An art lover’s guide to Paris, from Mona Lisa at the Louvre to van Gogh to a Dali museum

An art critic shares her guide to exploring the art treasures of Paris, from some of the most well-known to places you may have overlooked

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An art critic shares her guide to exploring the art treasures of Paris, from some of the most well-known in the Louvre to others in places you may have overlooked. Photo: TNS

Published: 4:15pm, 18 Mar 2025

To some, Paris is the City of Light. To others, it is the City of Love. But to art lovers, it is simply the city of art – and there is so much to see that it is hard to know where to start.

As a visual art critic and arts reporter, here is what caught my eye when I was in Paris – and what I suggest doing when you go next.

The Louvre

What is it? The Louvre is one of the most famous art museums in the world. Built as a military fortress in the late 12th century, it was transformed into a residence for the French royal family and then became a museum in 1793.

Grab a coffee and stand in the longest queue ever, even if you have a ticket – it is worth the wait.

What to see: The Egyptian wing is one of the largest in the world, with more than 50,000 objects. Do not miss the well-preserved mummy of Pacheri from the Ptolemaic period (305BC-30BC), wrapped entirely in strips of linen.

This beautiful human-animal hybrid creature is known as “lamassu” and was known as a sign of divinity in the Mesopotamian world. It now lives at the Louvre Museum in Paris. Photo: TNS

In the Mesopotamian section are two giant lamassu. They are mythological creatures from the 8th century BC that are referenced in the poem the Epic of Gilgamesh. Author Elif Shafak’s latest novel, There Are Rivers in the Sky, centres around the 19th-century excavations of these statues.