Musée du Louvre

The Louvre is close to 650,000 square feet. In a day, you won’t even scratch the surface. My suggestion would be to hit the museum some time before dinner time. You should be able to purchase tickets ahead of time at any newspaper stand in the metro, which will allow you to enter without waiting in line. Once inside, the main attractions that you want to look for are, of course, the Mona Lisa, the Nike of Samothrace, better known as Winged Victory, Cupid Revived by Cupid’s Kiss, and Venus de Milo. Also, keep your eyes peeled for Michelangelo’s slave statues. I believe that there are four and in each one, he has left behind unsculptured stone, which is symbolic of slavery, but also allows you to see what goes into sculpturing. I think that you will be really moved by the slave sculptures if you have never seen any of Michelangelo’s sculptures before. There are other paintings that you may want to try and find, like Ghirlandaio’s Portrait of an old man and his grandson, Velasquez’s Infanta Maria Margareta, and Delacroix’s Liberty leading the people. Lastly, don’t leave without seeing the courtyard and Napoleon’s furnished apartments. If you can time it right, make it outside in time to see the sun set. The reflection on the glass pyramid makes for a spectacular sight.