Among the numerous beautiful buildings of Paris there sits an centuries old palace full of some of the greatest works of art in western civilization – the Louvre.  The Louvre started as a home for French kings but when the court moved to Versailles the palace was basically just a house for the kings’ art collection. Then after a little disagreement called the French Revolution, the Louvre was opened up as a museum for the public.

Today the Louvre is a massive museum spread across three buildings which are connected to form block ‘U’. We woke up early and made our way over via subway which was very easy to navigate. I don’t think we actually saw the sun that day. We wandered the seemingly endless halls for just over ten hours. We looked at every piece of art that was on display but even with ten hours it wasn’t enough time to really fully enjoy everything. We suggest that you spread your visit over two days if not three.

While we have been a bit disappointed in one of the other wonders of Paris, the Louvre did not disappoint in the least. We still talk about how we want to go back and spend more time there, especially among the amazing sculptures. Maybe even do a bit of sketching like so many other visitors. I tried to only take pictures of the pieces that I thought were truly amazing and my camera still nearly ran out of battery power.

As far as Civilization is concerned, I think the in game benefits line up rather well with the real world. In game you get a culture boost and, depending on the expansion, either one or two great artists. I almost always instantly use the great artists to create a Landmark near my capital city to get even more culture. I haven’t played the Brave New World expansion but I’m sure I would use the great artist to create a great work of art to place in the Louvre right way as well. I always like visiting real world wonders that line up with the game bonuses and after visiting the Louvre I definitely feel a bit more cultured.