The VIP Louvre Tour with an added wine tasting was one of my favourite city experiences in the iconic city. I felt as though I’ve read so much about Paris that I felt as though I was visiting a second time around. I needed to spice things up and stop doing the typical tours.

So when I heard you could visit the Louvre with a skip the line tour that features a guide to take you to each museum highlight and finish the evening off with wine in Louis XV’s sommelier’s cellar, I quickly booked an evening for my husband-to-be and I. Our private tour group of 4 was able to tour the Louvre without waiting in the incredibly long line and, with a guide who knew his way around, get to everything you want to see in a timely manner.

The tour of The Louvre lasted approximately 90 minutes so we could have certainly went back the following day to explore more but on our limited time we were happy to have seen iconic works like The Mona Lisa,  Delacroix’s Liberty Leading the People, and The Great Sphinx of Tanis (to name a few). 

After a long day on your feet in Paris – you will walk everywhere even to the Metro – there’s nothing more satisfying than sitting down to wine in an historic haunt. A short walk from The Louvre is Ô Chateau wine bar. This is the home of the building known to locals as ‘Hotel Particulier’ and was hotel to Louis XV’s sommelier. It is also said that Louis XV’s mistress, the famous Mme Pompidou was a previous owner of this building. You might know her from the infamous rumour that the old cup-style French Champagne wine glasses were modelled after her breasts.

For the wine portion of the tour you get to meander into the building’s old cellar for a tasting of 3 wines paired with 3 French cheeses and charcuterie.