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4-Hour Louvre Itinerary: Icons and Ancient Masterpieces

Four hours is enough for the Louvre’s three headline icons, the strongest nearby French and Italian paintings, one major sculpture gallery and a compact introduction to Egypt and the ancient Near East. The route protects the essential six works and treats the remaining seven as flexible, so a crowded room does not derail the whole visit.

How the four-hour route works

The first half concentrates on Denon, where several masterpieces share Rooms 700–711. The second half broadens the visit with Canova, the Venus de Milo, Egyptian antiquities and the Code of Hammurabi. This gives a first-time visitor range without trying to “complete” an entire wing.

Take a 15–20 minute break after the Denon paintings or before the antiquities. Aim to finish the final artwork at least 20 minutes before your planned departure.

The 6 works that stay fixed

  • © 2018 GrandPalaisRmn (musée du Louvre) / Michel Urtado

    Denon, Room 711

    Mona Lisa

    Leonardo da Vinci

    Must see

  • © 2019 GrandPalaisRmn (musée du Louvre) / Michel Urtado

    Denon, Room 711

    The Wedding at Cana

    Paolo Veronese

    Must see

  • © 2014 Musée du Louvre, Dist. GrandPalaisRmn / Philippe Fuzeau

    Denon, Daru staircase, Room 703

    Winged Victory of Samothrace

    Hellenistic art

    Must see

  • © 2011 Musée du Louvre, Dist. GrandPalaisRmn / Thierry Ollivier

    Sully, Room 345

    Venus de Milo

    Ancient Greece

    Must see

  • © 2015 GrandPalaisRmn (musée du Louvre) / Michel Urtado

    Denon, Room 700

    The Raft of the Medusa

    Théodore Géricault

    Must see

  • © 2024 GrandPalaisRmn (musée du Louvre) / Rabeau/Didierjean

    Denon, Room 700

    Liberty Leading the People

    Eugène Delacroix

    Must see

Add these 7 major works

  1. © 2018 GrandPalaisRmn (musée du Louvre) / Michel Urtado

    Denon, Room 702

    The Coronation of Napoleon

    Jacques-Louis David

    Flexible stop

    One of the museum’s defining large-format French history paintings.

  2. © 2017 GrandPalaisRmn (musée du Louvre) / Franck Raux

    Denon, Room 702

    La Grande Odalisque

    Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres

    Flexible stop

    A short adjacent stop that adds Ingres and the transition from Neoclassicism to Romanticism.

  3. © 2012 GrandPalaisRmn (musée du Louvre) / René-Gabriel Ojéda

    Denon, Room 710

    The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne

    Leonardo da Vinci

    Flexible stop

    Use this calmer Leonardo painting to see sfumato and figure composition before the Mona Lisa crowd.

  4. © 2011 GrandPalaisRmn (musée du Louvre) / René-Gabriel Ojéda

    Denon, Level 0, Room 403

    Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss

    Antonio Canova

    Flexible stop

    Canova’s marble group rewards a complete walk around the sculpture.

  5. © 2010 Musée du Louvre, Dist. GrandPalaisRmn / Christian Décamps

    Sully, Level −1, Room 338

    Great Sphinx of Tanis

    Ancient Egypt

    Flexible stop

    A monumental, immediately legible introduction to the Egyptian collection.

  6. © 2015 Musée du Louvre, Dist. GrandPalaisRmn / Christian Décamps

    Sully, Level 1, Room 635

    The Seated Scribe

    Ancient Egypt

    Flexible stop

    Look closely at the unusually alert face, painted body and inlaid eyes.

  7. © 2009 GrandPalaisRmn (musée du Louvre) / Franck Raux

    Richelieu, Level 0, Room 227

    Code of Hammurabi

    Babylon

    Flexible stop

    The route’s one deliberate Richelieu detour: a foundational monument of Babylonian law and kingship.

Open the ready-made 4-hour route

The saved plan includes all 13 works, a break and a 240-minute budget. Adjust the priorities or remove a collection to make it your own.

View and customize this route

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