Skip the Lines with Parisian Style

If you are planning a trip to Paris, you will at some point, end up at the Louvre.  It’s as though all the roads in the city somehow keep directing you back to the art and the history contained in side the huge building.  However, if and when you decide to go, you will quickly learn that everyone else visiting Paris on that day, is also at the Louvre, and this can ruin your mindset, causing your artistic outing to be more of a nightmarish grind.  The line to get into the museum can be hours long at the peak of the tourist season (June, July, and August).  Waiting your turn to go through security eats away at your day.  Luckily, though, there are two alternatives.

First, if you plan to visit more than one museum, you should invest in the Paris Museum Pass.  You can get one for as little as 39€.  Purchasing one before you leave, can be a life saver.  The entrances to all of the major museums in Paris have a separate line, just for pass holders.  With the pass, you get the luxury of walking past the blocks long line, and walking right to the security checkpoint.

If  you don’t have a pass, and you have an itch to see the “Mona Lisa” or “Napoleon Crossing the Alps” that you simply have to scratch, there is another option.  The vast majority of the public enters the Louvre though the glass pyramid in the central courtyard.  However, if you enter through the Louvre’s “Carousel” you’ll find your wait can be counted in minutes, not hours.  The Carousel is a large mall like shopping complex that is adjacent to the underground lobby of the museum.  To access it, take the subway to the Louvre exit and follow the sign.  The Carousel can also be accessed from the street. To do so, if you are standing directly in front of the glass pyramid entrance, and the park and Arc de Triumph are to your back head to the left.  You will quickly see an entrance to the Paris Metro. Take the steps down and turn left, and volia!  You are in the Carousel, complete with stores, Starbucks, food court, and post office.  If you continue down the hallway, you will run into the security line for the Louvre and will find a short, air conditioned wait.

Merci!

http://en.parismuseumpass.com.