Louvre After-Hours Tour

Today I want to share my review of a Louvre after-hours tour with you. This Paris landmark is one of the most famous museums in the world, and it’s worth taking a private tour of the Louvre to see the collection without the crowds.

As my press trip to Le Bristol hotel continued, I didn’t think there could be anything more impressive outside of the hotel than inside. How could they top the gorgeous suites, the excellent cuisine, and the relaxing spa treatments?

By giving us access to things we couldn’t get on our own, that’s how. This came in several forms, the first of which was a private Louvre after-hours tour.

Normally reserved for VIP guests at Le Bristol, we were the first press group to experience this luxury firsthand.

Louvre Private Tour

When we arrived at the Louvre, our tour guide and a representative from the Louvre’s partnership office met us outside of I. M. Pei’s famous glass pyramid.

A guard let us pass through the entry barrier, making sure none of the crowd behind us came along for the ride. We felt privileged to be entering the Louvre on a day when the museum was closed to the public.

Once inside, our bags were checked and we were given visitor badges to wear. From there we went down the escalators into the cavernous entry hall.

It was eerily quiet, and the museum’s interior looked stark in the absence of the usual crowds.

Denon Wing of the Louvre

Our Louvre after-hours tour began in the Denon wing, which we learned was named after the first director of the Louvre. Our footsteps echoed off the empty halls as we made our way up the stairs.

When we arrived at the top, we found ourselves in a silent room full of sculptures. We still couldn’t believe we had the whole museum to ourselves.

Our guide took us through several famous works of art in the room, including Canova’s Cupid and Psyche and Michelangelo’s The Slave.

In the absence of the normal throngs that surrounded these sculptures, we were able to get a close look and learn about their history from our guide.

Louvre Sculptures

From there our Louvre after-hours tour took us to the famous Winged Victory of Samothrace, then down empty stairs and quiet corridors to the Venus de Milo.

It was hard to believe how much amazing art we were seeing in the absence of other onlookers.

I kept reminding myself to appreciate how unique the experience was, not least because I would be longing for it if I could ever bring myself to visit the Louvre on a normal day again.

Louvre Moat

After the sculptures, our tour moved on through several of the historically-preserved rooms in the Louvre, then came to a place that I had never seen before: the moat. A moat in the Louvre? Yep.

The original foundations of the former fort were still surprisingly intact, and they were right there below all the art on the upper floors. On that particular day they were the backdrop for a contemporary Russian art exhibition.

Marie de Medici Paintings

After learning about the history and construction of the moat and seeing a scale model of the former fort, our Louvre after-hours tour moved onto the paintings.

The room we saw was a large one that had 24 huge paintings of the life of Marie de Medici. They were all painted by Rubens, who apparently took two years to complete the cycle.

As our tour guide took us through the key paintings in the room, I couldn’t help but feel like we were having a private audience with the queen herself.

Louvre Royal Highlights

Speaking of royalty, we next visited the treasury, where we saw Charles V’s scepter and the coronation sword of the French monarchs.

Then the Louvre after-hours tour continued in Napoleon III’s apartments. The opulent rooms were decorated in sumptuous, over-the-top decor that reminded me of their counterparts in the Hermitage in St Petersburg.

The Grand Salon was the most impressive, with its gold-and-burgundy furniture and massive chandelier.