PARIS - The Louvre Museum & the Mona Lisa - The Louvre or the Louvre Museum, also known in French as the "Musée du Louvre" is one of the World's most famous museum and houses Leonardo da Vinci's most enigmatic potrait - the Mona Lisa. I have visited Paris and the Louvre twice and it is almost impossible to see everything despite spending the entire 2 days walking around as the Louvre hosts over 35,000 pieces of art work and more than 380,000 objects, spanning over 60,000 square metres of exhibition space. With approximately 10 million visitors each year, the Louvre is one of the most visited museum in the World. A trip to Paris is never complete unless you have visited the Louvre Museum! Be a smart traveller and skip the queues like I always do by buying advance tickets online at http://www.louvre.fr/en/advance-tickets
Louvre Museum "Musee du Louvre"
Address: Musée du Louvre, 75058 Paris - France
Métro: Palais-Royal Musée du Louvre (lines 1 and 7)
Tel.: +33 (0)1 40 20 53 17 Website: http://www.louvre.fr/en
Ticket Prices: EUR 13.60 - book online to avoid queues
Opening hours: Daily (except Tuesday) from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
*Night opening until 9:45 p.m. on Wednesdays and Fridays
The Louvre Museum - A central landmark of Paris located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement, the glass pyramids are such beautiful architecture where all visitors marvel at. Originally built as a fortress in the late 12th Century under Phillip II, remnants of the fortress are still visible in the basement of the museum. It is only during the French Revolution, the Louvre was transformed into a public museum and the grand opening took place on 10 August 1793. Architect I.M. Pei was awarded the project of building the Grand Louvre and proposed that a glass pyramid be built in the main court called the "Cour Napoléon" which was completed in 1989. Second phase of the Grand Louvre plan, La Pyramide Inversée (The Inverted Pyramid), was completed in 1993.
Interesting note: The Da Vinci Code book by Dan Brown and 2006 movie made the Louvre Museum extremely popular among tourists and the Louvre Museum made $2.6 million by allowing filming in its premises. Read more about The Da Vinci Code at http://www.danbrown.com/the-davinci-code/
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| La Pyramide Inversée (The Inverted Pyramid) |
Leonardo da Vinci's MONA LISA - A half-length potrait of a woman by Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci which has been acclaimed as the "best known, the most visited, the most sung about, the most written about, the most parodied art in the World" and considered the greatest portrait of all time. It is a small painting 30 by 21 inches but has amazingly inspired numerous poetry, sculptures and even theft. Mona Lisa Song by Nat King Coles and the Masterpiece song by Madonna are also inspired by the famous Mona Lisa potrait. If you scrutinize Mona Lisa long enough, you may discover the Sacred Geometry behind the painting *winks-
The Mona Lisa is a painting which is a breakthrough of its time with its accurate presentation, beauty, flattery and realism. It is one of the first painting that uses an imaginary landscape and presented new painting technique that was unparalleled during its time. Scientists cannot agree how Mona Lisa's smile is interpreted so differently by different people which makes it so engaging. The mystery of Mona Lisa's half smile has puzzled countless people including Sigmund Freud, Harvard professors, experts and observers. This masterpiece features a woman of mystery or a little known woman. Theories have argued that the woman could be Leonardo's mother, lover or even a disguised self portrait or a woman who was part of the prominent Gherardini family in Florence. During my visit, a huge crowd was crowding around the Mona Lisa so I took a long time trying to capture a good photo of her. The Louvre Museum can get pretty crowded so do be patient.
Walking Tours - National Museum guides do provide guided tours which lasts around 1.5 hours and tickets can be purchased on the day itself at the Grand reception area under the pyramid. If not, there are many other options provided by Viator, City-Discovery and MyParisianTour etc. If you prefer to walk alone, do arm yourself with a map as the place is huge and it is easy to get lost. Below are more photos which I took at the Louvre Museum and I was absolutely in awe of all the beautiful artwork and masterpieces. My feet was aching by the end of the day so do wear comfortable walking shoes.
PARIS - One of the best times to visit Paris is during Summer time in the months of July and August where the sun is shining brightly and everyone is feeling cheerful and happy. It is also the best time to see what Paris can offer and take good photographs under sunlight. As the weather is mild and not too cold with average temperatures around 25 degrees celsius, there is no need to put on thick heavy coats during Summer and you can dress light :)
Read about Sara Shantelle Lim's France Paris Trip - CLICK HERE.
♥ Lora Christelle Lim ♥
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