Le Louvre Online Visitor Trails

One of my favorite memories from Paris is visiting the Louvre.  I definitely underestimated its size and barely got through half of the museum over the course of a two visits!  I have not really kept up with what the Louvre has been doing since visiting and thought to visit their website.  The website is very interactive and like the museum, there is a lot to see.  I was pleased to find a section on the website titled "Visitor Trails," 27 informational pages over various collections at the museum.  Each page links collections to overarching themes to help visitors put the Louvre's massive holdings into perspective.  A photo is included with each step of the tour.

  Salle des Caryatides

The first trail I ventured down was titled, "Living in the Louvre, The former palace of the French kings."  After the introductory step, each step following briefly describes the kings of the Louvre and parts of the museum most relevant to them.  This tour starts with Salle Saint-Louis, who ordered construction of the Louvre in 1190, and describes how the museum looked during the medieval period.  Each step includes where the room is located in the museum and how to get to the next step when physically visiting.  I wish I had looked through this prior to visiting the museum!

  Display case of Ancient Egyptian artifacts

Another trail that caught my attention was the "Daily Life in Egypt, In the Time of the Pharaohs" trail.  I spent quite a while admiring Egyptian Antiquities when I visited the museum as I had never seen anything like it. Throughout the steps of this trail, the artifacts that are displayed are explained with relevance to daily life under rule of the pharaohs in Egypt.  A model boat, farming tools, and tablets are just a few of the types of artifacts included to help visitors understand life in Ancient Egypt. I like the way this tour is set up because it could help a visitor physically go to the museum with the relevance behind these objects already in mind.  I think all of the trails provided on the Lourve's website would be incredibly helpful for visitors to check out before heading to the museum.

  In front of the Louvre, December 1, 2011

Here is the link to view all visitor trails offered:

http://www.louvre.fr/en/parcours