Louvre is huge. The building was originally built as a castle like a thousand years ago. It was rebuilt during the coming centuries to look the way we see it today. Numerous kings, emperors and noblemen have shaped the architecture and decorations of this immense palace. Only to serve as a museum and not as a homestead of someone. I can’t help but to dream about living there. Well, that’s me having mania grandiosa.

Anyhow, the building has two courtyards with one of them having two glass pyramids in the centre. It’s hard to grasp the size and shape of the building from the outside, much less from the inside. But you want to get in. So, you should head to those glass pyramids. They are clearly visible obviously.

Mind you however that the queue for the entrance goes through both courtyards and is close to the length of one kilometer. So in case you are honest and patient enough, you need to look for the other end of this line and it’s much more further away, even so far that you won’t be able to see the pyramids. The queue has a weird system as well. The line comes to being divided into groups just close to the end and some groups are taken further away into a special area. From there groups are again moved closer to the entrance. Honestly, I did not get the idea behind it. And we did not stay long enough to figure it out. It would have taken ages to do it.

Since we had been around old buildings before seeing it from the outside did not make us all excited – we wanted to get in. It’s possible to squeeze yourself into the line if you are ready to be somewhat aggressive and impolite. I believe it’s worth it. And I can sleep just all right. Mind you that people who come in wheelchair or families with small children in carriages can enter from a special door, where there’s no line. And this is just getting in. Entering into displays is another story.

First you need to get in. Secondly you need to get yourself a proper ticket. Thirdly you need to make your way to the right section of the building and forth you need stand in a line to get inside this section. And yes, you have to stand in three lines to finally emerge into this madness. This “madness” is so many people moving around you, with you and towards you that you may feel slightly phobic. I do not recommend it in case you feel yourself uncomfortable in crowds.

Let’s say that you have been brave and have made it to some calm area (I recall sculptures being very airy and less popular so I advise you start your tour from there). Now that you are inside and ready to enjoy the fine arts, you can really appreciate this extensive museum. It really has it all – all the world famous known objects you have seen on pictures are in front of your very eyes. And important to some – you can make pictures of practically everything provided you are physically let close enough. You are not so much blocked by security but by other people and groups. Waiting to take the picture of Mona Lisa for an example is an odyssey. And all this for an A3 sized painting! I was amazed, but not about the painting. Honestly it left me kind of untouched. I felt that about 95% of those people there were just because others were. The painting has received more publicity than more exquisite ones. Well, there’s art for you I guess. Nobody sees it themselves, they have to be told what’s hot and masses move.

In order to move around and between the sections, to see all the major and less important attractions, it’s wise to take a guide from the first hall where you buy your tickets. You can choose between a paper and an audio-guide. They are quite easy to follow and the routes are thought true so that you won’t miss the main areas and don’t have to repeat most of it as well.

A little note to here as well – European citizens under 26 can enter free to most parts of the museum. So there, you have your free culture and world arts.

And, if you need to use the bathrooms, take the ones on top floors because they tend to be less crowded. Remember, first and second floors are for sculptures, partly on second and on third floor you’ll see some paintings, on forth floor are objects and on fifth again paintings. And this is it. Only five floors J

Louvre is a must see in Paris, just next to Versailles but not so much for this “tick” (read: “done”) but for the values and knowledge it hides in itself.