Post by Becky (Berkeleytravelers) on May 23, 2007 1:07:44 GMT -5
Everyone has different views about what the "best bits" of the Louvre would be, and everyone hears that question often. I've never had the stamina to spend more than about three hours there because it's just overwhelming and I suspect the same is true of many others.
So -- forget the crowds taking pictures of the backs of other tourists' heads in front of the ML and tell us, if you wanted to go for just an hour or two, what would you most want to see?
My choices: (1) "winged victory" (don't recall which staircase, I've never memorized the various parts of the museum), because even though it's damaged it gives such a sense of power and motion, (2) venus de milo, because I've never seen a more truly remote expression and when you look up at her you just know she's a goddess (it's not that she doesn't care about humans, exactly, it's more that we literally are beneath her level of consciousness -- she just doesn't know we even exist), (3) the portrait of Francois I (Titian? not sure!), because it always gives me a sense of a powerful personality and intellect, (4) the Napoleonic apartments, looking out at the backs of the statues that line the exterior of the building (again, seems like a little peek into the personality and priorities of the central figure of the time), and (5) the below ground area where you can see the massive foundations of the fortress that the Louvre once was.
One last thing - if you poop out while walking around and need a break, there is a little known tea room (I don't remember how I even found it, but it was tucked away in a corner), looking out into an interior area, that is great for a quick coffee.
So -- forget the crowds taking pictures of the backs of other tourists' heads in front of the ML and tell us, if you wanted to go for just an hour or two, what would you most want to see?
My choices: (1) "winged victory" (don't recall which staircase, I've never memorized the various parts of the museum), because even though it's damaged it gives such a sense of power and motion, (2) venus de milo, because I've never seen a more truly remote expression and when you look up at her you just know she's a goddess (it's not that she doesn't care about humans, exactly, it's more that we literally are beneath her level of consciousness -- she just doesn't know we even exist), (3) the portrait of Francois I (Titian? not sure!), because it always gives me a sense of a powerful personality and intellect, (4) the Napoleonic apartments, looking out at the backs of the statues that line the exterior of the building (again, seems like a little peek into the personality and priorities of the central figure of the time), and (5) the below ground area where you can see the massive foundations of the fortress that the Louvre once was.
One last thing - if you poop out while walking around and need a break, there is a little known tea room (I don't remember how I even found it, but it was tucked away in a corner), looking out into an interior area, that is great for a quick coffee.
Let the riot begin! LOL - 
hahahha