Louvre highlights tour:
The stories behind the masterpieces
Destination
Paris, France
Duration
2 hours
Tour size
Max 20
Language
English
Overview
The Louvre holds 35,000 works across four miles of galleries. Two hours, the right guide, and a route that cuts straight to what matters: this is the Louvre highlights tour for visitors who want to leave knowing what they saw.
- •Walk past the entrance queue and into the museum with pre-reserved skip-the-line tickets
- •Hear the story behind the Mona Lisa theft before you reach the room — a museum employee, a coat, and two years on the run
- •Trace the French Romantics, the Italian masters, and two thousand years of classical sculpture on a curated route through the collection
- •Learn how a newspaper story about shipwreck and cannibalism became one of France's most beloved paintings
- •Stand in front of the Crown Jewels of France, the Venus de Milo, and Michelangelo's sculpture with a guide who knows exactly where to stop
What's included
- Expert local English-speaking art historian guide
- Skip-the-line ticket for the Louvre Museum
- Headset throughout
- Maximum 20 guests per guide
You will visit
- The Mona Lisa
- Venus de Milo and classical Greek sculpture
- Italian masterpieces including Michelangelo
- French Romantic painting galleries
- The Crown Jewels of France
- The Louvre as a building: fortress, royal palace, museum
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What to expect
The building: fortress, palace, museum
Before the art, the building. The Louvre was a defensive fortress before it was a royal palace, and a royal palace before it was a museum. The grandeur of that history is visible in every corridor: the rooms where kings held court, the halls where grand ceremonies took place, the scale of a building designed to project power. Your guide doesn't walk past this. Neither will you.
The ancient world: Venus, Michelangelo, and two thousand years of marble
The classical galleries hold the Venus de Milo and a collection of Greek and Roman sculpture that shaped every artist who came after. Your guide explains which works Michelangelo studied here and points to the specific details in his own sculpture that prove it. Then the Italian masters: paintings that reward close attention, explained by someone who has been looking at them for years.
"Most people stand in front of the Mona Lisa for thirty seconds and move on. When you know the story, you don't want to leave."
Vincent,
Louvre guide
"I always tell the shipwreck story before you reach the canvas. By the time you're standing in front of it, you're not looking at a painting anymore."
Claire,
Louvre guide
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Frequently asked questions
Our guides love answering your questions. Here are some things they'd like you to know before you arrive.
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