Inside the mind of the museum-goer

Why do some people spend all day in a gallery while others dash around in an hour? Laurent Carpentier wonders what is the difference between the 3.6% of respondents who reported that they had spent more than six hours exploring the Louvre in Paris, and the 6.5%, who spent less than an hour

There is a broad consensus that museums have become a place for “testing one’s limits”, the opportunity for those who venture there to take risks. And sociologists are now convinced that when it comes to culture, the divide is not a matter of money but of education.

The article is translated from a French original, le visiteur de musées exposé, that appeared in Le Monde newspaper.