Meet your guide just outside the Louvre and head straight for the dedicated group entrance, bypassing the long lines at the main pyramid. After a quick security check, you'll step inside the world's largest art museum to start your visit. Over the next two hours, you'll follow an expert guide on a curated route in a small group, taking advantage of the late-afternoon hours when the crowds begin to thin.

Inside, your guide leads you straight to the icons: Leonardo's Mona Lisa, the Winged Victory of Samothrace at the top of a grand staircase, and the armless Venus de Milo in the Greek halls. You'll hear how the building grew from a medieval fortress into a royal palace and finally a public museum, with insider stories about the artists behind each masterpiece. The small group keeps the pace personal, with room to see every work and ask questions you'd never get to in a packed morning crowd. Your visit wraps up at Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss in the Michelangelo Gallery, when late-afternoon light has the museum at its most peaceful.