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by rhombocombus 3033 days ago
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.
1 comments
HorizonXP 3033 days ago
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.

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filereaper 3033 days ago
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/

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ghaff 3033 days ago
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.
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HorizonXP 3029 days ago
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.
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luckydata 3033 days ago
Mostly because people like to sleep and France has unions.
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