Bistrot Benoit at the Louvre Museum (Paris, FRANCE) ★★★☆☆

Today, we are spending a good chunk of our time at the Louvre Museum. It's going to be little nugget's first visit to one of the world's most amazing museums and we will also have the company of Madame Taekwondo with us.

He has been asking about stuff like mummies and Mona Lisa ever since we told him about our visit this afternoon and obviously, he couldn't wait to see them up close in person.

It's not my first visit but I never got tired coming to this former palace with some of the finest collections of art pieces and sculptures from around the globe.

It was time to learn more about our lunch options after we checked out stuff from the Egyptian empire. As it turned out, there were limited options for restaurants and cafés inside the museum so we decided to take a flyer on Bistrot Benoit when the opportunity presented itself.

Green pea velouté, croutons – Lunch started off with a refreshing bowl of green pea velouté with crispy croutons for me. I thought it came with a subtle hint of mint.

Baked John Dory, Provence-style vegetables – It was followed by a fish dish, baked John Dory with vegetables like onion, eggplant, pepper and tomatoes cooked Provence-style. I was expecting it to be very similar to the cod fish I had at Brasserie Lazare last night but this really paled in comparison.

Ravioli from Dauphiné with herbs – Little one had a simple Dauphiné-style ravioli finished off with cheese, herbs and rocket leaves. 

Seasonal fruit, raspberry sorbet – We were looking for a healthy dessert and I thought we got one here with a bowl of seasonal fruits topped with raspberry sorbet. 

Following the break in action, we finished where we left off with The Winged Victory of Samothrace, one of the most famous statues at the Louvre, located at the top of the monumental Daru staircase. 

And of course, what would a trip to The Louvre be without visiting the Mona Lisa?

As crazy as it sounded, the only way we could admire the famous painting was from the screen of someone's smartphone! It was just impossible to get close to the iconic da Vinci painting.

Across the Mona Lisa was The Wedding at Cana by Paolo Veronese, the biggest painting in the Louvre. It depicts an extraordinary banquet with a crowd of some 130 different characters in dazzling light and color.

I finally got some much-needed Me Time to circle around the Lourve and took some nice selfies for my IG feed.

Well, that was the end of our museum visit and time for the next activity on our busy schedule, the two natural Seine islands, île Saint-Louis and île de la Cité in the heart of Paris.

Food Rating: 5.1/10

Price: €€€

Address: Hall Napoléon Pyramide du Louvre, 75001 Paris, France

Closest Metro Station: Palais Royal - Musée du Louvre

Tel: +33 (0)1 4020-5227

Website: https://musiam-paris.com/en/restaurants/bistrot-benoit/

Opening Hours: 11:45am - 5:30pm (Wed - Mon)