Louvre, Orsay and More Shopping

Day 6 – Paris

Purchased a 4 day museum pass this morning for 45 euros. It gives unlimited access to the major museums and sites around town (including the Louvre), and other sites outside of the city (including Versailles, which is on my “might do” list.

I arrived at the Louvre at 9am – just as it was opening. The building was originally a fortress in the early 13th century, and converted into a royal residence in the mid-16th century. It became a national museum in 1793. The museum mainly covers the Middle Ages through to 1848 (then Musée d’Orsay takes over).

My first stop was the Mona Lisa so I could beat the crowds. It is amazing how small that painting is! At least the setup is good so many tourists can view it at the same time. I spent about 3.5 hours wandering through the Louvre this morning – basically until it overflowed with tourists. The morning at the museum was nice though.

I covered a lot of territory this morning but there are still more than half of the exhibits left to go (and some I would like to return to). Good thing I opted for the 4-day pass! I was very impressed by the Etruscan, Roman and Greek antiquities, and the Pharonic Egypt exhibits. I also went through the French paintings (of which there are floors – it being France and all), and the Spanish and Italian works. I saw way more works than I can list here, but some of the highlights included the Seated Scribe, the Winged Victory of Samothrace, coutless works by Botticelli, Michaelangelo and Raphael, and the Venus de Milo (which is the only work in the gallery to have its very own room).

I decided to visit Musée d’Orsay next. It is in an old train station and the museum is only 21 years old. The sculptures were really neat (including works by Rodin and interesting works from Africa), and the collection of impressionist works by Monet, Renoir, and Cezanne was impressive.

I then thought about moving on to the Modern Art museum, but I was again lured into the shops. This time Sephora was to blame. I never did make it to that gallery, but did make my way into a fair number of shops!

I’m also in a hostel tonight for the first night of this trip. It is a Hostelling International hostel, and I am in a three-person (female) dorm room. We will see how it goes. It sure is a lot cheaper than the hotels here, so I’m willing to rough it a bit!

More of the same is in the works for tomorrow. I’m planning to spend the morning at the Louvre and then move on to some other museums (or shopping if I get sidetracked again).