The Louvre

What: The Louvre, Paris, France

When: November 6th, 2011

Who: Dave

We returned to the Louvre in the daylight to see more than just the mall it is attached to. We made it attraction #1 of the day since the lines get really long when you are trying to get in. The whole structure is made of two giant courtyards, encircled by the museum. The line to get in winds through both courtyards. 

The building itself was originally built as a fortress in the 12th century. It later grew and became the main palace for the royal French family until Louis XIV moved the main residence to Versailles. It became the museum we know today during the French Revolution, when the National Assembly decreed it should display the nation's masterpieces. It has been open to the public since 1793.  

The queue was long, but it was worth the wait, and totally moved quickly. Besides, there's all kinds of sculptures and artwork around to enjoy while you wait, like creepy naked men holding creepy statues of themselves. 

 Finally into the main courtyard. 

And finally we made it inside. After jumping in line to buy tickets, we learned an interesting fact: the Louvre is free on the first Sunday of every month! So we walked right on in (could have used without waiting 30 minutes in a line for tickets we didn't need, but we decided best not to complain). 

We first wandered into the Greek, Etruscan, and Roman antiquities section. Lots of pretty amazing statues that were all incredibly old.

 Dave has requested this throne for his future mancave.  

  Even the ceilings in this place are works of art.

I loved this one. 

Our first super famous siting, the Venus de Milo. 

 Athena, looking pretty badass. 

Sphinx thought to have been carved for Amenehat II about 2200 years ago. 

The foundations of the Louvre when it was in its original fortress form are still visible, complete with a fake moat. 

The Nike of Samothrace, from about 190 BC. 

And of course, the main attraction, the Mona Lisa. There was quite a crowd around this one. I had to get aggressive for these shots. 

 More intricate ceilings. 

After a bit more wandering, we decided to call it. We had a lot more to do in Paris, and you could spend days walking around in there. So we had some triangle fun, and called it quits. 

 Roar

Smush

Click here to go back to the rest of our trip.