One of the world’s best museums, the Louvre is one of Paris’ and France’s most famous attractions. It’s also incredibly huge which I only realized when I visited it; in fact it is the world’s largest art museum. As a former palace originally built in the 12th century, the Louvre is also strikingly beautiful with blue roofs and elaborate arches and stone facades.

The Louvre’s collection fills the entire palace as well as a basement with historical artifacts and works of art such as the Mona Lisa. While the entrance is through the glass pyramid in the center of the Louvre’s courtyard, the Louvre is divided into three wings – Richelieu, Denon, and the Sully – arranged in an elongated sideways “U.”

Among the most famous exhibits are the Mona Lisa, where I had to brave a thick crowd to get through, and the Winged Victory of Samathrace, a headless winged statue of the Greek goddess Nike (who the sporting brand is named after) that is from the 2nd century BC. There are also ancient Egyptian, Babylonian and Roman exhibits, as well as countless galleries with masterpieces. I especially liked the giant paintings of French and European battles and city scenes that take up entire walls.

The only complaints I had were that all the exhibit captions were in French, which for a world-class museum was a big stunning to me. Obviously, it was deliberate because it’s the French. Also, the toilets are few and inadequate – for instance, a couple of the washrooms only had one toilet and they are far apart.

How to get there: Get off at either the Palais Royal Musee du Louvre (lines 1 and 7) or Louvre-Rivoli (line 1) subway station.

Winged Victory of Samathrace, a 2nd century BC statue of the Greek goddess Nike

Babylonian Lion 

Mona Lisa

Babylonian lion relief

Mona Lisa from afar 

Viewing the Louvre from atop the Montparnasse Tower