Tips On How To Enjoy The Louvre Museum (Updated With COVID-19 Advisory)

I've been thinking twice whether to post our Europe travel adventure amidst this global pandemic and all the travel bans or just go write about our experience from 2 years ago (we traveled last March 2018 to Europe for our honeymoon). I've decided to go with it for a trip down the memory lane and for future reference hoping that this pandemic will end soon and families like our little tribe can freely and safely travel around the world again.

Anyway, here goes...

It was our first time to travel in Europe for our honeymoon. We stayed there for about 2 weeks and visited 6 countries and 9 cities spending just max 2 days per city. Our first stop was in Paris and the very first agenda in our itinerary was The Louvre. I remember going to The Louvre without rest at all as in straight from airport, then to our Airbnb, and then we just dropped our bags and went to the museum already. The Louvre was our first taste of the Parisian life and culture and for an EU noob traveler, it was overwhelming and exhausting to be honest and this is obvious because it is the biggest art museum in the world! but we failed to take this into consideration and so we were so tired that time. Looking back, I've realized that we lacked preparation and these are the things we should have done in order to fully enjoy the DIY budget tour in about 2-3 hours inside the museum (because we need to maximize the time spent in Paris of course!).

COVID-19 UPDATES: As of June 15, 2020, The Louvre re-opened its doors to the public. All visitors age 11 and up will be required to wear a mask all throughout the tour and must maintain social distancing. Alcohols and other cleaning gels or disinfectant sprays will be provided at the entrance but bringing your own alcohol is a must (and should be an essential in our bags). It is open every day except Tuesday from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm. Do check out their main website re. closure and maintenance due to holidays and COVID-19 related announcements here.

1. Do not enter via the Pyramid Entrance which is the main entrance of the museum.

The reason is because almost everyone would enter here and we spent an hour lining up just to enter the premises and another few minutes more in buying tickets. We just found out that there are 3 entrances to the museum but only 2 are open currently due to COVID-19 precautionary measures which is the Porte de Lions (spot the two lions) and the main pyramid. The Carrousel de Louvre which is inside the underground shopping mall is currently closed.

TIP: Do not bring bulky bags because these are not permitted inside the museum. Pack light for a faster security check since the cloak room or the self-service lockers are also closed as of the re-opening of the museum.

MOMMY TIP: When traveling with a baby, your best friend should be your baby carrier to avoid all the hassle of carrying a stroller up and down the stairs and bumping other people. The Louvre allows baby strollers inside the museum but personally, I suggest you leave it in the visitor's assistance area. BTW, you can also rent strollers too and they clean the strollers and wheelchairs every after use for health safety.

2. Do not go on an empty stomach.

Although there are restaurants around the museum and only one inside which is the Cafe Mollien, you would want to have a good meal prior to your visit because going around the museum without a tour guide or audio tour would already eat up minimum of 2 hours of your time. You wouldn't want to go HANGRY (hungry + angry) with your hubby on your honeymoon or vacation right? That's the usual culprit of war and misunderstanding in a relationship. Besides, the restaurant inside The Louvre requires waiting in line again.

This is the line going inside the main entrance. We waited for so long and did not purchased the fast pass because it was expensive and we were on a tight budget. This visit was in March of 2018 so clearly, no social distancing and all.

3. Time slot online booking is now mandatory.

When we visited The Louvre, there were several options to purchase your tickets--walk-ins, ticket booths, online, or via tour groups. We bought our ticket via the self-service ticket booth (EUR 15 per person in 2018 now it's EUR 17 in 2020) because it was faster but a credit card is required (if I remembered it correctly). Now, due to the virus, online ticket booking is required to manage the influx of people. Outside the entrances, I believe they have installed signages and created a time slot specific lanes where you need to wait before entering the museum.

MOMMY TIP: Children and teens under 18 years old can visit the museum for FREE just ensure that you have your IDs and passports with you all the time.

4. Do your research and plan the art work that you want to check out... and focus on that!

Since The Louvre is soooo big, it is impossible to see all artworks one by one so I suggest, you plan your game plan especially if you're with your kids or senior citizen parents. You would like to only spend 2-3 hours maximum in this place unless you want to spend literally the entire day only in The Louvre then that's fine. But, if you're like us who also want to explore Paris then I suggest you pick the masterpiece you really want to see more than anything and take note of its location in the map.

Suggestions on the must see sculptures, paintings, and artifact: Mona Lisa (duh!), the Winged Victory of Samothrace, Venus de Milo, Psyche Revived by Cupid’s Kiss, Sleeping Hermaphroditos, Crown of Louis XV, The Wedding Feast at Cana, The Dying Slave and Rebellious Slave, Gabrielle d'Estrées and one of her sisters, and the Napoleon III Apartments.

BUDGET PRO TIP: You can download The Louvre app for a FREE audio tour. It's available in the AppStore and Google Play.

Unfortunately, we didn't get to see all the must see LOL because again, noob move. I was browsing my photos if I did get to capture the famous ones and I ended up just taking a blurry photo of a Mona Lisa (at least!), the Winged Victory of Samothrace and The Wedding Feast at Cana with a photo bomber haha. So, do not make the same mistake we did 2 years ago, okay? Plan, research, and read ahead when you visit The Louvre.

Getting up close with Mona Lisa is close to impossible at that time. I 'd rather just have a blurred photo than increase my chances of getting pickpocket (there's a lot!!!). I'm pretty sure that The Louvre thought of ways to control overcrowding given there's a strict health protocol in place.

How to get to The Louvre?

The cheapest and fastest way to get to The Louvre is via the Paris Metro. Alight at Palais-Royal-Musee du Louvre Metro stop.

You can also take the bus using the ff bus lines: 21, 24, 27, 39, 48, 68, 69, 72, 81, and 95 stop in front of the pyramid.