Home to some of the world’s most famed artworks, the Louvre is a must-visit for culture vultures in Paris. And with hundreds of galleries to explore, a guided tour can help you make the most of the experience.
The guided tour we’ve reviewed below combines reserved entry to the iconic museum with an expert-led route through many of the its most renowned works. Rather than spending your time navigating the maze of corridors and studying head-scratching maps, you’re taken directly to the museum’s main highlights, with your expert guide on hand at all times to provide historical context and artistic insight. Here’s the full low-down on the Louvre Masterpieces Guided Tour by City Wonders.
What can you expect from the tour?
You’ll meet your guide at a designated point outside the Louvre before making your way into the museum, with reserved access ensuring you don’t need to queue. to before
As you start your guided tour of the venue’s vast collection, the focus will be on the Louvre’s flagship paintings, sculptures and antiquities. This is necessary as a full exploration of the museum would take significantly longer than the 1-3.5 hours allocated for your tour. Instead, you get to enjoy a carefully selected introduction to some of its most important artworks.
You can also make use of a personal headset that lets you listen to your guide even while traversing the Louvre’s busier galleries. This is useful, as it means you don’t necessarily need to be in earshot of your guide to benefit from their narration.
Once the guided element of the tour is finished, all tour guests are welcome to remain inside the museum and continue exploring its vast expanse independently.
Which masterpieces will you see?
It will be no surprise to anyone that Leonardo da Vinci’s legendary Mona Lisa painting is one of the centrepieces of the tour. While the crowds surrounding arguably the world’s most famous art piece can make viewing it a little claustrophobic, having a guide means you’ll get to learn significantly more about its history and significance, giving you richer insight into the works before you finally get close enough to see it for yourself.
Other notable tour highlights include the Venus de Milo and the Winged Victory of Samothrace, two of the Louvre’s best-known ancient sculptures. The route and galleries available on the day do vary a little, but the tour will often also take in an assortment of Egyptian antiquities, Renaissance paintings, and further sculptures by some of European art’s most hallowed names.
What else do you need to know before you go?
Given that you’ll be on foot for the entire tour, we definitely recommend comfortable footwear For the same reason, large bags and luggage should also be left back at your hotel. It’s also worth remembering that reserved admission doesn’t mean an empty museum for you to enjoy. This is, after all, one of the world’s most popular cultural attractions and – as emphasised above – areas around major works such as the Mona Lisa can become extremely busy.
What is the price of the tour?
Prices currently start from around €59 per person, but can vary depending on times and dates. The price includes reserved admission to the Louvre, your live guide and a personal headset.
Summary
Given that attempting to ‘do’ the Louvre in a single visit is an almost impossible task, this guided tour is a great way to see the museum and its main attractions without over-stretching yourself time-wise. It brings together. The Mona Lisa will inevitably receive top billing, but for many the true enjoyment comes from seeing how much else can be discovered beyond it, from ancient sculpture to vast historical paintings and ornately decorated former palace interiors. For anyone visiting the Louvre for the first time – particularly those with only a few hours to spare – a guided highlights tour is the perfect option, and will still leave you time afterwards to explore the parts of the museum that you missed at your own leisure.