About this experience
The Louvre is not just a museum showcasing world masterpieces of painting and sculpture, but also a real palace where you can see royal chambers and a collection of decorative arts from the personal collections of French monarchs. Sparkling jewels, shining silverware, as well as amazingly beautiful furniture, mirrors, and porcelain! You will learn the stories behind these utilitarian masterpieces and by the end of the tour, you will learn to discern different styles of Western decorative arts.
What to Expect
The Louvre – the most visited museum in the world
Inside, you will find true masterpieces and treasures! At the beginning of the tour, we will go see the main most famous works – paintings by Leonardo da Vinci (including the Mona Lisa), the Greek sculpture Venus de Milo, and the Winged Victory of Samothrace. I will reveal all the secrets to you: you will learn why these works became famous and what other interesting rooms the Louvre houses. For example, did you know that there are not one but two Mona Lisas in the museum? And yes, you will be able to see the second Mona Lisa with me!
The beauty and luxury of royal chambers
You will see furniture pieces from the 17th century, crafted by the talented French master André-Charles Boulle for the Palace of Versailles, a unique collection of Sèvres porcelain, and items that belonged to King Louis XV's mistress – the famous Madame de Pompadour.
In the Louvre's collections, you will find items from famous silver services made by French jewelers for the order of Empress Catherine II: the magnificent “Count Orlov” service, the Kazan service specially made for the residence in Kazan, and the Demidov service.
We will visit rooms decorated in the Empire style. Among them will be the bedroom of Paris' first beauty, Madame Récamier. A visit to the hall where Napoleon Bonaparte's throne stands and the emperor's crown is located will be unforgettable. And in Napoleon III's apartments, you will be able to compare the atmosphere of the French royal court with the bourgeois style of the late 19th-century empire.
How It's Done
During the tour, you will discover various techniques of French masters from the 17th to the 19th centuries and the secrets of making local porcelain. Words like “marquetry,” “pietra dura,” “ormolu,” and others, which may seem like linguistic gibberish at first, will suddenly make sense. I will teach you to distinguish soft and hard porcelain, and French table setting from Russian. Perhaps you will be surprised to learn that here everything is the other way around: Russia uses the French method, while in France, the preference for the Russian method is more common. And of course, you will never confuse the Rococo style with Neoclassicism again and will be able to appreciate decorative arts accordingly.
Organizational Details
Entrance tickets to the Louvre are paid for separately: 15 euros per person, free for children under 18 years old.
