WIN A JUST GERALD
BEST DAY EVER
AT THE LOUVRE
An all-paid day for two in Paris. A curated route through the world's greatest museum. A catered lunch at Café Marly overlooking the pyramid. And a private AR tour of the Louvre's most extraordinary secrets — launched just ten days ago.
"The Louvre is not a museum. It is an argument about what it means to be human — and it has been winning for 800 years."
The Louvre is the most visited museum on earth — nine million people a year, most of them queuing for forty-five minutes to stand six metres from a painting behind bulletproof glass. That is not a Best Day Ever. That is a Tuesday in purgatory.
The Just Gerald Best Day Ever at the Louvre is something different. It is a curated eight-hour journey through one of the most extraordinary buildings in the world, structured around the works that most visitors never find, timed to avoid the crowds, and anchored by a catered lunch on the terrace of Café Marly with the pyramid catching the midday light.
And this year, there is something new. On February 18, 2026 — ten days ago — the Louvre and Snapchat launched 'The Incredible Unknowns of the Louvre': a free augmented reality experience that reveals the hidden histories of six masterpieces across six departments. The Code of Hammurabi in its original colours. The bust of Akhenaten restored. The Four Captives by Martin Desjardins, melted down in the Revolution and now reconstructed in AR for the first time. This is the Louvre as it has never been seen before, and it is the centrepiece of the Just Gerald package.
The Napoleon III Apartments dining room — red velvet, gold stucco, crystal chandelier. Richelieu Wing, first floor.
The Louvre's Secrets, Revealed in Augmented Reality
The Snapchat AR Studio Paris worked directly with Louvre curators, archival records, and the latest academic research to reconstruct six works as they appeared at the moment of their creation. Using only a smartphone and a free app, visitors can now see what four millennia of time, war, and revolution have obscured. The six works span the full breadth of the museum's collection — from a Babylonian law code to a 16th-century Parisian ceramicist — and together they constitute the most ambitious interpretive project the Louvre has ever undertaken.
Code of Hammurabi
282 laws of Babylon, 18th century BC — restored in original colour
Bust of Akhenaten
Pharaoh Amenhotep IV from the temple of Karnak — face restored
Portrait of Anne of Cleves
Hans Holbein the Younger, 16th century — original pigments revealed
Kore of Samos
Offered to the goddess Hera — restored with original paint
Four Captives by Martin Desjardins
Melted in the Revolution — now reconstructed in AR
Bernard Palissy Rusticware Dish
Master ceramicist's technique revealed at microscopic scale
Eight Hours in the World's Greatest Museum
The Winged Victory of Samothrace
Begin at the top of the Daru staircase, where the Winged Victory stands in full theatrical command of the space. She has no head, no arms, and no equal. Carved around 190 BC to commemorate a naval victory, she leans into an imagined wind that still moves through the room. This is the Louvre's finest first impression.
Gerald's Tip: Arrive before 9:30 AM — the staircase is nearly empty at opening and the light from the skylights is at its best.
Venus de Milo
Descend to the ground floor of the Sully Wing, where Aphrodite — or possibly a sea goddess — stands in her own rotunda. Discovered on the island of Milos in 1820, she has been in Paris ever since. The missing arms have never been found, and the mystery is part of her power. Walk a full circle around her: the back is as extraordinary as the front.
Gerald's Tip: The Venus de Milo room is rarely as crowded as the Mona Lisa room. Take your time.
The Mona Lisa (and the Wedding Feast at Cana)
Yes, you go. But you go knowing the secret: turn your back on the Mona Lisa and face the opposite wall. Paolo Veronese's Wedding Feast at Cana is 67 square metres of colour, movement, and joy — 130 figures at a banquet that includes Titian, Tintoretto, and Veronese himself playing the viola da gamba. It was painted in 1563 and has hung opposite the Mona Lisa since 1812. Most visitors never notice it.
Gerald's Tip: The Mona Lisa is behind bulletproof glass, 6 metres away, and smaller than you expect. The Wedding Feast is free, enormous, and extraordinary. Spend your time accordingly.
The Napoleon III Apartments
Take the escalator to the first floor of the Richelieu Wing and step into the Second Empire at full volume. The Napoleon III Apartments were the Ministry of State's official reception rooms from 1861 to 1871 — designed to project imperial power through sheer excess. The dining room alone seats 42 guests at a table with 21 original extension leaves, beneath a crystal chandelier that fills the room with fractured light. The red velvet, the gold stucco, the giant mirrors reflecting the room into infinity: this is what money looked like in 1865.
Gerald's Tip: The apartments are often overlooked because they are not on the main masterpiece circuit. You will frequently have them nearly to yourself.
Catered Lunch — Café Marly
Café Marly occupies the arcaded galleries of the Richelieu Wing, overlooking the glass pyramid and the Cour Napoléon. The terrace is one of the finest lunch settings in Paris: classical stone arches, the pyramid glittering in the midday light, and a menu that runs from steak tartare to crème brûlée. For the Just Gerald Best Days Ever package, lunch is catered — a curated three-course menu with wine, served at a reserved terrace table.
Gerald's Tip: Book the terrace table in advance. The interior is good; the terrace is exceptional.
The Incredible Unknowns — AR Tour
Since February 18, 2026, the Louvre and Snapchat have offered a free augmented reality experience called 'The Incredible Unknowns of the Louvre.' Using your smartphone, you scan QR codes beside six works across six departments and watch the museum's secrets unfold: the Code of Hammurabi's 282 laws restored in colour, the bust of Akhenaten from the temple of Karnak, Anne of Cleves as Holbein painted her, the Kore of Samos as she appeared on the island of Samos, the Four Captives by Martin Desjardins (melted down during the Revolution and now reconstructed), and a Bernard Palissy dish that reveals the master ceramicist's extraordinary technique. The AR was designed by Snapchat's Paris studio in close collaboration with Louvre curators using archival records and the latest academic research. It is free. It is remarkable. It is the best two hours you will spend in the building.
Gerald's Tip: Download Snapchat before you arrive. The QR codes are posted beside each work — no reservation required.
The Seated Scribe & the Ain Ghazal Statue
End the afternoon in the Egyptian Antiquities — the Louvre's oldest and most atmospheric collection. The Seated Scribe (c. 2600–2350 BC) stares at you with inlaid rock crystal eyes that have not blinked in four and a half thousand years. Nearby, the Ain Ghazal Statue (7200–6250 BC) is the oldest human figure in the museum — a plaster figure from what is now Jordan, made when Paris was a forest. These are not art objects. They are evidence.
Gerald's Tip: The Egyptian Antiquities are on the ground and first floors of the Sully Wing. Allow 45 minutes.
Golden Hour in the Tuileries
Exit through the Pyramid and walk west into the Tuileries Garden — 63 acres of formal French garden stretching from the Louvre to the Place de la Concorde. At golden hour, the light turns the gravel paths amber and the fountains into mirrors. Stop at Angelina on the Rue de Rivoli for a hot chocolate so thick it requires a spoon. This is the correct way to end the day.
Gerald's Tip: Angelina's hot chocolate (l'Africain) is the benchmark against which all other hot chocolates are measured. Order it with a Mont Blanc pastry.
What the Winner Receives
Return Flights
Economy return flights for two from your nearest international airport to Paris Charles de Gaulle.
2 Nights Hotel
Two nights in a boutique hotel in the 19th arrondissement — walking distance from Parc des Buttes-Chaumont.
Louvre Entry
Skip-the-line tickets for two, with timed entry at 9:00 AM opening.
Catered Lunch
A curated three-course lunch for two on the terrace of Café Marly, overlooking the pyramid. Wine included.
AR Tour Guide
A Just Gerald curated AR tour map covering all six Incredible Unknowns stops, plus 12 additional hidden gems.
Tuileries Afternoon
An Angelina hot chocolate and Mont Blanc pastry for two, reserved at the Rue de Rivoli location.
WIN THIS BEST DAY EVER
Enter your name and email below. One winner will be drawn on April 1, 2026. No purchase necessary. One entry per person. The winner will be contacted by email and announced on Just Gerald's social channels.
Getting There
Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport. RER B direct to Châtelet-Les Halles (35 min, €11.80). Taxi ~€55-70. The Louvre is a 10-minute walk from Châtelet.
Louvre Hours
Open daily except Tuesday. 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM. Late opening until 9:45 PM on Wednesdays and Fridays. Book timed-entry tickets online in advance — the queue without a ticket can exceed 2 hours.
AR Experience
Free via Snapchat app. Available from February 18, 2026. No reservation required — scan QR codes beside each of the six works. Works across all six departments.