Louvre DaVinci Exhibit

Excerpt from article from the New York Times dated 10/16/19:

"An Italian court ruled on Wednesday that Leonardo’s famous “Vitruvian Man” drawing would be allowed to leave Italy for the much-ballyhooed Leonardo exhibition that opens at the Louvre in Paris on Oct. 24. The drawing, a study of the proportions of the human body that dates to around 1490, will be shown at the Louvre for eight weeks until Dec. 14. The Leonardo exhibition, which commemorates the 500th anniversary of the artist’s death in France, will continue through Feb. 24."

OP states they are going in Feb and looking forward to seeing Vitruvian man as DH is retired medical illustrator. We have tix for 12/29 and also looking forward to seeing Vitruvian Man in person. Will be disappointed if the NYT article is true. Maybe someone has some better inside knowledge on this.

I’ve been following this story/exhibit since last summer- trying to squeeze in a Paris trip this winter to see the Exhibition.

Yes it is true. Disappointing but a victory for those wanting to see the Vitruvian Man drawing. Note, this drawing is generally displayed for several weeks once every five years. Once every five years. The ink/paper are sensitive to light fading. It will be on display under a very low light, 25 lux, while at the Louvre.

My career is based upon fixing businesses. In that realm I look closely at costs, benefits, opportunity, and where things did or can go wrong. I thus go nuts seeing people spend thousands of dollars on air fare and hotels only to balk at $20 for an entrance ticket (spend thousands to get there then cheap out as to actually seeing the stuff you came to see). How does that relate here-

The Vitruvian Man is going back into the dark for YEARS and YEARS after this show. How bad do you want to see it? I have no idea as to ages/finances of the posters here. But if this is on your “must see” or “I never thought I would see it” list I’d strongly consider some change of flight fees and get to Paris earlier then intended. Hell, fly to Paris for a weekend (with a pretimed ticket, go to the Louvre, and then fly home.

I went last Friday. I'd suggest you get a timed entry ticket ASAP. I'd recommend just getting the regular one thru the Louvre and not trying to use the Museum Pass. Print your tickets out at home and then keep them in a sheet protector. I was in line to get scanned to enter the Sully Wing and the lady behind me was having a bad time as the bar code was slightly worn off from being shoved in her back pocket. It wouldn't scan and the Louvre person did not want to let her in. She said she had difficulty getting into the Leonardo exhibit as well. So...protect the bar code.

My reservation time for the Leonardo exhibit was 930. They had us line up in specific lines outside the Pyramid (blue carpet with Leonarde De Vinci printed on it). We were allowed in at about 9:25 and I headed right down to the exhibition. There was no line there for me but I suspect others will encounter a line. The guy next to me in this line said the day before (opening day) the security folks had let them in about 15 minutes before the reservation time. I'd expect to stand outside in the cold for a bit before you enter.

There are many, many small drawings in the first rooms. People get stuck at the first one or two as they listen to the audio guides. There are lots of his journals in the last (or nearly last?) room so you have to kind of jockey to get to them. The exhibition space is fairly small and even stopping to look at nearly everything it only took an hour but it was not nearly as crowded as the Vermeer exhibit was when I went to that a couple of years ago. There were a couple of what seemed to be private guides taking people thru - not sure if they were Louvre guides or otherwise and they did take a very long time in front of some of the works.

I'd have a snack in your purse (granola bar, nuts, etc). After I left the exhibit I stopped at one of the food kiosks on what I call the mezzanine level, lol, which overlooks the pyramid entrance hall and before you scan your tickets to enter a wing. I sat down for a bit with water and a snack before I headed into the galleries but it would have been better if I'd thought about having my own snack food. There were quite a few people who had brought their own sandwiches, etc although you are not allowed to have food or drink in the galleries.

If you have a Museum Pass, I'd not try to do d'Orsay on a Tuesday. I went by twice on one Tuesday (10A and 3P) and once on another Tuesday and the line to enter the Museum Pass door was huge - across the plaza, down the steps, across the street and snaked alongside the building down to nearly the next street. I did enter on a Wednesday using the Museum Pass first thing in the AM with a very short line and then again a few Thursday's later around 1030 just using the regular entrance and paying for admission there as the line was so short. (The last visit was last Thursday). If you are a Van Gogh fan, be sure to see the new Post Impressionist galleries on the 5th floor which are across the west end of the building.

If you are getting a Museum Pass, I'd not really spend one of the pass days trying to see the Orangerie or Cluny using the pass unless you're just adding either of those to another site. Both are under reno and have severely curtailed collections that are open. The Orangerie just has the Water Lilies floor open (lower level closed except for the bathrooms when I went a couple of weeks ago) and the Cluny has been down to about 4 rooms plus the gallery for the Lady and Unicorn tapestries. You'll want to check but I thought the Carnavalet Museum (Museum of Paris) was to reopen the end of this year. It's been free in the past (they used to ask for a 5E donation) but not sure what the deal will be now.

Have a wonderful time!

"I was in line to get scanned to enter the Sully Wing and the lady behind me was having a bad time as the bar code was slightly worn off from being shoved in her back pocket. It wouldn't scan and the Louvre person did not want to let her in. She said she had difficulty getting into the Leonardo exhibit as well. So...protect the bar code."

Who in this day and age doesn't have their tix downloaded to their phone????

Not everyone has a smart phone or even wants one believe it or not.

Who in this day and age doesn't have their tix downloaded to their phone????

Actually quite a lot of people. Me, for instance. And I know I'm not alone.

Me too, Nancy. In the past some museums didn't go with downloaded tickets. I saw no one either at the DaVinci exhibition or entering the ticket barriers to the various wings that were using their phones or watches for tickets. I have train tickets on my phone but always have paper backups.

BTW, the woman in question was at least 20 years younger than I.

Thanks for your detailed replies! We have exhibit tickets on a February Friday at 10 am. (I just slipped them into a sheet protector) I agree with you, onefastbob, that is why we bought another set of tickets for again on Sunday evening at 7 pm - that way we can revisit anything we felt shortchanged on or want to see again! As the exhibit is the main reason for this trip another 17E each is no big deal! Thanks for the D’Orsay tip...we plan on a Thursday visit. I will also pack some peanuts for a snack!!!....for everywhere we go!

The exhibition is magnificent, and well worth two visits. Going there on a Sunday evening is smart too, hopefully it would not be too crowded, as the only drawback with the Leonardo da Vinci Louvre exhibition is that it is very busy.

Does anyone know if it is possible to get a timed entry ticket through either a tour group or reseller, that does not charge a ridiculous price? I have a last minute trip but no tickets show as available for the days I am in town on the museum site.

Keith

Does anyone know if they are checking ID's? I have a ticket from a broker with someone else's name on it.

We have seen the exhibit twice and no one was checking id. However, the bar code should be in pretty good shape. We saw quite a few people having issues (too many wrinkles, maybe got a bit wet, etc.)

Thank you Dean! I am getting excited! We have tickets on phone and have already slipped a hard copy into a plastic sleeve! Our hotel is on Metro Line 1 so we can even easily walk if strike continues into Feb. I hope you enjoyed the exhibit!

I agree with Dean - no name checking so no problem. I also ran in to people who were having problems with their bar codes (my first post above) so do protect that.

I hope the broker is reliable and you've not paid an arm and a leg for this ticket. I've seen some posts elsewhere that some more tickets have been released in the last few days.

I am going to be in Paris the last week of February (a last minute plan). I was trying to get the Leonardo Da Vinci exhibition on the Louvre website. I arrive on 23rd of February, and the last exhibit is on the 24th. But, when I click on the day (with a dash across it) in the calendar, it does not go throught. It's not working for any of the days in February. Am I doing something wrong, or are they really all booked up? Is there anyway, or anywhere else I can get the reservation for this exhibit?