Lots of practical advice and suggestions! Nikki - thanx for the link. Amy40 - I enjoyed reading about your rainy night at the Louvre - it must have been enchanting. Worldinabag - thanks for the strategics. Budman - I've seen this 3-hour tour website, and will probably glean some personal pearls from it - thank you. And jsmith, I really appreciate your sharing with me what you really loved about the Louvre - I will note these works of art. Thank you all.

I've been to the Louvre quite a few times, and my all-time best vist was on a Monday evening. Even the Mona Lisa didn't have anyone standing in front of it. This was back in '99, and I don't now if Monday is still the late closing day. But I would try to go whenever it's open in the evening.

Thanks Joe18. What was your favorite part of the Louvre? What did you love the most?

Going to Paris from Jan 3-10. I plan to visit the Louvre and Musee d'Orsay only. The museum passes cost 18 Euros per day, which is okay if I were a big museum fan and planned an entire day just for museums. But I think I can tolerate about 90 minutes of serious art per visit per day before I get restless.

Anyway, I want to see (1) Mona Lisa; (2) Winged Victory; and (3) Venus de Milo at the Louvre. And maybe stop in at the Musee d'Orsay on another day.

I read that both the Louvre and Musee d'Orsay are free on the first Sunday of the month, ie. Jan 7. Has anyone ever attempted to go there during the free Sunday? I mean, are there long lines of people waiting to get in?

Also, I found out that it costs 6 Euros (instead of 8,50 Euros) to get into the Louvre after 6 PM on Friday. Has anyone done that before?

Thanks.

I've been to the Louvre during evening hours, and it wasn't that crowded at all. It's a good time to go if it suits you.

I've never tried to go on free Sundays (Jan 7th is a Saturday, by the way). I wouldn't expect any line problem at other times in January. I didn't even have to wait that long last July, and I didn't have a pass. I think I waited about 10 minutes for the security check and then about 5 minutes to use the ticket vending machine on the wall inside. I imagine there isn't going to be much problem with lines in the second week of January, as those visitors for the holidays should be gone by then.

Note to DejaVu (and others):

The Orangerie has been closed for several years and isn't expected to reopen for another couple of years or more. Les Nymphéas are in storage at present.

When they went to do repairs on the building back in 2000 they discovered that the original walls Louis XIII built around the palais du Louvre were underneath the Orangerie, a much newer structure. It has since become a huge archaeological site.

It was a lovely museum, and I hope it does reopen one day.

The Napoleon Apartments are not always open, but if they are, they are not to be missed.

thanks for the advice, thit_cho. I think I don't want to miss the apartments.

I went to the Musee d'Orsay several years ago on a free Sunday in late March without realizing it in advance. There was a long line but it moved quickly.

Thanks for the tip, StCirq. I haven't been to Paris since 2000 (hope to remedy that in May ) so I hadn't heard about the Orangerie. At least it's for an interesting reason!