The Louvre
The Louvre is the most visited museum and arguably the most renowned museum in the world
There are few museums anywhere in the world that have attracted more attention than the Louvre. The world's most visited museum, the Louvre is home to in excess of 35000 pieces of art dating from the earliest times to the 19th century and displayed in an exhibition space covering an amazing 650,000 square feet. Some famous pieces of art include The Madonna and Leonardo da Vinci’s Saint Anne, however there are literally thousands more works of art and historical pieces for visitors to view.
The Louvre has a lengthy and interesting history. During the 12th century, Paris was Europe's largest city. To protect the capital from the Anglo Norman threat king, Philippe Auguste, who was reigning at that time, decided to build a garrison to reinforce its western defences on the shores of the River Seine. The large fortress comprised of a moat, a huge tower at the centre of the structure plus other towers encompassed narrow gates at the wall on south and east sides. The solid building had two inner buildings butt against the exterior walls on the south and west sides. This magnificant structure lost its ability to be Paris' defence fortress as the city grew far beyond the original wall by the mid 14th century. Other defences were developed under King Charles V which enclosed the Louvre within the expanding city. In 1364 he commissioned his architect, Raymon du Temple, to transform the ancient garrison into a splendid royal mansion.
Each section of the Louvre has its story to tell and bears the mark of a different influential personality. The Louvre was turned into a museum in 1791 and first opened its doors as such in 1793. The first pieces on display were works of art that were donated or loaned by families that could afford to do so. Since then, the Louvre has simply grown in splendour and has had many galleries added and renovations done to turn it into the amazing museum that it is today.
The Louvre, as with most famous museums, offers floor plans, audio guides and guide books to visitors. It also features a number of cafes, media centres and even a bookstore for those that wish to bring a little of the Louvre home with them. The Tuileries Gardens offer a number of activities for the restless little ones who may not enjoy taking in the art of the Louvre as much as their parents. Instead, they can be amused with boat rides and trampolines and other play area activities in the gardens.
Nearby attractions: Jardin des Tuileries and Museum of Decorative Arts
Facts For Your Visit
Fee: Save time and skip the queueThe Louvre Hours:
Opening hours may differ on holidays
- Monday: 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM
- Tuesday: Closed
- Wednesday: 9:00 AM – 9:00 PM
- Thursday: 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM
- Friday: 9:00 AM – 9:00 PM
- Saturday: 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM
- Sunday: 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Address: 75001 Paris, France
Phone: 01 40 20 53 17
Official Website: The Louvre
The Louvre Reviews
Rated out of 5
A great museum. Good structure. Good service. A day is not enough to visit everything. Recommend buying the tickets in advance and getting there on time. Nothing to complain.
The museum has expositions from a variety of fields. Asian, Egyptian, Italian, Greek among others cultures are shown.
Fredson Aguiar - 2 weeks ago
Huge collections of artifacts. Worth the wait, ticket can be purchase online or walk in. The queue to get inside to buy ticket is long wait. Advice to book online. You will have to go thru security. Audio guide can be rented. No restriction of bringing food and drinks, you may consume it at the lobby area only. Food and drinks inside is limited and pricy. Small bottle of mineral water around €4++. So does canned drinks. A chicken baguette is around €7. Planned your visit, manage your time so can see more. There are different wings and categories. The craziest part is visit MonaLiza. Educating and eye open experience.
Kathleen Tsen - a week ago
The world knows the Louvre - and for good reason. It's simply one of the greatest collections of artifacts ever brought together. Every item has a story. It would take days to go through it all, so I'd sincerely suggest a guide to maximize your time viewing the impressive collection. If you can, plan your visit before or after summer, and avoid holidays. I'd also suggest viewing the more iconic items close to closing time. The crowds thin out and you'll have a better viewing experience. Otherwise, try hard to be in the first group to enter and quickly go to the more popular items as quickly as possible. Either way, have a plan. Visit the museum's website and know what you want to see and where you need to go. Absolutely buy tickets ahead of time. There's stairs, escalators, lifts, and ramps to transit. We walked 3 miles in just over 2 hours, so expect to walk - a lot.
M R - 2 months ago
A beautiful building filled with beautiful things! Spent over 3 and a half hours here and could have stayed longer. The free lockers for coats and bags was a brilliant addition although toilets can be a bit difficult to find.
Louise Ions - in the last week
I was so busy eating rotisserie chickens on my 5 day Paris trip that I actually didn't even get to set foot in the Louvre. I've been before though so it's not THAT outlandish...
But, we did a 4 hour bike tour all around Paris in the evening, and we rode through the courtyard here on one of the stops.
Since it was it was late, there was no one around and the whole complex had under lighting that highlighted the architecture. It was literally one of the most beautiful things that has ever graced my retinas.
I'll take this over any view I've seen in nature. It was like the will of man made visible, and what other religion do we need?
I was so inspired that I took 2 laps with J.Coles "Winter Wonderland" on repeat 1. I just couldn't even believe what I was seeing.
It is what I can only hope the gates of heaven look like. I've never felt so close to God in my life.
These words I'm writing and the video I took have no chance to do it any justice, so I'm just gonna stop it here.
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Johnny Novo - a month ago
Directions
| Metro / RER Line | Nearest Station | Walking Time |
|---|---|---|
| M1 or M7 | Palais Royal - Musée du Louvre | 3 minutes |
How to get to The Louvre by Metro / RER
By Metro: From Metro Line 1 or 7 exit at Palais Royal - Musée du Louvre Station and proceed to your right (west) along Rue de Rivoli and then cross the road to your left and proceed through the arches at Place du Corrousel. The entrance to the the Louvre is in the Glass Pyramid ahead and to your left.
The Louvre is also easily accessed from the Batobus.
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Accommodations near The Louvre:
Photo Gallery
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One of many expansive halls exhibiting paintings by the masters inside The Louvre cc licensed photo by vic15 -
Photo Credit: Rojs Rozentāls - cc license via Flickr -
Photo Credit: Patrik Seiler - cc license via Flickr -
Photo Credit: szeke - cc license via Flickr -
Photo Credit: Gael Varoquaux - cc license via Flickr -
Photo Credit: szeke - cc license via Flickr -
Photo Credit: Gael Varoquaux - cc license via Flickr -
Photo Credit: docoverachiever - cc license via Flickr -
Photo Credit: docoverachiever - cc license via Flickr -
Photo Credit: docoverachiever - cc license via Flickr -
Photo Credit: docoverachiever - cc license via Flickr
