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Louvre Museum

9,000 Years of Human History

The Louvre Museum is the most visited museum in the world, with its famous glass pyramid in the center of the square. The Louvre's three wings, Richelieu, Denon and Sully, contain artifacts from Egypt, Greece, Rome and Near East, as well as paintings and decorative arts.

From the Arc de Triomphe, go east along the historic axis of Paris, and past Champs Elysées and the Tuileries Garden, you will find the Louvre.

The Louvre Museum (Musée du Louvre) was built in the 13th century as a Royal Palace of Paris, and was extensively expanded during the reigns of Henry V, Louis XIV, Napoleon I and Napoleon III. It took more than 600 years to build up to its current size.

The Louvre’s U-shaped Palace Building encloses the glass pyramid designed by the Chinese-American architect I.M. Pei. The Glass Pyramid as an Entrance is not only a diversion of crowds and a link between the north and south wings of the Louvre, but also an insurmountable landmark by its outstanding design concept.

Manywhere Trivia:
When I.M. Pei first proposed the design of the glass pyramid, the people of Paris were extremely opposed to it, saying it would seriously affect the overall feel of the Louvre.

The Dying Slave, by Michelangelo, 16th century

The Louvre Museum is divided into three main wings based on the architecture: Richelieu Wing, Denon Wing and Sully Wing. Even with a map in hand, the complex layout of the Louvre’s rooms can be dizzying, and it is said that it would take at least three days to visit all of them. That’s why it’s important to know what to choose and visit according to your personal preferences.

The Louvre’s collections span different continents, from 7500 B.C. to the mid-19th century, over 400,000 objects total. Venus de Milo, The Winged Victory of Samothrace (Nike of Samothrace) and The Mona Lisa are known as the three crown jewels of the Louvre Museum.

Manywhere Tips:
The Mona Lisa is much smaller than expected. Especially when you’re not allowed to get near it.

You can actually see it in high definition while lying at home

The museum presents its collections in hundreds of halls on five floors in three wings.

The Louvre is rich in Ancient Egyptian Antiquities and Near East Antiquities: sphinxes, rows of Mummified coffins, the Code of Hammurabi, and the Twin-bull Column … unveiling the mysteries of pharaohs and Mesopotamia.

The sculpture was a common means of presenting culture and art from different eras, as seen in the Louvre, exhibitions about Ancient Greek Antiquities and Ancient Roman Antiquities reduce the distance between Gods and men. The splendor of French Sculptures is shining in the glass atrium of the Richelieu Wings.

A large part of the Louvre’s collection is Painting Masterpieces, including works by Italian, French, Spanish and Scandinavian painters such as Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Caravaggio, Rembrandt, Rubens… Notable paintings include The Mona Lisa, The Madonna of the Meadow, The Wedding Feast at Cana, The Lacemaker, Oath of the Horatii, and Liberty Leading the People (La Liberté Guidant le Peuple).

The Wedding Feast at Cana, by Paolo Veronese, 1563

Manywhere Trivia:
The Louvre has no Picasso’s artwork in its collection.

The museum also has exhibition spaces dedicated to European Decorative Art, Islamic art, and you can even enter Napoleon III Apartments for a glimpse of the sumptuous life of the emperor.

The Louvre is the only place in the world that allows you to travel through 9,000 years of history and explore both Eastern and Western civilizations in just a few hours. The only thing missing from the Louvre, as you may have noticed, is the modern artifacts from the 19th century onwards. The Musée d'Orsay, just across the Seine from the Louvre, is the best place for early modern artworks, where Monet, Rodin, Courbet, Van Gogh and other masters await you.

Orsay Museum

Modern Western Art Masters

The Musée d'Orsay is located on the south bank of the Seine in Paris, across the river from the Louvre. The collection of the Musée d'Orsay, created between 1848 and 1914, includes masterpieces by Impressionists such as Manet, Monet and Renoir, and sculptors such as Rodin and Rude.