The third day in Paris is the most structured of the trip. We had tickets booked for The Lourve, where there is a set timeslot for us to enter. Since it’s Christmas eve, we wanted to experience Christmas mass at Notre Dame Cathedral. We planned to attend the earlier mass  thinking that we could get in earlier and not as crowded as the next session which would be on national TV. So we had set a time to be in 2 attractions for the third day.

The Lourve

After reading and watching Dan Brown’s Da Vinci’s code, how can I not go and visit the Lourve. Mona Lisa is already famous all over the world. So happen the weeks before we went, there was a heist in the Lourve where some crown jewellery was stolen. 

Firstly, we are very impressed with the size of The Lourve. The building and architecture is magnificent, I would think this is probably the largest museum in the world! We went throught he pyramid entrance, there is a queue based on the time slot. The queue was long mainly because of the bag check, but the queue moves pretty fast.

As we entered the underground concourse, we wanted to turn rigt where Mona Lisa is, but it was crowded. The staff asked us to go to the left instead and we end up in the part of the museum that is furthest from Mona Lisa. This forced us to take a longer route and see more things as we head to see Mona Lisa

Lesser Known Exhibits

There are other lesser known exhibits in The Lourve and they are featured in the free brocure that we got when we entered. We walked past the Napolean Apartments, to serve as state reception rooms and offices for his government. The apartments are lavishly decorated and we can see the functions of each room.

As we walked around, we stumbled on the Nike of Samothrace. The sculpture looks familar and it is placed at the end of the grand staircase that provides good photo opportunity. 

We also saw the famous painting, Liberty Leading the People, that was the inspiration for Les Misrables. There were signs for Venus de Milo which we followed and saw.

Mona Lisa

The whole reason people go to The Lourve is to see Mona Lisa. Other than the painting, it is well known that the crowd can be crazy. The Lourve tried their best to have some semblance of crowd control. We join the crowd of people from the back and move forward towards the painting. There are signs everywhere to tell us where to go. As we reached the front, we are asked to take our picture and move on to the side, to get out of the queue. Not much chance to take a good picture or to admire the painting. It’s definitely a checklist item, take a picture and then move on.

What people normally miss is the painting in front of Mona Lisa. The painting is called “Wedding Feast of Cana”, the largest painting in The Lourve. It depicts the biblical story of the Wedding at Cana, at which Jesus miraculously converts water into red wine.

Definitely book your tickets at The Lourve ahead. If I recall correctly, tickets are sold out as soon as it’s available online. You can only get tickets 3 months in advance. When we were there, tickets were not available for purchase on site, so only pre-purchased ticket holders are allowed in.

Christmas Service at Notre Dame Cathedral

Since we were in Paris for Christmas, we wanted to make the trip special. We aimed to attend mass in the newly restored Notre Dame Cathedral. It was closed for 5 years for restoration after the fire. One think we noticed is how bright and new the cathedral looked. Feels like they did a very good job cleaning up the inside of the cathedral. The brightness of the cathedral makes it feel larger and architectural details clear to see.

Entrance to Notre Dame is free. People just walk around the Cathedral, looking at the chapels dedicated to various saints. We were one one and half hour early and managed to get seats, it was a long wait though. It is a catholic service, in French language of course. We tried to follow as much as we can. It is more for the experience rather the spiritual value.

When we left the cathedral after service, it is already getting dark. The cathedral in the orange sunset is beautiful.