The Louvre is hosting a program called “Les visites sportives” to have fun the Olympic Games in Paris in … [+]
Paris has loads planned for the Olympic Games in only over 40 days, but few expected training sessions on the Louvre, probably the most visited museum on the earth and residential to arguably probably the most famous painting on the earth: the Mona Lisa.
As you may expect from the house of the Venus de Milo, the Louvre has a variety of rules. Besides the standard ones – no firearms, no smoking – it also prohibits the precise to eat or drink excessive amounts and the precise to talk in public without permission.
However, within the run-up to the Olympics, one in every of the world’s most sacred museums has allowed sporting events to happen in its public galleries under the supervision of dancer and choreographer Mehdi Kerkouche. In addition, at the top of the cardio workout, participants have the precise to view the artworks at no cost. What higher option to mix the Olympics with the Louvre than by practicing yoga among the many sculptures?
It also matches perfectly with the exhibition “Olympism (Modern Invention, Ancient Legacy)” going down throughout the Games, which looks on the creation of the primary modern Olympic Games and particularly how they “combine the scientific disciplines of philology, history, art history and archaeology”.
While half of the world’s most visited museums in 2022 were within the US or UK, it was the Louvre in Paris that seen most visitors with a whopping 7.7 million visitors this yr, and that remains to be lower than before Covid – in 2019, an incredible 9.6 million people set foot on the marble floors. (The Vatican Museums got here second in 2022 with just over 5 million visitors, with the Natural History Museum in London in third place with 4.7 million).
In fact, the queue outside the Louvre is commonly probably the most impressive sights to behold when walking around Paris; it often takes several hours to wind through the 1850s Cour Napoléon before reaching the fashionable glass pyramid entrance – an immediately recognisable backdrop for Paris for the reason that Nineteen Eighties. One of the benefits of sporting events on the Louvre was that there have been no queues at 7:45 a.m. when the museum would admit those of their Elastane and yoga pants.
For all Louvre visitors on the lookout for something less exciting than the Olympics, but just as fun: follow the route through which the Carters (Beyonce and Jay Z) share their music Videofilmed through the galleries, past the Nike of Samothrace and the Wedding at Cana (the route is accessible on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays).
The Olympic Games shall be held from 26 July to 11 August 2024 and the Paralympics from 28 August to eight September 2024. There shall be various changes to move and opening hours throughout the town. Visitors are advised to examine routes and web sites before travelling.
The Louvre is served by metro lines 1 and seven (Palais-Royal/Musée du Louvre stop) and line 14 (Pyramides). It can also be accessible by buses 21, 27, 39, 67, 68, 69, 72, 74, 85 and 95. If you would like to reach by bike, there are several bike rental stations across the complex. The museum is closed on Tuesdays.
