Nick Trend offers his top tips for seeing the biggest tourist attraction in Paris - without the crowds The world's best-known, biggest and busiest museum is getting busier. Since the glass pyramid entrance opened in 1989, the number of visitors to this gargantuan treasure house has tripled. This year, it looks as though it will break the 10 million barrier for the first time.It's hardly surprising. The Louvre is home to the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo, Michelangelo's Slaves, a matchless collection of Raphaels and some of the greatest finds from the ancient world.But anyone who wants to enjoy it faces two problems. First, how do you visit a museum with 35,000 works of art on display in 300 rooms? Second, how do you prevent what should be a peaceful experience from being ruined by the crowds?When it comes to the Mona Lisa, you simply can't. The tiny portrait is permanently besieged behind a bullet-proof screen. If you are patient you can shoulder your way through but it is hardly worth it. You will appreciate her much more if you look at the high-res image on Wikipedia.But there are ways of turning a tourist chore into an inspirational visit. You just need the right plan.story_article_left1UNDERSTAND THE HISTORYThe Louvre buildings comprise two former royal palaces - the Louvre and the Tuileries - linked together to form a vast, three-sided building. It began life as a 12th-century fort, but was expanded, rebuilt and embellished by a succession of French kings, who acquired some of its greatest treasures, including the Mona Lisa and the Michelangelo sculptures. In the wake of the French Revolution, the palace and its contents were effectively nationalised and it was first opened as a museum in 1793. The collection has been added to ever since - most significantly by Napoleon's looting.The museum we see today owes most to renovations by Napoleon III, and more recently President Mitterrand. His Grand Louvre project brought about the building of the glass pyramid, and in 1993 the incorporation of the Richelieu wing into the museum. This doubled the amount of exhibition space, but has made it still more intimidating to visit. Currently, the entrance hall under the Pyramid is being refurbished, but the work doesn't inconvenience visitors. Completion is expected next year.GET A GRIP ON THE LAYOUTThe sheer number of rooms and the convoluted layout make it hard to orientate yourself. The huge subterranean entrance court (the Hall Napoleon) under the glass pyramid allows you to access, up an escalator, the ground floor of each of the wings - Denon, Richelieu and Sully.In each wing, the galleries are laid out on four floors and the three buildings are linked, so in theory you can work your way around the building without returning to the entrance court. But only by constant reference to the museum plan (pick up an English version at the entrance) can you keep track of where you are.mini_story_image_vright1Given this confusion, I suggest three possible approaches:• The highlights: Allow three or four hours, use our list of Louvre highlights and plan a route on the museum map before you go in.• A single theme: Choose a floor, wing or section (the collection is arranged in schools or periods - French paintings, Greek Antiquities) and treat it as a museum in its own right. For the best, least-crowded experience, I would go for the French and northern-European paintings on the top floors of Richelieu and Sully. Most visitors never make it up there.• Serendipity: Wander at will and make your own discoveries. You will miss some big names but, given the quality of the collection, you won't be disappointed.CHOOSE A GOOD TIMEThe busiest months are June to September; the quietest December and January. Visiting after 3pm is the best bet at any time of year. Don't go on the first Sunday of the month from October to March, when free admission draws huge crowds.GET QUEUE CLEVERQueues build up at the Pyramid entrance for security checks and then again at the indoor ticket offices (though there are now automatic machines). There are much quieter entrances in the Carrousel du Louvre shopping centre, the Passage Richelieu and the Porte des Lions at the far southeastern wing of the museum. You can buy tickets in advance from agents but they cost more and must be picked up from the agent (see louvre.fr/en/advance-tickets).story_article_left2GET A GUIDEThere are four guided 90-minute tours a day in English (€12) of the museum highlights. Book at the desk under the pyramid. The official audio guide (€5) includes commentary on about 1 000 works. Information sheets in English help fill some of the gaps. There is a Louvre Audio Guide in the App store but it is not well reviewed by most users. A Guide to the Louvre (€17), on sale in the museum bookshop, is the most useful printed guide.NEED-TO-KNOWStandard admission is €15; under-18s, under-25s resident in the EU and some students/teachers admitted free. It's open daily except Tuesdays and some public holidays, 9am-6pm (until 9.45pm Mon and Wed). See louvre.fr/en.- The Daily Telegraph..