[JBReefer]

There is a lot to be said about seeing great art in a less crowded context. One of the best days of my life was when I went to Member Only Hours at MoMA, and I walked alone, in silence.

I live near the Met, and too many tour buses show up, discharge huge groups of people who hustle and shove from one famous piece to the other - ignoring the art that isn't in text books. It's not a checklist, it's a really incredible place. All people should be entitled to see "Self Portrait with Straw Hat" but man, maybe they should look at the pieces next to in, instead of running downstairs to check off the next box.

In my opinion, this will be a good thing - fundamentally, the land belongs to the people of the city of New York, and the free rent for that much acreage of Central Park on Fifth Avenue is an incalculable subsidy. It should at least _try_ to be more pleasant for the citizens of the city.

[rhombocombus]

My first time at the Louvre, I was enjoying a relatively quiet stroll through the less crowded galleries after enjoying a thoroughly european vacation for about a week. It was only when I happened into a very busy gallery with a quickly moving throng of people. My reverie was shattered when I heard over my shoulder in a thick southern US drawl "Man, lets just go see the Mona Lisa and get the f* outta here." It was really the least impactful portion of our visit because of the throngs of people.

[HorizonXP]

I'm not sure why you're being downvoted. I first went to Paris in 2014, and I experienced the same thing. Throngs of people surrounding the Mona Lisa. I was with family that wasn't very receptive to the Louvre experience, so we pretty much "saw the Mona Lisa and got the f* out".

I'm heading back to Paris next month with just my wife, and I plan on spending at least 2 days in the Louvre. I wouldn't say that people ruin art, but what I saw with the Mona Lisa was not very positive.

[filereaper]

The opposite of that can be equally irritating.

Take for instance the Galleria Borghese in Rome which only allows 500 visitors in pre-determined slots. If you miss your slot or everything is filled out during your trip, you'll miss out like we did.

What I haven't figured out is why museums like the Louvre need to close for the night, its art work. Why not leave it open all night long and shutdown for a few days for maintenance work.

[1] http://www.galleriaborghese.it/en/

[ghaff]

I expect for the same reason most stores close down at night. Sure, you'll get some business but probably not enough to cover the costs of staying open. Furthermore, there's probably a lot of daily maintenance and cleaning to do.

[HorizonXP]

Funny you mention that. I surprised my wife with a proposal in the gardens just outside there, after her and her sister visited the Galleria. Also pretty sure her cousin dated the Borghese prince who was on The Bachelor.

[luckydata]

Mostly because people like to sleep and France has unions.