The Louvre Museum
When most people think of the Louvre museum they think of the Mona Lisa painting, but the museum has so much more! It is massive! You can easily get lost inside the maze of hallways.
Be sure to plan your visit before arrival.
From Leonardo da Vinci to the Venus de Milo to Greek and Egyptian sculpture, the Louvre Museum in Paris has the most extensive art collection in the world. The Louvre covers more than 2,000 years of art history going back to the ancient civilizations and the birth of art as we know it. You’ll see the French masters as well as masterpieces of the Italian Renaissance. You’ll even get to view the royal crowns of French emperors and kings.
Facts
The Louvre started back in the twelfth century. In the 900 years since then it has seen a lot,and now it’s the most popular museum in the world with nearly 10 million visitors every year.
- The Louvre collection includes more than 380,000 pieces.
- 35,000 works are displayed at the museum at any given time.
- There are 4,000 paintings by French artists.
- The museum’s oldest collections are from the ancient civilizations in Egypt and Mesopotamia.
- The exhibition area is over 650,000 square feet.
- In addition to the art, you’ll also find classes of French school children learning about art in the Louvre. (The rest of us had to settle for images in books!)
Highlights
The Louvre is one of the biggest museums in the world with many different historical pieces of art. Whenever you come to Paris, going to the Louvre Museum is a must! There’s always one or two masterpieces you cannot afford to miss!
If you have some artwork that you really want to see more than anything but don’t feel like losing time looking for it, take a look at the museum map before coming in. That way, you will know exactly where to head!
Once you get inside the museum, you will quickly figure out that there three different entrances to get to the many floors: the Richelieu entrance, the Sully entrance and the Denon entrance.
At ground level, you will find many Roman, Greek and Egyptian sculptures and antiquities. When you arrive, my advice is to go to the Apollo Gallery, which is the place where you will admire the fabulous ceiling as well as the King’s crown! Then, you can go to the level 1 of the museum, which I think is the most popular.
Located on the Denon wings of the museum, you will be able to Italian paintings from the Renaissance, like Leonardo Da Vinci’s work (the famous Mona Lisa lives on at the Louvre Museum).
Then, keep going to French paintings where you will see French masterpieces, such as “La Liberté guidant le Peuple” (Liberty leading the People) by Delacroix, or even “Le Sacre de Napoléon” (Coronation of Napoleon) by Jacques-Louis David. Finally, you can go to see “La Vénus de Milo” (Aphrodite from Milos).
If you are not too tired yet, you can just walk through the museum, go to the many different galleries or just take a look at a map of the museum and find some galleries that best suit your interests!
The best way to visit the Louvre Museum is to plan your visit in advance! The Louvre Museum is very popular so it is always a little crowded. But if you manage to know where the pieces of art you can’t afford to miss are located, you will save some precious time and will actually get to see your favourites!
Opening Hours
- Open from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM
- Late Nights: Wednesdays and Fridays until 9:45 PM
- Closed Tuesdays, December 25, January 1 and May 1
I would recommend going to the Louvre Museum early in the day, before the Parisians do. The locals love going to the museum whenever they can, so the tend to get overcrowded pretty quickly.
Tickets
Purchased online – €17 or £14 / $18
Purchased at the museum – €15 or £12 / $16
Free under 18 year olds
Present official piece of ID.
Free up to 26-year-old residents of the European Economic Area (EU, Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein)
Present certificate of residence or valid piece of ID.
We always recommend booking in advance! Use our partner:
How to get there
The Louvre is very central and easy to get to. By Paris Metro the Louvre has its own metro station on line 1 called Palais-Royal–Musee du Louvre. All of the popular Paris hop on, hop off sightseeing buses stop here and the Batobus river bus service also has a stop for the Louvre.
Address: RUE DE RIVOLI, 75001 PARIS
Images
We loved the Louvre museum! Make sure its on your list!
Checkout our other guides to France :
