The Louvre receives thirty-five thousand visitors on a busy day. Most of them arrive between ten and noon, follow the same three-star circuit, and leave exhausted. There is a quieter way.
Enter at the Carrousel du Louvre from the metro, not through the pyramid. The underground hall is air-conditioned and almost empty before nine-thirty. Head straight to the Richelieu wing. Almost nobody starts there. You can stand alone in front of Napoleon III’s gilded apartments while the rest of the museum is still queuing for Mona Lisa.
Wednesday and Friday evenings the museum stays open until 21:45. After 18:00 the school groups vanish. Light from the setting sun comes through the tall windows of the Greek galleries and turns the marble gold. The Winged Victory staircase belongs to you and maybe twenty other people.
Another trick: the Denon wing empties fastest after 17:00 because it holds the most famous paintings. Walk against the flow. Start at the top floor with Islamic art, descend slowly through Near Eastern antiquities, and finish with Italian paintings when everyone else has already left. Bring good shoes and no schedule. The museum rewards those who refuse to rush.