Musée du Louvre - a newbie's guide

Musée du Louvre is the biggest and deservedly well known art museum in Paris, and if you only have time for one museum, this is the one. It covers ancient civilisation art, Islamic art and Western art from the Middle Ages to the 19th century.

Highlights:

••  Mona Lisa - I recommend reading a little about the innovations that Leonardo achieved with this painting so that you can appreciate it more.

••  Venus de Milo sculpture.

••  Cupid and Psyche (Canova); Captive - The Dying Slave (Michelangelo); and the rest of the Italian sculpture section.

••  Remains of the Medieval Moat - This area allows you to view the remnant structures of the medieval Louvre, which was a fortress that existed prior to the construction of the Louvre building that we see today. Excavations now expose the previously buried fortress.

Cupid and Psyche (Canova)

••  The French sculpture section.

••  Law Code of Hammurabi.

••  The Islamic art wing - Which is a relatively new addition to the Louvre, fitted with a giant golden wave shaped rooftop.

Tips and notes:

••  Beat the queues by getting there early and by taking the entrance recommended below. Visiting during the off peak season also helps immensely.

••  Queues - There are two stages to the queues. The first is a security check, which is the longest and can wind for hundreds of meters at busy times. Once inside, the second queue is to purchase your ticket, either from a machine or counter. The machines work well and queues are more tolerable.

The rooftop of the Islamic art wing

••  Entrances - There are two main entrances. I recommend the Carrousel du Louvre entrance, which is lesser known, and hence the security check queue is generally much shorter. The entrance can be found via Rue de Rivoli from the street level (near corner of Place du Carrousel). You then immediately descend an escalator into the Carrousel du Louvre (a small shopping centre). Once in the shopping centre, you can follow the signs to find the security check entrance for the Louvre itself. Alternatively, the Carrousel du Louvre entrance can be accessed from the Palais Royal - Musée du Louvre metro station, but only during the shopping centre hours. Avoid the main entrance near the glass pyramid, as this can be hours long.

••  Advance tickets - Possible, but almost useless. The whole point of advance tickets is to make life easier, but in this case electronic tickets don't seem to be on offer. Instead you need to pick them up from FNAC or other shops (more queues and poor service). Or get them delivered to your address which is difficult to manage when you are travelling. And of course having an advance ticket doesn't always guarantee a shorter queue at the Louvre anyway. So...thanks for nothing Louvre.

••  Admission is free on the first Sunday of each month from October to March only. Expect queues to be bigger.

••  Grab a free map on your way in - you'll need it!

Depending on your interest level, you could easily spend a full day in the Louvre and still not see everything (there are four levels, each with multiple wings). Open everyday except Tue, and open late on Wed and Fri.