Adventures in the Louvre

How to Fall in Love with the World's Greatest Museum

By: Elaine Sciolino

Narrated by: Lynn Bradford

A former New York Times Paris bureau chief explores the Louvre, offering an intimate journey of discovery and revelation.

The Louvre is the most famous museum in the world, attracting millions of visitors every year with its masterpieces. In Adventures in the Louvre, Elaine Sciolino immerses herself in this magical space and helps us fall in love with what was once a forbidding fortress.

Exploring galleries, basements, rooftops, and gardens, Sciolino demystifies the Louvre, introducing us to her favorite artworks, both legendary and overlooked, and to the people who are the museum's lifeblood: the curators, the artisans producing frames and engravings, the builders overseeing restorations, the firefighters protecting the aging structure.

Blending investigative journalism, travelogue, history, and memoir, Sciolino walks listeners through the museum's front gates and immerses them in its irresistible, engrossing world of beauty and culture. Adventures in the Louvre reveals the secrets of this grand monument of Paris and basks in its timeless, seductive power.

©2025 Elaine Sciolino (P)2025 Highbridge Audio

Charming and informative

I almost didn't listen to this book because I thought it would give me an overwhelming longing to go to the Louvre. Rather, it gave me an overwhelming longing to go to all the areas around the Louvre, and to the Louvre Lens. If I ever have the opportunity to return to Paris, I will review this book for my planning. Listening to it was a delightful, charming, informative and intelligent journey. I highly recommend it.

Easy Recommendation for Travelers to Paris

This is not an exhaustive history of the Louvre like James Gardner's book, nor a book of art criticism: it's a beautifully balanced and easily flowing mix of personal reflections, interviews with professionals, and well researched passages. Elaine Sciolino's acumen for a well composed article is on display and I really appreciated how accessible the book was. The narrator Lynn Bradford is also a treat, fitting with the material and providing a relatable personality.

If you want to learn more about the great Louvre museum, or if you've been there before, this book will certainly hold your attention and provide inspiration. I'd include among the best books related to Paris and it makes a great audiobook.