More Louvre questions

1. I'd make your entry time 100 to 130 to give you time to get in, make a comfort stop and locate the desk where you'll get instructions for your tour. Yes, you'll be able to go to the group reception. It is in the lobby area under the Pyramid. When I was there in April they were looking at ticket times at the Entrance to the lines to the Pyramid so yes, if you are after your entrance time they should let you in. (That statement will make more sense when you get there!) The lines are to get thru security which is before you actually enter the building. There are rarely lines to get to each wing - maybe 10-20 people, moving slowly as the attendant scans each ticket/pass.

"For example, we want to enter on level -1 in the Richelieu wing, go up two flights of stairs in the back galleries (as the map seems to indicate is doable), to level 1, visit Room 544 in particular (which seems to be Napoleons apartments), then circle around past the Sully wing from room 601 to 663, over to the Denon wing, tour there, then back over to the Sully wing to go up to level 2. It appears most of the staircases connect to each floor in the same general area, but is that really the case?)"

The Richelieu has escalators so head for them! Yes you can do that route from Richelieu to the 600 numbered rooms of Sully and on to Denon, then back. You don't really have to go on staircases between wings - the galleries flow in to each other. The Denon wing doesn't have a 2nd floor that is open to the public so you can't go 2nd floor of Denon to 2nd floor Sully. You CAN go 2nd floor of Sully to 2nd floor of Richelieu. Be sure to look out the windows in the Richelieu and Sully wings. You get a marvelous view of the Carousel Arch and the Eiffel Tower!

"I'm assuming we would have to make sure we noted which wing we entered at the start of the tour, so that we could use one of the other two when we went back on our own. And does it matter which wing we exit the tour from? Say, for example, if the tour started by entering the Richelieu wing and exited from the Denon wing, we could still go back later and enter the Denon wing on our own if need be?"

Yes, and I think your guide will be careful to make sure you know you've entered the "XX" wing so that you know which entrances are still open to you. It doesn't matter where you exit. Nothing is checked at exit.

This will actually make more sense when you are there...or not, lol. I keep going back to the Louvre because there is so much to see and every time I discover something else. I got turned around in the Richelieu wing last time and wound up in the Sully wing. I was actually looking for a view of the Eiffel Tower but accidentally stumbled on a gallery full of Impressionist paintings. I had no idea they were there and not at d'Orsay.

Were you the one wanting to see the Code of Hammurabi? https://www.louvre.fr/en/oeuvre-notices/law-code-hammurabi-king-babylon I'm pretty sure it's on "0" level in the area of Richelieu/Sully where the come together in the 200 and 300 area. Your tour guide will also be able to mark it on your map.

You can also see the medieval foundations of the Louvre in the Richelieu wing.

Napoleon's Apartments are more than one room but they flow into each other.

Pam,

Thank you so much for your detailed reply. I'm glad to know things will make more sense when we get there. I am just such a planner and like to have everything squared away in my mind ahead of time, and was just having a fit trying to wrap my head around the Louvre!!

Also, I was getting the idea that the galleries flowed into each other (so that's good to have confirmed!), but going between floors was what was making me nervous. And then things like going from room 663 to room 601 - on the map it appeared to flow straight through, but then they showed stairs there as well. Good to know that's doable!! (And escalators for the Richelieu - awesome!)

And thanks for the tip on looking out the windows in the Richelieu and Sully wings for views! I have added that to my notes!

I wasn't the one asking about the Code of Hammurabi, but I'd love to see it if we can squeeze it in (esp if it's not on the tour.) I guess it all depends on how long we can last before we completely poop out walking!! Lol!

Thanks again for your help!!

Well, it will sort of make more sense but it's retrofitted into a medieval footprint so there are things that are weird. You also may run on to galleries being randomly closed due to "staffing". In any event, it will be wonderful and a bit overwhelming and worth another visit, lol!

You may or may not be able to get from one wing to another without going through the wing ticketing entrance. We have been there when closed galleries basically block that sort of passage. And getting around inside is not always easy -- lots of dead ends and confusion. I only really notice it when I am in a hurry to get out.

I think you could exit Denon and then enter again if you hadn't but haven't tried it yet. Since most of the food service is outside the ticketed wings I am wondering how they handle people getting lunch while in the museum. There really ought to be a stamp system or similar.

"I think you could exit Denon and then enter again if you hadn't but haven't tried it yet. Since most of the food service is outside the ticketed wings I am wondering how they handle people getting lunch while in the museum."

Yes, if you haven't used your Denon entry you can re-enter thru there. It doesn't matter where you exit as no one is scanning your ticket as you are outbound from the wings. It is unfortunate that there was no way to tell from your ticket which wings you'd entered through which might confuse a first time visitor. I was not brave enough to try to re-enter through one of the gates I'd already used to see if I got rejected.

I did exit to what I think of as the mezzanine area where the food outlets are located during my last visit. I had used a Denon entry, exited thru Richelieu and entered back thru Richelieu after I had a snack to take advantage of the escalators. I exited again for lunch and re-entered thru Sully. I did NOT go out past the secure zone for lunch as I would have needed another timed entry to get back in.

In October I felt they were making an effort to keep a passageway open between wings. As I went from Denon to Sully on Level 1 you had to walk thru temporary corridors constructed of plywood. I was thinking that in prior years they would have just blocked the access off and not bothered with the temporary access thru what was clearly a construction zone but that they were making sure people could get from one area to another.

Well, hopefully we won't run into too many closed galleries or blocked passages. I think I'll make it a point to talk to the tour guide as well, after the tour is over, as to how he/she would recommend getting around. And we'll try and scrupulously keep track of where we enter, as well, so that if we want to grab some food, etc. we can. Fingers crossed!! Thanks all for your replies!

So, one can only enter each wing once via the "official" wing entry point, but one can wander from wing to wing AFTER entering a particular wing and without exiting that wing? I can't grasp the logic here. What is the point of controlling entrances relative to wings? What is wrong with allowing "unlimited movement" within the Louvre once one has gained entry to the museum proper? It seems like an unnecessary complication for people simply wanting to grab a bite to eat or go to the loo. There may well be good reasons, but I sure can't see them.

the Louvre used to allow all day entry on one ticket and people could come in the morning and then go our for lunch and return for the evening -- or take their kids out to play in the Tuilleries and one of them come back in etc etc. The abuses by tour leaders from just which country you might imagine as well as grifters gathering and reselling old tickets, lead to making it more difficult for ordinary tourists to enjoy the Louvre. Tour groups would collect the tickets and then run a couple more tour groups through with them.

I would think this would be fairly easy to control by having special tour group tickets and processes or by having hand stamps or wrist bands if they really cared about the art experience of the ordinary traveler. But their choice was to go to single entry in an architecture that doesn't make that work very well. We feel blessed to have spend many a day in the Louvre before these changes; doubt we will spend much time there in the future.

"So, one can only enter each wing once via the "official" wing entry point, but one can wander from wing to wing AFTER entering a particular wing and without exiting that wing? I can't grasp the logic here."

That is correct. I think you can't grasp the logic because there is none! It is senseless. IF they want to control visitors, then scan the tickets one time and be done. They've already controlled entries by having them timed so one scan and you are done. There is at least one restaurant (Angelina's) within the scanned boundaries so in theory you could just use one scan and spend the whole day there. I need more choice than that restaurant and want a more casual atmosphere so that's why I exit to the area where the food outlets are.

It does irritate me that you can't just do a 2 hour visit and leave for fresh air. This museum is overwhelming to me there is just SO much and I do better in small bites. I loved the prior museum pass because you could do multiple admissions over several days. I could pop in, buzz up to see the Rembrandts and Vermeers and then go off and do something else. Another day I could go in and look at sculptures, etc.... Times change.

Thanks for confirming that Pam.