"A trip to Paris would be incomplete without a visit to the Louvre."

A trip to Paris would be incomplete without a visit to the world's largest museum and probably the most fascinating in the world, the Louvre.

The difficulty in visiting the Louvre is that it is overwhelming, as it galleries display over eight centuries of the world's greatest masterpieces. "The Grand Louvre" is spread over four levels and comprises 30,000 works of art that occupies approximately 1.6 million square feet. Furthermore, 645, 000 square feet are dedicated to distinct exhibitions. Put very simply, "ouch my aching feet!" In other words, you can't possibly appreciate these great works of art without a well planned out itinerary. Here is where a comprehensive guidebook entitled The Pocket Louvre authored by a professor of art history at the Université de Tours, Claude Mignot, can prove to be a godsend.

What immediately caught my eye when I thumbed through the guidebook was its practical organization. Each page contains beautiful illustrations that serve both as a record of works seen and as a capsule of Western art. However, what is extremely useful is that on the side of each page the author in small print denotes the exact school of the work of art. Not only are we presented with this information but also Mignot pinpoints the floor and room it is located. Let us suppose we are interested in viewing the Mona Lisa and we do not want to waste time in trying to locate the painting. All we have to do is look in the index, find reference to the Mona Lisa "et voilà" we are referred to the appropriate page. We are now told that the Mona Lisa is located in room 6 (Salle des Etats), on the first floor. Furthermore, the author also gives us some useful tidbits concerning this well-known work of art. With this in mind we can repeat this method when we wish to plan our own trip to the Louvre.

On the other hand we can also pursue the various array of tours suggested by the author. These tours are broken down into various time frames: the three-hour tour, the one-day classic tour and the four half- day comprehensive tours. When you read the author's comments pertaining to each one of the tours, you actually feel his presence.

Other useful features of the book are it's over 500 rich photo illustrations and the numerous gallery floor plans. The table of contents is quite comprehensive and allows the reader to quickly identify the type of tour he or she may wish to embark upon. There are also various useful tips such as avoiding lines, where to eat, getting to the museum, where to relax and the various services offered in the Louvre. We are also provided with a capsule history of the Louvre.

Mignot definitely has written a comprehensive guide that is aware of the elements of time and physical endurance that every visitor to the Louvre encounters. Merci Prof. Mignot!

"Copyright 2002, Bookideas.com. Orginally published at Bookideas.com"

Reviewed by Norman Goldman
Posted May 15, 2002