Musée du Louvre, Paris

With 645,000 square feet of exhibition space, there's no way you'll be able to see all of this 12th century fortress-turned-palace-turned-world's largest museum. But the best way to see as much as possible is to pick up a free map of the Louvre from the information desk and cherry-pick from its collections spanning antiquity to the 19th century. Or follow one of the thematic trails (a good introduction is the Masterpieces of the Louvre, which includes the Venus de Milo, Delacroix's Liberty Leading the People, and, of course, Da Vinci's Mona Lisa, which takes around one-and-a-half hours).

The main entrance is I.M. Pei's once-reviled-now-loved glass pyramid but the lines to enter are shorter at the Musée du Louvre exit of the Palais Royal-Musée du Louvre metro station or the Carrousel du Louvre.

The Louvre is open every day except Tuesday. Entry's free on the first Sunday of the month (which is also when it's at its most crowded).

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