“The Louvre Museum is one of the world’s largest, with around 35,000 works spread over an area of approximately 60,000 square meters.” And as if those numbers weren’t enough to make my head spin, our guide Isabelle explained that it is also the world’s most visited museum, with around 8.5 million visitors every year – twice the number boasted by the Metropolitain Museum of Art in New York. I was glad to have joined a guided tour that would not only help me through the maze of objects covering over 5,000 years of world history, but also one which had skip the line access so I wouldn’t be waiting in line with the 25,000 other daily visitors.

Even from the outside the Louvre was impressive so I was anxious to discover what was held within. We met under a triumphal arch that Napoleon I had built to celebrate his victories – now part of the Triumphal Way in Paris. Once we had been equipped with headphones to help us hear our guide better, we were introduced to the monumental building we were about to enter. It was clear that the Louvre is not just a museum, but rather a monument that has played a vital part in French history since it was first built over 800 years ago. The building served as a fortress and a palace before in 1792 it became one of the world’s most important museums.

We passed quickly through the security checks and followed Isabella past a confusing array of corridors and into the Medieval Louvre section. This section houses the ancient moat that was part of Paris’s defences in the 13th and 14th century. While the building that originally stood here was destroyed, these foundations were discovered during a renovation project that took place during the 1980s. Part monument, part gallery, this area frequently holds temporary exhibitions by contemporary artists – a sure subject of debate among art enthusiasts and tourists alike.

Moving on we visited the oldest part of the current museum. This section was built under the reign of King Henri II who created a beautiful staircase and the Caryatides room. The room is so-named because of the four carved statues that act as support pillars for a balcony above the entrance. This space is currently dedicated to Roman sculpture. As we were introduced to the most significant pieces, the group was thrilled by tiny details and anecdotes that Isabelle pointed out. Knowing the stories and history behind these pieces totally changed my way of looking at the art.

Venus di Milo - a very mysterious woman

Leading us to one of the Louvre’s most famous pieces – the Venus de Milo – Isabella stepped up her game. After a lifetime of seeing photos and hearing stories about this sculpture I was sure that I knew everything about it. Listening to our guide’s commentary however, I realised I was wrong as she pointed out exquisite details that clearly other visitors were missing.

One of the biggest surprises of the day for me was the building itself, every inch as breathtaking as the art it homes. We were taken through rooms with intricately carved walls and beautifully painted ceilings. From Greek and Roman art to the Etruscan section (with its collection of funerary art which dates back around 2,500 years) there was as much history and beauty in the décor, as there was in the collections.

Without a doubt the most impressive room was the Apollo Gallery. In a room like this it’s hard to know what to concentrate on but with Isabelle’s expert guidance we moved seamlessly from ceilings intricately painted by Delacroix and other great artists to walls hung with rich tapestries and woodwork detailed in gold leaf. “This room,” said Isabella, “is reserved for the Royal Jewels, or at least what is left of them after looting during the French Revolution.”

I once heard that if one was to see every artefact in the Louvre, they would have to work 24 hours a day every day for an entire month without even taking a break. Having visited the museum I can well believe that this is the case. Practically every room is filled with sculptures, paintings or small objects in glass boxes and as we followed our guide to the most memorable pieces, we caught glimpses of other rooms at the end of the long galleries or across the courtyard, reminding us that this in not only one of the greatest, but also one of the world’s largest museums.

I thought that the tour would be exhausting but as we moved from piece to piece – many of which were unfamiliar to me – I became eager to see more. We admired the Winged Victory at the top of an impressive staircase while being told of the modern products that have been influenced by her form. We listened to the reasons behind the fall of the Roman Empire, the techniques involved in casting bronze or painting fresco, the influence of Napoleon in our modern world and even the question that we have probably all posed at one time or another – Why are the Greeks always depicted naked in their marble statues?

What makes the Mona Lisa so special?

We visited the works of da Vinci, Raphael, Botticelli, Veronese and David, but it was at the Mona Lisa that we found the rest of the visitors. After viewing the rest of the works in relative calm the mayhem that surrounded her was a bit of a shock and it took many minutes of jostling with the crowd and balancing on tippy-toes before I caught a glimpse of the leading lady. Why, I wondered, is she so famous? Isabelle knew the answer of course.

We had seen the piece we’d all been waiting for but our tour was far from over. The Wedding Feast at Cana, Michelangelo’s Slaves and Canova’s Cupid and Psyche were all ours for the taking and with Isabella’s incredible eye for detail we devoured them.

After leaving the tour I spent the rest of the day wandering from gallery to gallery, but without a guide to explain every piece to me so much of the meaning was lost. I made a promise that next time I come back to Paris, I’ll have to find Isabelle to take me around the rest of the museum.