Louvre

Paris, France

The Louvre is one of the world's largest museums and a historic monument and a central landmark of Paris. Nearly 35,000 objects from prehistory to the 21st century are exhibited over an area of 60,600 square metres. The Louvre is the world's most visited museum, and received more than 9 million visitors annually.

The museum is housed in the Louvre Palace, originally built as a fortress in the late 12th century under Philip II. Remnants of the fortress are visible in the basement of the museum. The building was extended many times to form the present Louvre Palace. In 1682, Louis XIV chose the Palace of Versailles for his household, leaving the Louvre primarily as a place to display the royal collection, including, from 1692, a collection of ancient Greek and Roman sculpture. In 1692, the building was occupied by the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres and the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture, which in 1699 held the first of a series of salons. The Académie remained at the Louvre for 100 years. During the French Revolution, the National Assembly decreed that the Louvre should be used as a museum to display the nation's masterpieces.

The museum opened on 10 August 1793 with an exhibition of 537 paintings, the majority of the works being royal and confiscated church property. Because of structural problems with the building, the museum was closed in 1796 until 1801. The collection was increased under Napoleon and the museum renamed the Musée Napoléon, but after Napoleon's abdication many works seized by his armies were returned to their original owners. The collection was further increased during the reigns of Louis XVIII and Charles X, and during the Second French Empire the museum gained 20,000 pieces. Holdings have grown steadily through donations and gifts since the Third Republic. The collection is divided among eight curatorial departments: Egyptian Antiquities; Near Eastern Antiquities; Greek, Etruscan, and Roman Antiquities; Islamic Art; Sculpture; Decorative Arts; Paintings; Prints and Drawings.

Among many others the most famous pieces of art are undoubtedly High Renaissance works by Leonardo da Vinci (Mona Lisa, Virgin of the Rocks), Caravaggio, Titian and many more.

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Details

Founded: 1793
Category: Museums in France

Rating

4.7/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

ngenge aung (12 months ago)
It is a really really nice museum in Paris and in the world. I went there to see Mona Lisa paint and Venus. You need to wait and line to buy ticket . It would be better if you could buy tickets through online. The museum is super wide and bigger. You will need enough time to see the beauties of the museum. I think a week is worth spending time there. The arts, paints, and creations are unique and amazing. So many people are always crowded in front of the Mona Lisa paint. The paint is covered by a glass not to touch it easily. It was painted on the wood and the size is small. The paint opposite side to it is also so nice and bigger.I would like to recommend you to see each paint and enjoy them. You can take a flyer or map of the museum at the information department. Or you can ask the securities at every corner of the museum if you want to see something special and if you could not find the way to them.
Sergio Martínez (12 months ago)
It was a great visit! We had a lot of fun during the 3 hours we spent on our visit to the museum and we saw a lot of great sculptures and paintings. Definitely recommended to buy the tickets in advance so you have to wait less time at the entrance queue and bring some food of your own so when you finish your visit you can have something to eat (if you don’t want to spend any money in the cafeteria).
Eugène Fedorov (12 months ago)
Amazing place! And also an amazing palace! The most famous tourist place in the world has various surprises for visitors. You'll be impressed by the view from the balcony of Cafe. Don't even try to see all of the expositions for one day. Be ready to fight against crowds near the Mona Lisa. Try to find your own secret of that place. Go for it!
Z Lee (15 months ago)
You probably need five weeks to cover the immense Materials in here. It’s incredible collection. I highly recommend at least one full day and to get the audio guide. Start with the masterpiece trial to get a good introduction. Left the museum by buying a guidebook that I’m still perusing at this point. Total mind blowing experience.
Sue Martindale (16 months ago)
Our family of seven (ages 8 to 69) planned in advance and bought tickets to the “My First Louvre” private tour led by museum staff, directly from the Louvre website. The 90-minute tours are Saturdays and Sundays at 11 o’clock. It’s just a brief overview to get you started. I was most impressed by the below ground viewing of elements of the castle remains on which the Louvre was built. Tour included a history of the museum before we set off. Make sure you allow plenty of time to find the starting place of the tour within the museum. It took us awhile to find where to enter the museum, and then to find our way to the location to pick up our headsets and the room to wait. So allow at least 30 minutes. Trust me! A stop to view the Mona Lisa is included, but there is a Disneyland-type queue to get close enough to snap a photo. We enjoyed our brief taste of the museum very much. We also enjoyed that there were places in the pyramid section to purchase beverages and baguette sandwiches.
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