The first time I went to Paris I was 17 years old. With almost four years of French under my belt, I traveled with seven other classmates and our French teacher, Monsieur Licata. Granted, he was an Italian born in the Bronx, but his love of the French language and culture made you forget that when he didn’t speak French, he was a deeze, dem and doze kind of guy. Before our trip, our beloved teacher tried to prepare us for the many important sites and historical places we would visit on our next trip, including the Louvre, for which he had a special affinity. He went out of his way to impress us with the size and depth of this monstrous museum and the wonderful wealth of art treasures it houses. But, visiting the Louvre in person (and wearing a tacky beret, mind you) I was in awe and completely overwhelmed. So much so, that I had a hard time absorbing a lot.
Fast forward to last year (2013), just over 17 and a second trip to Paris under my belt; I decided to plan another trip to Paris with my two youngest daughters (6 and 8 at the time). I fantasized about how much they were going to love this trip! I heard from Edith Piaf Life in Pink playing around in my head – my girls were going to LOVE the desserts, the crepes filled with ice cream and nutella! The delicious breads, the Eiffel Tower and, of course, The Louvre. Wait, did I just say that a 6 and 8 year old was going to enjoy a gigantic museum? Well, unlike my first experience with this incredible treasure, I was determined that my children would have the time of their lives in the world’s greatest art museum! But how? Well, with the help of my always amazing travel agent, Stephen, we figured out how this feat was to be accomplished.
We uncovered an incredible find for kids (and their parents!) to ensure that a trip to the Louvre would be one of the most fun and memorable experiences of your visit to Paris. With some creative research, we found a wonderful private tour called “Treasure hunt at the Louvre MuseumCreated and guided by Paris Upperside, who specializes in personalized private tours and innovative private tours, this unique experience was one of the most delightfully designed and fun introductory museum tours of this magnitude I’ve experienced yet. My daughters enjoyed the “scavenger hunt” so much that, when asked, visiting the Louvre was one of their favorite activities on this trip!
Our tour was confirmed for 8:45 on a Thursday morning. Our exceptional tour guide, Luz, greeted us at our hotel with a warm smile and a special gift for each of my daughters: an adorable Paris-themed crossbody bag. After our friendly introductions and the kids showing off their fancy new bags, Luz explained that we were going to spend two fun-filled hours walking through specific exhibits at the Louvre, “looking for” various clues, symbols, and items as she told us stories. Can you imagine a more clever and brilliant way to teach kids historical information about art and then weave it into a story and top it off with a fun activity like a scavenger hunt? Well I have to say it worked just as well for us adults. It was my husband Tedd and my mother Camille’s first visit to Paris, and a private tour, presented in bite pieces, left them in awe.
Now, one of the reasons my daughters got their beanbags was because with every “find” on the scavenger hunt, they received a little “prize.” And each award traced back to the question or “find” at hand, tying the entire story back to a real show and storytelling. They were also given a pencil and a booklet to write their “answers” to the various questions posed in each exhibition or artwork.
We walked to the Louvre which was a short distance from the Hotel Regina where we were staying and Luz already had tickets so there was no waiting in line. That was another added benefit of this tour – tickets were bought in advance. Bits of information immediately started flowing in as we walked towards the entrance with the history of the Louvre Palace, which was originally built as a fortress in the late 12th century and was the royal residence until Louis XIV moved to Versailles. My kids really remembered this fact! They loved the Louvre Pyramid or The Louvre Pyramid, the great metal and glass pyramid in the main courtyard of the Palace, which since its completion in 1989, has become a symbol of Paris.
Once inside, we were to visit a series of famous exhibits, each of which Luz would present a short story from its history and the girls were tasked with finding the answer to a very important question. These were the highlights of the treasure hunt:
1) Mona Lisa
The kids loved this exhibit! I loved how they walked back and forth across the room to see the Mona Lisa’s eyes “move” and follow them wherever they were! They even found out who stole the Mona Lisa, which I won’t tell you, you’ll have to find out on your own!
2) Stone of Hammurabi
This was extremely cool! My mom really loved seeing this because of the great age. Erected by the sixth Babylonian king in the 18th century BC, as Luz tells us, Hammurabi is a work of art, history and literature. The “stela” or stone pillar bears the inscription of the Code of Hammurabi which consists of 282 laws, with staggered punishments. The girls couldn’t understand why a stone was used to contain all the laws in the “old days”, thinking it was a bit ridiculous. (Oh, these children of the information age!)
3) The medieval fortress of the Louvre
This was built in the late 12th century and you feel like you have walked back hundreds of years in time.
4) The Winged Victory of Samothrace
We look at this sculpture from many angles, hearing all about its history dating back to around 200-190 BC. It is also called the Nike of Samothrace and is one of the most famous pieces in the Louvre.
Carved from white and gray marble, it originally stood on a gray marble plinth representing the forwardmost part of the ship’s prow, depicting the goddess as she descended from the heavens towards the triumphant fleet. Her arms are lost forever, but it is believed that her right arm was raised near her mouth, screaming victory. Luz had the children walk around this famous statue to find her right hand, which is on display separately since the statue has no arms.
5) Venus de Milo
The children had to guess the name of this statue, with multiple choice answers. Surprisingly, they both guessed correctly! Today, when we see photos or watch a travel video, they shout “that’s Venus de Milo!”
6) Coronation of Emperor Napoleon 1 in Notre-Dame de Paris
We stand in front of this masterpiece for a while and get a short lesson on the various people depicted in the painting, namely Napoleon’s mother and an American ambassador!
All in all, the children’s interest was maintained throughout the tour! It was a handful of different showrooms displaying art from various historical times. Luz was an amazing tour guide, with an enormous wealth of knowledge and a real ability to teach children in a fun, exciting and patient way. All travelers know that private tours are not cheap, but what was even more enjoyable about our Louvre experience was that it was very reasonably priced. For our group of five, it was approximately $450. Our tour ended with a small snack together in the museum and a warm farewell. A great family day to all!