Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
11:00 and 14:00, sometimes more often in summer; €9 plus your entry ticket, tour tel. 01
40 20 52 63).
Videoguides
(€5) provide commentary on about 700 masterpieces. Or you
Baggage Check:
The free
bagagerie
is under the pyramid, to the right of the Denon
wing entrance (look for the
visiteurs individuels
sign). Large bags must be checked, and
youcanalsochecksmallbagstolightenyourload.Thebaggage-claimclerkmightaskyou
in French, “Does your bag contain anything of value?” You can't check cameras, money,
passports,orothervaluables.Coatchecks(separatefrombaggagecheck)arenearboththe
Richelieu and Denon wings.
Theft Alert:
The Louvre beefed up police patrols after visitors reported being pick-
pocketed within the museum.
Services:
WCsarelocatedunderthepyramid,behindtheescalatorstotheDenonand
Richelieu wings. Once you're in the galleries, WCs are scarce.
(See “Louvre Overview” map,
here
.)
Self-Guided Tour:
Start in the Denon Wing and visit the highlights, in the fol-
lowing order (thanks to Gene Openshaw for his help writing this tour).
Begin with the pre-classical
Greek statues,
then look for the famous
Venus de Milo
(Aphrodite)
statue (pictured here). You'll find her not far from another famous statue, the
Winged Victory of Samothrace.
This goddess of love (c. 100
B.C.
, from the Greek island
of Melos) created a sensation when she was discovered in 1820. Most “Greek” statues
are actually later Roman copies, but
Venus
is a rare Greek original. She, like Golden Age
Greeks, epitomizes stability, beauty, and balance.
