The Louvre in 2 hours: the essential route

The route: 9 stops in 2 hours

Room numbers reflect the usual layout; works go on loan or into restoration, so rooms can change. Check the museum's free floor plan. Timings are approximate and include walking, which is long in this museum.

1. 1

   0:00 · Hall Napoléon · Denon wing

   From the Pyramid to the Daru staircase

   Clear security under the Pyramid and head straight for the Denon wing. Don't linger in the galleries on the way: the route starts at the top of the stairs.

2. 2

   0:10 · Daru staircase · Denon wing

   The Winged Victory of Samothrace (c. 190 BC)

   The winged goddess crowns the staircase like the prow of a ship. Turn and view her from below, which is how she was designed, then walk around to see how the wind shapes the drapery.

3. 3

   0:20 · Room 711 · Salle des États · Denon wing

   The Mona Lisa (Leonardo da Vinci)

   She is smaller than you expect and there is usually a crowd. Be patient in the line, work your way along the side and give yourself a minute for the sfumato. Directly opposite hangs Veronese's Wedding Feast at Cana, the museum's largest painting.

4. 4

   0:45 · Room 700 · Salle Mollien · Denon wing

   The Raft of the Medusa and Liberty Leading the People

   Two icons of French Romanticism in the same room: Géricault, turning a shipwreck into political protest, and Delacroix, with Liberty on the barricades of 1830.

5. 5

   1:00 · First floor · Denon wing

   The Coronation of Napoleon (Jacques-Louis David)

   A canvas almost ten metres wide in which Napoleon crowns himself emperor. Notice how David idealised the attendees and adjusted the scene to flatter the emperor.

6. 6

   1:15 · Ground floor · Denon wing

   Michelangelo's Slaves and Canova's Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss

   Head down to the sculpture galleries. The Slaves are unfinished, with the figure still trapped in the stone, while Canova's group turns marble into pure movement.

7. 7

   1:25 · Room 345 · Sully wing, ground floor

   The Venus de Milo (c. 150–125 BC)

   The statue that lost its arms before reaching Paris. Her gentle twist and slipping drapery made her a symbol of classical beauty.

8. 8

   1:40 · Crypt of the Sphinx · Sully wing

   The Great Sphinx of Tanis

   Pink Egyptian granite about 4,600 years old, one of the oldest sphinxes outside Egypt. A fine way to end the route in the Egyptian antiquities section.

9. 9

   1:55 · Richelieu wing, if you have time

   The Napoleon III apartments

   A jump of centuries: gilded salons, chandeliers and velvet from the Second Empire. If you run out of time, save them for another visit.

Tips to make the most of it

• Arrive at opening (9:00) and head straight to the Mona Lisa: the room fills up less early on.
• On Wednesdays and Fridays the museum is open until 9pm; after 6pm the most famous rooms tend to be quieter.
• Don't aim for the whole map: the Louvre is huge and getting between wings takes time.
• Leave your coat in the free cloakroom before you start so you can walk lighter.
• Point the AnyArt camera at any work not on this list to hear its story without hunting for the label.