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What a rock star! The crowds are so dense you can barely get a glimpse of her famous smile, but people push and maneuver to take selfies anyway.

I wonder what Leonardo da Vinci would have made of all the commotion over the Mona Lisa, the small portrait he painted in the early years of the 16th century.

"It's always like this," sighs Isabelle Southgate, our guide from Localers, a tour company that matches visitors with local guides, as she watches the jockeying at the Louvre. She encourages kids to scoot up to the front of the crowd. "People are usually kind," she says.

Southgate specializes in family tours of Paris and the Louvre for Americans. (The Louvre is the most visited museum in the world with nearly 9 million visitors last year.)

The Louvre can be overwhelming for an adult, much less a child. There are, after, all, some 35,000 pieces of art on exhibit representing most every civilization in the gargantuan building which started as a medieval fortress and became a royal palace before opening as a museum at the end of the 18th century.

That's why I figure if you are going to splurge on a private tour, this is a good place to do it. You'll at least skip the long entrance lines. These tours, however, aren't cheap -- they can be more than $100 per person, including the museum admission charge that's roughly $22 (free for kids under 18).

If that price is too steep, there are many group tours available and you can skip the lines by purchasing tickets in advance from TicketWeb, or if you are planning to visit many of the city's top attractions, purchasing a Paris Pass with discounted admission.

To tour on your own, purchase a multimedia guide or download the appropriate one for your smartphone for $1.99. Whether you want to see the masterpieces or more, the museum offers 90-minute group introductory tours in English, though kids might not have the patience.

However you choose to visit, Southgate's expertise and suggestions can de-stress the experience here and at other major museums: Come prepared! Bring crayons and sketching pads. Make sure the kids have eaten and are well rested.

Discuss what you are seeing. Why is this artwork a masterpiece? Kids aren't very impressed by the Mona Lisa, Southgate says. "She is so famous they expect something much larger." The Mona Lisa is rather small and dark and, kids say, not very pretty. Many, in fact, believe Leonardo da Vinci used his own face as the model for Lisa Gherardini, the wealthy wife of the Italian who commissioned this painting.

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