The Louvre in 27 Minutes or Less

At the Louvre, it would be possible to spend a lot of time looking at old stuff. I love art– but only the art that I love. Impressionism, Cubism, modern art, some Italian artists, some French.

The ancients–Roman, Egyptian, Greek, Arts of Islam, Arts of Africa—are somewhat interesting but they hold no particular fascination for me when time is passing too quickly in the City of Light.

So I was happy to read Rick Steves’ advice on tackling the Louvre: To start, head for the Denon Wing to see Venus De Milo, Winged Victory, Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Michelangelo and many of the French painters–and of course, Mona Lisa.

Steves also gives valuable advice that with a Museum Pass, visitors can enter through the inconspicuous Carrousel de Louvre, an underground shopping mall, to avoid crowds We sail through a short line, flash our pass at a guard and Voila! We are inside.

In just minutes, we are walking up the stairs with the rest of humanity to the Denon Wing, following the signs to Mona. Our strategy: see Mona first, then wander through the wing until we decide our next steps. It’s easy to find her; there is a crowd that extends from the chamber into the hallway with tourists holding their cameras overhead like at a rock concert. Most museums are strict about “no flashes” but flashes are going off without reprimand. We start making our way into the crowd when I look at my e-husband (and b.f.) who I notice is pale and sweaty. He announces, “I don’t feel well, I need to get out of here!”

I’m torn. Here in front of the Mona Lisa, I want just one shot. But there he is looking ill and needing immediate attention. “I think I need to sit down,” he says. Without a minute to waste I hold my camera over my head, shoot, and follow his back out of the room. My photograph below.

All told, we are outside standing next to I.M. Pei’s glass pyramid in 27 minutes. E husband felt remarkably better as we headed to a café on the Left Bank for lunch.