Tourist Crowds

Yes, at some sites we thought would be crowded, there weren't crowds. Some were crowded but others surprised us. We had pre bought tickets to most places we visited.
London- walked right into Westminster Abbey and bought tickets, long lines at Churchill War Rooms but we entered quickly, long lines way down into town at Windsor Castle but we walked right in with pre-purchased tickets.
Amsterdam- we pre- purchased tickets to the Rijksmuseum and there were no lines to enter with pre- purchased nor to buy tickets. And it was fantastic to see the newly renovated building. The lack of lines really surprised me. Van Gogh Museum was sold out and has timed ticketed entrances.

Whoosh, they were out in force at the Louvre today! Around 1:30, the line around the pyramid looked like a bad day at Disneyland and this was on a day with on/off showers. It's open late tonight, so the energy level dimmed considerably after 3:00 pm. Still crowded, but not as frenetic. L'Orangeriez was manageable, Musee Picasso, Musee Delacroix and Musee Marmottan were all quite calm today and yesterday.

One hint to avoid the crazy outside Pyramid line at the Louvre - go INSIDE to the Carrousel entrance - mind you, we were there in April, but we had all of a 5 min wait to use one of the ticket machines, maybe 2 dozen people in front of us (if that) - compared to the 100+ people waiting outside at the Pyramid entrance...there are also honest to God humans inside as well if you don't want to use a machine ;)

We also used the Carrousel entrance when we went in 2010 - back then, it was one or two ticket machines in the middle of the mall, with no line up whatsoever (again, compared to hundreds of people outside) - now they have a dedicated room/space with a dozen or more machines.

Well, there were probably 75+people in front of us at the carousel entrance yesterday, but that was still better than what was outside. Thanks to people on the forum, we knew to use the carousel. We had our museum passes, so we didn't have to wait in the ticket line. We thought about getting the audio guide, but the ticket line for that was long as well as the line to actually pick up the audio guides.

Ok... Now I know where the lines were. They were waiting for us at Versailles today. I know we did the wrong thing, got there later at around 12:45 and it took us until 3:15 to get in. Our reason, our grandson takes as little time in museums etc. and has no patience for waiting. My husband wanted to see Neptune's Fountain. That runs at 5:20 so we figured we would have plenty of time. WRONG, our grandson went into the palace and we did the gardens. It all worked out but we definitely learned our lesson.

Nancy,

I found the same thing at Versailles, however it only took me about 1H:15M in the hot sun to get into the Chateau (with a Museum Pass). I had some entertainment while waiting, watching the police try to apprehend one of the scammers selling cheap trinkets. Even with about five officers chasing him, the scammer got away. The police were later passing his "goods" out to children from the tailgate of a police car. At this time of year, I imagine Versailles is horrendously crowded. The gardens seemed to provide lots more "breathing room".

We were in Paris in April, so prob fewer visitors...

The big capital cities can start to feel more empty in August because all the locals go on their holiday and a lot of people avoid the cities for fear of heat. I'm sure all the beach resorts and natural areas are quite busy. I'm going canoeing in not-well-known part of Franconia next weekend and I had to call 3 different companies to find a canoe that wasn't reserved. I think it will be busy on the river.