cmstraf

We are trying to figure out how to best beat crowds at the Louvre. We will be in Paris from May 16 to 24. Thank you all in advance for your help,
Best regards

cathies

Re the Louvre, catch the metro and enter from the metro station underneath.

Re Musee d'orsay, it is possible to pre book tickets and enter via a shorter queue.

They will both be crowded inside though, there's really no way to avoid that. They both have nice cafés where you can escape for a bit.

denisea

This is a time I would recommend the Paris Museum Pass. It will help you skip the ticket lines, you will still need to go through a security line.

For the Louvre, we enter through the underground mall entrance on rue de Rivoli, rather than the front, Pyramid entrance.

I believe the Louvre is open late on Wed nights...that may help with crowd avoidance. For the Louvre, do your homework on what you want to see and where it is located in the museum. It is huge and can be overwhelming if you don't have a strategy. Expect crowds near the Venus de Milo and Mona Lisa. People can be surprisingly rude trying to get pictures and get close...prepare for the push and shove.

PalenQ

the old adage is that since the Louvre is closed on Tuesdays pent up demand on Wednesdays makes it more crowded - but I think only in high tourist season would this be a factor.

like denisea says the crowds in Louvre migrate like lemmings to the two most famous things but even then the rest of the place is so so vast that crowds are dispersed.

apersuader65

Louvre Hours: http://www.louvre.fr/en/hours-admission

I'd consider going late on a Friday afternoon, say 4:00ish. That gives you 5+ hours to tour, and Friday's late hours aren't as well known or used as the Wednesday late hours.

As for the Orsay: http://www.musee-orsay.fr/en/visit/o...eak-hours.html

This is likely the most accurate peak hours estimate.

PalenQ

Nice thing about the Paris Museum Pass - if you find it too crowded just leave and come back later in the day or the next day - come and go as you like with priority entry!

BigRuss

Considering that you will be going to the Louvre on a day of the week that ends in "y" (in English) you will have no ability to beat crowds, avoid crowds, be unencmbered by crowds, etc. The best option is to take the advice above and deal with crowds as much as you can around the enigmatically smiling woman behind plexiglass and the armless statue . . .

VonVan

And don't forget Highlight#3: Winged Victory of Samothrace

Takes my breath away every time.

Christina

In both, I think they are less crowded in late afternoon and the evening hours.

sandyh

Ref VonVan's post -- I too like to admire the Winged Victory, but, alas, not possible this spring -- she's being restored:

http://www.louvresamothrace.fr/en/#/home

Sandy

KTtravel

The Winged Victory is amazing.

I made the mistake of going to the Orsay on a Tuesday -- much too crowded probably because it is closed on Mondays.

texasbookworm

I agree that there's probably not a way to "avoid" crowds predictably.

I would recommend the MuseumPass--it helps.

Last June DH and I were at the Louvre on a Friday from about 5 til 9 and crowds were almost as thick as when I'd been there with students about 9 days earlier on a Wednesday morning. And both times I was at the D'Orsay (with kids, then with DH) on afternoons it was really really crowded.

But--don't let that deter you. These are incredible gems and you should go. Just have the expectation of horrible crowds--then if it's not so bad, happy surprise!! (I found the Louvre to be incredibly confusing--I was prepared to be amazed by its size but not by the lack of signage. So you need to have a plan--1.just plan to wander and don't care what you see or 2.Plan to choose a section and wander or 3. Have a plan with a list of highlights and search for them.)

adrienne

The Louvre allows re-entry with your ticket so you can come and go all day if you want.

PalenQ

adrienne - nice to know that - I assume you get priority entrance the second time like museum passes?

Christina

YOu don't get much priority at the Louvre no matter what, you just skip the line to buy a ticket, obviously. That line isn't that long any time I've been there in the last few years as they have those automated machines. I"ve never bought a museum pass and never thought it would make much difference at the Louvre. I think it would at the Orsay where the lines can be really long just to buy a ticket, at least last time I was there they were. Also, I think the Orsay has a separate security line for passholders and the Louvre does not.

If you just want to buy a ticket in advance to the Louvre, you can easily do that at FNAC.

PalenQ

Also, I think the Orsay has a separate security line for passholders and the Louvre does not.>

then things have changed recently - formerly at least with my museum pass I could go down a stairwell by the Richelieu wing and get instant entry to the Louvre - nowhere near the ticket office whose lines IME by walking by there a lot can be long - sometimes very long in high tourist season.

There is a secondary entrance to the Louvre for non-ticket holders as well or was - at the far western end of the wing paralleling the Seine - rarely anybody there.

You used to at least also could buy tickets in the underground shopping mall - where buses deposit groups - there was a ticket machine there.

Haven't been in a few years so things may have changed.

denisea

KTtravel...Orsay is likely crowded on Tuesday partly due to the fact that it is closed on Mondat AND the Louvre is closed on Tuesday! Double trouble.

Mathieu

Another vote for having a Museum Pass for this reason of quick entry. It worked really well for me and I was in the Louvre literally without breaking my stride after exiting the Metro while observing long line-ups outside.
Equally important with the Pass however and as mentioned above, is making sure that the Museums are opened on the days for which you validate the pass. It can interfere with your other sightseeing plans. Once you buy the pass, the dates and times for the museums it covers are listed in/on it, but before that you have to do some finger work on the net.

I went to the Louvre on a Thursday morning in Oct., 9.30 - 12.30 and during that time found it busy but not oppressively so. There were some school groups and quite a few tour groups. I saw all the highlights I wanted with ease and space, except for the Mona Lisa which had a crowd of about 10 deep around it, all holding i-Pads in the air over heads to photograph it. Quite an odd sight actually, but it made an interesting photograph. It took me about 10 minutes to make my way to the front.

Between open/closed days and other commitments over the 4 day duration of the pass, I could only get to the D'Orsay on one particular day, and when I arrived, it was closed unexpectedly due to a general strike and protest march happening in the streets around the museum. So I missed out on it - until the next time.

I also recommend making a plan for what you want to see, then getting a map of the gallery and heading to the rooms with the items you want to see. Otherwise it is overwhelming and easy to get frustrated and that's when you notice the crowds more and they become bothersome.

Mathieu

Forgot to mention that the pass validates from the first day you use it, not from the day you buy it, but you probably knew this. I bought mine upon arrival, at CDG. It comes in a 2, 4 or 6 day option and may save you time but not necessarily money if you don't plan to visit too many of the sites it covers.

You can see some of the individual entrance prices to some sites here, assuming they're current : http://www.parispass.com/how-it-work...l#.U0a1YCjlZ0A

cmstraf

Thanks, we went at 7:00 pm on a rainy Wednesday night and the Louvre was almost empty! NO ONE around the Michelangelo slave sculptures, maybe 20 people around Mona Lisa. We have a photo of the Venus of Milo where you can't see anyone but her. The long Italian renaissance corridor was almost empty! I felt like dancing. It was an incredible amount of funs.