meters at the Place de la Concorde. This is the largest square in Paris and is where Marie Antoinette was beheaded.
After walking around the square we headed to the Batobus to go back to our hotel. This young woman was painting on the bank of the Seine.
After a rest at the hotel we went out for a walk. We went to The church of Saint Germaine. It was lovely with colorful ceilings, interesting statues and exquisite stained glass.
Then we went to the Church of Saint Sulpice. Outside was a huge fountain and the church did not have a steeple with a cross.
This church like Saint Germaine had wicker chairs rather than pews.
Mass was being held and we sat and listened as the priest spoke in French. It was quite relaxing and gave us some serenity.
The inside of the church was massive but not as ornate. It did, however, have a beautiful old organ
Bruce and I went into some shops but maybe most everything was not within my budget. I tried on a pair of sunglasses in Armani. They were $140 and I couldn’t quite rationalize that expense since I probably would lose them or sit on them
We stopped at Cafe De Flora for coffee and tea. I had profiteroles and Bruce had a pear tart.
Now I’m not hungry for dinner so we are going to call it a day!
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