The Solo Scale:

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If you’ve ever been to the Louvre or seen photos of some of its exhibits, you might think that it’s a crowded museum and you’ll be elbow-to-elbow with your fellow art enthusiasts. It’s half true, especially if you’re aiming to see the Mona Lisa or some of the other heavy hitters the museum has to offer.

And yet, you can also find yourself completely alone in the museum, even on the most crowded day. It’s just a matter of exploring and finding the depths of exhibits (plus, hitting up the extended hours, if you can!) Here are just a few other things to keep an eye out for when you’re in the Louvre which are every bit as impressive as Da Vinci’s work.

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Napoleon III Apartments

The Louvre has served many purposes over the years, and you can view more than just art and sculpture (you’ll see another example of another of the Louvre’s other purposes later in this post!). In the Richelieu wing, you’ll discover Napoleon III’s Apartments (and no, this is not Napoleon Bonaparte, but the Napoleon who was President of France — but that doesn’t take away from the majesty of the apartments); one method of arriving is the Escalier du Ministre, a spiralling and truly magnificent entrance before arriving in the apartments.

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The Sculpture Gardens

These are becoming a little more known, but they’re still a pretty good option if you want to escape the crowd, especially because if one is busy, there’s always a second not that far away — plus there’s multiple levels to escape to, and there are incredible sculptures hiding around every corner. With the skylights, they’re a fantastic place to spend some time basking in the natural light and admiring the art.

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Old Louvre Walls

I mentioned that the Louvre was not always a museum and if you venture into the depths, you can see the remnants of one of those older times. There are models and examples of the way it used to look, and then there’s the actual wall itself — one of them preserved from the medieval days. It’s a bit like time-travel, being able to walk along the old walls before heading onward to see other historical delights.

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Dual Sided Paintings

Now, we venture back into the art — specifically, pieces of art that don’t garner crowds like the Mona Lisa or Winged Victory do. However, there are incredible pieces all over the Louvre, some of them with their own special touch — for instance, paintings done from two different perspectives, back-to-back, or sculptures that present one thing by the front and another by the back. It’s works like this which will have you spending hours in the Louvre, marvelling at what most people simply pass without much of a thought at all.

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Super Detailed Paintings

Another incredible set of art that you’ll find inside the Louvre at the works of Pannini. In a time before cameras, Pannini’s work feels very much like Inception in artistic form — paintings within paintings, with such phenomenal detail, even in the tiniest brushstrokes that make up the smaller paintings. You won’t even miss the Mona Lisa, spending time looking at the intricate details of the paintings within the painting.

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Finding an artist at work

This one isn’t guaranteed and you won’t find it on a map, but frequently, you’re going to stumble on an artist at the Louvre, whether they’re sitting on a bench sketching, or like the gentleman below, doing a full recreation of a painting. It’s incredible to be surrounded by art while an artist is in the act of creating.

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Looking Up

Sometimes, the art isn’t only on the walls at the Louvre. Half the time, the ceilings are just as fantastically decorated and artistic as what you’re looking at. Don’t forget to crane your neck upward in the rooms, just to see what art you might be missing. Each room is different, and the Louvre’s architecture and design is just one of the small details that sets it apart from so many other museums.

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Egyptian Antiquities (beyond the Sphinx)

If you keep wandering beyond the Sphinx and the sarcophagi, there’s a wealth of treasures waiting for you in the Egyptian antiquities — and in fact, if you keep wandering, you’ll find that you’re often one of only a few in these rooms, which are laid out thoughtfully to display the artwork and the historical items on display. This is an even better place to go for those extra hours, and gives you access to the less crowded areas in the Sully wing.

This is just the top of the iceberg. There’s so much more to discover, and true, it would take days, weeks, months to truly find it all, but having an adventuring spirit as you enter the Louvre will get you away from the crowds and lead you to amazing discoveries that you might have never expected to find.

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