by Maria K.

Created on: September 17, 2008

You may whine and gripe all you want, but I still say that the best way to explore Paris is on foot. If you think taking the metro is going to save you - think again: you will spend so much time navigating the metro tunnels while switching between lines, you may as well just walk to your final destination.

The first major point of interest that pops into one's mind when in Paris is, of course, the Louvre. The long lines at the Louvre are no longer the mandatory attribute of the great museum. Go to Paris during an off season (say, in November) and visit the Louvre on an off day (Wednesday or Thursday) and you'll waltz right in. (Incidentally, the same applies to the smaller museums, such as the Rodin Museum for example - no issues getting in and plenty to see.)

The Louvre is enormous on the outside, but at least it has a definite shape, lulling you into the false belief that it might be easy to get around. You are forced to abandon this foolish notion as soon as you enter any of the wings. As my husband so eloquently put it, "the Louvre is a giant octopus of a building" going up, down, sideways and diagonally and coiling onto itself.

Don't ever try to marathon your way through it in one day. It can be done - theoretically, but why would you want to? You'll be tired as a dog and too rushed to make memories. ...Which sort of defeats the purpose of going to the Louvre in the first place. Pick one wing (the maps in several languages are available at the information desk for free), decide what you want to see and do wear comfy shoes - the floors are marble-on-concrete-slab: very pretty but utterly unforgiving on the feet.

We have visited the Mona Lisa - and yes, it is true: while the painting itself is rather small (smaller than the poster-size reproductions of it sold all over the place), it delivers quite a punch - you want to just stand there and look, trying to puzzle it out. However, one must be polite and step away from the lovely lady to let the countless others have their turn. By the way, photography is not allowed in many areas with paintings in them, and there are signs reminding you of that. I took my one paintings shot from a balcony across from the hallway leading to Mona Lisa - way outside of the area itself. I also made certain I disabled the flash while photographing at the museums. Please be respectful and don't try to sneak in a shot - the paintings are fragile and you do want them to survive long enough for your children and grandchildren to see.

Having

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