Louvre Museum

Paris · Ile de France

When to go

BestGoodFairPoorClosedCrowds (quiet → packed)All year: indoor collections and palace galleries are equally rewarding in every open month. · Also: Year-round Wednesday and Friday evenings: late 9pm closing, calmer and more theatrical galleries.

Day: Wednesday, Friday
Time: 9am, for the first hour before circulation fills · Wednesday or Friday evening, for the 9pm late opening
Avoid: Tuesday; January 1, May 1 and December 25; or days when a must-see room is listed as closed for renovation.

About 4 hours

A good route

Start
Medieval Louvre and palace-history remains, Sully wing30 min
Pick up a free map under the Pyramid before starting.
+35 min
Greek antiquities, Sully wing: Venus de Milo20 min
Use this as the transition from palace history to the headline collection.
+1 h
Denon wing: Daru staircase and Winged Victory of Samothrace20 min
Climb the staircase for the intended approach to the sculpture.
+1 h 25
Grande Galerie and Italian painting: Mona Lisa and Wedding Feast at Cana45 min
Look at Veronese opposite while the Mona Lisa crowd moves through.
+2 h 15
French Romantic paintings: Liberty Leading the People25 min
If Mona Lisa is non-negotiable, do it first after entry and reverse this middle section.
+2 h 45
Galerie d’Apollon and the Crown Jewels25 min
Pause here for the palace interiors, not only the objects.
+3 h 15
Egyptian Antiquities or Richelieu’s Cour Marly and Cour Puget45 min
Choose Egypt for archaeology; choose Marly/Puget for sculpture and a lighter finish.

Good to know

Bring

Small cross-body or day bag
Photo ID

Food & breaks

Plan meals and breaks inside; exit is final.
Café Mollien is a scenic Denon-wing pause but can be slow at peak times.
Toilets are throughout the museum; most have baby-changing tables.

Skip it if

Skip or radically shorten it if you dislike huge museums, only have one clear Paris day, or chiefly want Impressionism.