We timed Elliott’s first visit to the Louvre completely wrong. I bought tickets for a morning entry to avoid the crowds. It seemed like a great idea at the time, but I quickly realized my mistake when we woke him up for the day. He was cranky, and wanted to sleep in. We visited Disneyland Paris the day before, and he was still worn out. Only the promise of all the pain au chocolat he could eat coaxed him out of bed. The tickets were nonrefundable, so we had to give it a shot.
We ate a long breakfast of unlimited pain au chocolate and somehow arrived on time at the Louvre. However, upon joining the entry line, we immediately realized the need to make our visit as short as possible. Just the highlights: Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, The Virgin of the Rocks, and anything else we could squeeze in before our seven year old’s guaranteed melt down.
Arriving early paid off. With no line for the Mona Lisa, we made our way through much more of the museum than we thought we could manage. Elliott barely put on a smile in front of the mysterious lady with no eyebrows. He sighed and said, “Dad, I don’t get it.” I silently agreed with him, rubbed his head, and said, “One day you might.”
Elliott’s First Visit to the Louvre: Highlights
Soon we made our way to the Winged Victory where Elliott quipped, “Dad, it’s broken.” He’s right.
We took a break in front of Liberty Leading the People. I pointed out the iconic painting to Elliott. He looked over and with a bit of dismay responded, “That lady’s boobs are out.” Right again.
Nothing caught his eye while walking past billions of dollars worth of instantly recognizable masterpieces in the Grande Galerie. I asked if he liked the museum. He responded, “This stuff is old and boring.” Again he was right.
Beaten down by boredom and non-stop whining, my wife put an end to our misery and took Elliott back to the hotel. I continued the day with Evan, and we met up after Elliott was fully rested and Paris ready.
Parenting 101
I wish Elliott’s first visit to the Louvre was more enjoyable. Kids generally don’t like art museums. As parents, you have to make them fun. I wish we made a little scavenger hunt or other activity to engage Elliott more. His commentary, albeit honest and hilarious, showed me just how little he cared for the masterpieces all around him. Simply put, he was too young to get it. Finally, I also wish I had planned better. Expecting a seven year old boy to rise and shine the day after Disneyland was shortsighted, selfish, and stupid. I should have let him sleep longer and planned a less exhausting activity.
Thank you, Eric, for an enjoyable quick tour of the Louvre! Each of your photos tells a story.
Thank you. Elliott is quite a character sometimes, and I enjoyed seeing the museum through his innocent and very expressive eyes.
For the “Van Gogh in America” exhibit last year, an audio guide was prepared for children which engaged children by asking them to find things in the paintings or other suggestions to help kids relate (and not be bored). I wish more museums considered their younger audiences–if for no other reason than engaging children makes it more likely they will grow up to be adults who engage with art and visit museums.
That is a very good suggestion. I agree that more museums should consider their younger visitors. Elliott’s visit to the Louvre probably would have been more enjoyable if we had planned it better. The poor kid was wiped out from a full day at Disneyland Paris, and there was not much at the Louvre to engage him, unfortunately.
Perhaps not appropriate for his age but the most fun and memorable visit to the Louvre for me was –
intend2travel.info/2020/11/16/1965-and-the-4-minute-louvre-an-update/
Thank you for sharing the link. I think Elliott would have much preferred a six minute tour of the Louvre to the lengthy morning he endured. His commentary and facial expressions made our recent visit very memorable and amusing. I’m looking forward to taking him back one day when he is able to appreciate it more.