Louvre or Versailles?

Neither. Musee d'Orsay.

I vote for Louvre if you are staying in Paris. The collection is world class and if you still have time you can visit Notre Dame or Rodin Museum.

It depends on your interests but I would choose the Louvre. There is so much to see there and so much variety and it's close to other attractions so less travel time if you have a limited time in Paris. You get a feel of the opulence of old France with either.

I love both, and have visited both multlpe times. I do not think one precludes the other, but if you are truly pushed ofr time,, you can get alot out of the Louvre,, and not even see the Mona Lisa!
For just a taste of the sumptous over the top palace living you must make a point to see Napoleons Apartmetns at the Louvre, not the Palace at Versailles, but will certainly impress. Remember the Louvre was a royal residense once, so although you will not get the full expereince , I do think a visit to the Louvre may satisfy for a short time scedule. Do rent audio guide. Do use lesser known entrances to avoid lines .Do leave and come back after lunch( you can on ticket) dobring you DL to leave at desk for renting audio guides, better then leavin PP in my opinion.

If you're thinking of Versailles, it would imply that you have a full day available.

If so, pick a day when when the Louvre is open late and be at Versailles when it opens. You can get them both in, but it will be a mean day.

Personally, I'd save Versailles for the ninty-third trip and a day you can think of nothing better to do than hammer toothpicks under your fingernails.

Matt, I'm with Ed. Much prefer the Napoleon III apartments at the Louvre to Versailles. So much to see. Two hours???? What is that? Actually, the Mona Lisa is one of the least interesting things to see. Also agree that l'Orangerie is wonderful, even with the missing items. If you prefer impressionist painting, it is far preferable to the Louvre. One that I have never seen mentioned here that I really liked is the Rodin museum. If you like Rodin and impressionists, I would recommend l'Orangerie and Rodin, if your interests are broader, I would recommend the Louvre. I would not recommend, under the conditions you specify, Versailles.

OK, I'll be the first to go the other way, but with stipulations. I am a big lover of art, but I am a bigger lover of history. Obviously, the Louvre has history, it IS history, but not like Versailles. You can roam through the palace, imagining how the Louises lived, seeing Marie Antoinette taking in play in the opera house, or her pining for her childhood at the Hamlet. The Palace is second to none, and the gardens hold that title as well. Picnics abound there. Both are great, and the good news is that you won't be disappointed with either choice. You can relax a bit more at Versailles, once your outside, you'll have much more room. No chance at the Louvre. All in all, if you lean more toward history and architecture, hit Versailles. If art is more your thing, take in the Louvre.

Both are worth, but they are different. Depends of your interests.
Louvre is huge, needs a few good hours to see most of it.
I guess you can get a guide or videos, watch and see which one you like better.

I only had one day myself...I wanted to see Louvre, and my adult kids were for Versailles. So I saw a pamphlet in my hotel lobby for a tour company that offered a day with both included....Mind you this was the shorter tour of both - L. was the major famous rennaissance works, and unbelieveable statues. And V. was the main rooms of the castle and the grounds close to the palace...hall of mirrors is amazing along with bedrooms. You give ups soemthings you may be able to do if you had a day at either on your own. But we went with one other family, in a van with a wonderful guide that drove us to both, had the tickets and we walked directly thru all line with him...He gave us a comprehensive tour of the Louvre sections we went to and being a smaller group we were able to move around much faster than with a group from the museum..or on our own....Morn at Versailles, and lunch at Louvre (great food court in the underground mall/ticket area) and about 3 hours at L. It was not cheap, about 120 dollars (including admission) but it was very much worth it. fliers are in most hotels and the desk at hotels call and book it for you, and you get picked up in the morning...it was very time efficient and enjoyable.

If you are staying in Paris, do the louvre. Don't waste time getting to/from Versailles. Save it for your next trip. And at the Louvre, blaze through the over touristed, overloaded, "look I saw the mona lisa" italian painting wing and spend a great day browsing most of the rest of the museum all to yourself. The Richelieu wing is superb and mostly devoid of people. Have fun!

If it's a beautiful day I think I'd vote for Versailles simply because the outside areas are as beautiful as the inside. That being said, you must factor in the travel time to and from the site.
The Louvre defies description. I could go there every day given the chance.

Versailles!! But of course it depends on what you want. When we went to Versailles we rushed thru the chateau. Yes it was beautiful but if you've seen one royal bedroom you've seen them all. What we liked were the gardens and Marie Antoinette's village. We spent an entire day in the gardens. we rented bikes but you can also rent golf carts to see everything. We left after 9 hours still wanting more. My only regret is we were there on a day when the fountains were not on. This may not sound like a big deal but when you see the fountains you'll understand how magnificent each one is and how different the experience would be with them on.

If you are comparing the chateau proper to the louvre then I might choose the louvre otherwise rev up the golf cart and go.

My vote is for the Louvre. The only thing that I remember about the interior of the chateau is the Hall of Mirrors. That's because the rest of the time all I could see was the people jammed around me. The gardens and the "smaller" buildings were easier to see, but there's more to do once you are finished with the Louvre without the long RER trip back.