The Louvre Museum in Paris is vast, housing countless art pieces, sculptures, antiques, and archaeological objects. It’s simply impossible to see and admire all of them in one visit. If you only have one day to explore the Louvre, a bit of planning and preparation is essential to ensure you enjoy your visit and see all the ‘must-see’ highlights.
Planning in advance
The first time we visited Paris, we didn’t even try to fit the Louvre into our itinerary. There were so many other sights we wanted to see, and we preferred to take our time to enjoy and savor this beautiful city. So, we planned another trip to Paris specifically to visit the Louvre and Versailles. Read all about it in our post Paris, Versailles and Louvre in one weekend.
First of all, we strongly recommend buying tickets in advance. We booked ours online and chose a 9 a.m. entry time. The time-slot ticket doesn’t allow you to skip the queue at the entrance, but there is a dedicated queue for visitors with tickets. It guarantees entrance to the museum within half an hour of the time specified on the ticket.
Another essential step to take in advance is doing your homework and shortlisting what you want to see in the Louvre. Be sure to write down the locations – floor, wing, and room numbers. Print out the list and map, or keep them handy on your mobile, so you can familiarize yourself with the layout beforehand. The map is available online on the official Louvre website. This way, you won’t waste time in the museum running from one floor to another searching for masterpieces or trying to understand the room layout.
Here is our (subjective) list of 20 must-see highlights in the Louvre for a one-day visit. The items are not listed in any particular order but are grouped by floors:
List of ‘must see’ items in the Louvre
Ground Floor:
Psyche Revived by Cupid’s Kiss – (Floor 0, Room 4, Richelieu Wing) – a tender yet intensely emotional marble sculpture:
The Venus de Milo (also known as Aphrodite) – (Floor 0, Room 345 or 346) – one of the most renowned statues representing female beauty:
Sleeping Hermaphroditus – (Floor 0, Room 348, Sully Wing) – a sculpture of Hermaphroditos sleeping on a remarkably realistic marble mattress:
Hammurabi’s Code statue – (Floor 0, Room 3) – one of the oldest written laws in the history of the world:
The Lamassu – (Floor 0, Near Eastern Antiquities) – protective spirits that guarded entrances in ancient Assyria / Mesopotamia as far back as 3000 B.C. (Tip: if visiting with children, ask them to count legs of the statue. At a first glance, it appears to have four legs, but when viewed from the side and front, you can see that it actually has five legs):
The Dying Slave and the Rebellious Slave – (Floor 0, Room 403) – two sculptures made by Michelangelo Buonarotti:
Great Sphinx of Tanis – (Floor 0, Room 338) – along with the entire Egyptian Antiquities section on Ground Floor, features many fascinating pieces from ancient Egypt. I’d assume this section would likely be a favorite when visiting with children:
First Floor:
Mona Lisa (Floor 1, Room 711). I don’t need to tell you much about the painting itself – it’s one of the most famous in the world. There is a queue to get close (though not too close) to the masterpiece and take a photo, if you wish. We waited about 10-15 minutes in line and had roughly 30 seconds to view Da Vinci’s iconic painting before being asked to move along so others could have their turn:
Les Noces de Cana (The Wedding at Cana) – (Room 711, right in front of Mona Lisa) – one of the biggest painting displayed in the Louvre, by Paolo Veronese. We had enough time to admire it while waiting in line to see the Mona Lisa:
Winged Victory of Samothrace statue – (Floor 1, Room 703 – which is actually a staircase, not a room) – a 2200 year old masterpiece, also known as Nike, the Greek goddess of victory. It is perhaps one of my favorite art piece in the Louvre:
The Intervention of the Sabine Women – (Floor 1, Room 702, Denon Wing) – a 1799 painting by Jacques-Louis David:
Liberty Leading the People – (Floor 1, Room 700) – a renowned French painting of Liberty leading the fighters during the 1830 revolution:
The Coronation of Napoleon – (Floor 1, Room 702) – a monumental painting of the coronation of Napoleon I at Notre-Dame de Paris:
Napoleon III Apartments – (Floor 1, Room 705) – a striking display of the excessive wealth and opulence of French monarchy:
Virgin of the Rocks – (Room 5, Denon wing) – another remarkable painting by Leonardo da Vinci.
French Crown Jewels, The crown of Louis XV – (Department of Decorative Arts) – crowns of French royalty, decorated with diamonds and other gemstones.
Apollo Galerie and 140-carat Regent Diamond – (Room 705 of the Denon Wing) – the rooms were unfortunately closed during our visit, so we didn’t have the chance to see the famous diamond.
Empress Eugénie’s Crown – (Room 550 of the Richelieu Wing) – another exquisite piece of imperial jewelry with 2490 diamonds and 56 emeralds.:
Second Floor:
Louis XIV – (Sully Wing, Room 916) – a painting by Hyacinthe Rigaud.
La Dentellière (The Lacemaker) – (Richelieu Wing, Room 837) – a painting by Jan Vermeer (I almost missed it, as it’s quite small).
The Cheat with the Ace of Diamonds – (Sully Wing, Room 912) – a painting by Georges de la Tour.
Portrait of the Artist Holding a Thistle – (Richelieu Wing, Room 809) – a painting by Albrecht Dürer. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to see it as it was not on display during our visit.
Better less, but better
In total, we spent about six hours in the Louvre, including a short break for coffee and a snack at one of the museum’s cafes. We were very happy with our visit and glad that we dedicated a full day to exploring the museum. Any less time would have left us either rushing through everything or missing some of the best art pieces we had hoped to see.
“Of course, we saw many more things beyond the ’20 Things To See in the Louvre in One Day’ list. However, having the list prepared and knowing our way around ensured that we saw everything we wanted to. In addition, we had time to appreciate anything that caught our eye outside of our planned ‘must-sees’.
We didn’t visit all the rooms or see all the exhibitions the Louvre has to offer. However, for me, it was more important to take the time to appreciate the art pieces rather than quickly glance at them and rush to the next one.
Read next – our post on how to see Versailles, Louvre and major sights of Paris in one weekend.
