Free Entry To Louvre While Guards Strike

by Jonathon Morgan on

If there’s a country where workers know how to strike, it’s France. When truck drivers strike, they position their vehicles across major highways, so no one can travel, and when security guards at the Louvre (the Paris museum that houses the Mona Lisa) take strike action, they block the ticket booths so no one can pay.

In response, the museum waived it’s admission fee. Score!

So should you jump on a plane right now to get in for free?

Well, no. For starters, the fee ranges from only $7.87 to $17, and by Wednesday afternoon, the striking guards — who, incidentally, only made up 5% of the museum’s 1,100 security staff — had relinquished their hold on the ticket booth.

Semi-related jaw-dropping fact: the Louvre registered 8.3 million visitors last year alone. No word on how much the museum lost by temporarily allowing free admission.

What Does the Inside of the Louvre Look Like?

by Willy Volk on

I’ve had the honor of spending, oh, about 10 hours in Paris. During a lengthy layover, I rode the train into town, stood outside Notre Dame, ate lunch at an outdoor cafe, hopped a bus to the Eiffel Tower, trudged to the Louvre, returned to the train station, and then headed back to the airport. It was an exhausting day — man, I sure coulda used one of those free bikes! — but it was fun.

Unfortunately, although I got to see a lot of stuff from the outside, I didn’t get to see much from the inside. I never entered Notre Dame. I didn’t ride to the top of the Eiffel Tower. I only marveled at the architecture of the Louvre’s front door. Frankly, I was afraid to invest too heavily in any single activity for fear I’d miss out on something more fun — or miss my flight. On one hand, I’m glad I got to see so much of Paris, whirlwind though it was. On the other hand, if I could do it over, I might’ve chosen one activity, spent the whole day doing it right, and forsaken the others. Dunno. Nevertheless, I stumbled on this 9-minute clip shot (no doubt clandestinely) inside the Louvre. Now I see what I missed.

Did I make a mistake tackling Paris this way? Or was I wise to do what I did, given my time constraints?