Travelogram

The Louvre, or the Louvre Museum, is the world’s most-visited museum, and a historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo. 

The museum is housed in the Louvre Palace, originally built in the late 12th to 13th century under Philip II. Remnants of the Medieval Louvre fortress are visible in the basement of the museum.

The museum opened on 10 August 1793 with an exhibition of 537 paintings, the majority of the works being royal and confiscated church property.

The collection was increased under Napoleon and the museum was renamed 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

A glass pyramid, which is currently the museum’s principle entrance, was built in the palace’s main courtyard in 1989, piercing the monotony of the Louvre’s exterior.

The Louvre’s permanent collection features nearly 300,000 works of art that date before 1948, and of which only 35,000 are visible to the public.

These are some of the most impressive paintings on display:

The most famous sculptures are:

If you’re an art lover, and you want a deeper understanding of the artwork in the Louvre the museum offers guests an audioguide with information on each an every piece in the gallery. You can download it as an app for mobile of Nintendo 3DS.

Although the Louvre Museum is extremely prestigious worldwide, for those who are not passionate about art the visit can become a bit tedious due to the museum’s dimensions, the heat and the crowds of people.

The Louvre consists of three separate wings that span four floors. It is so huge that you simply cannot see everything in a single day.  The museum offers many guided tours ranging from introductory tours that show the museum’s masterpieces to theme tours of a specific period of art.

Louvre Museum Collection

The museum’s permanent collection consists of great works of art by maestros like Leonardo Da Vinci, Delacroix, Rubens, and Vermeer, among others. It also houses Egyptian, Islamic, and Greco-Roman collections of art. The eight thematic departments of the Louvre are:

Paintings
The most popular section of Louvre Museum Paris, the painting department, exhibits more than 7,500 works of art. The department is further divided into schools of work based on regions such as French, Italian, German, Flemish, English, Dutch, and Scandinavian.

Egyptian Antiquities
The Egyptian collection of the Louvre is considered to be one of the most extensive in the world, housing over 50,000 pieces. It deep dives into the lives of the ancient Egyptians and includes artifacts from the Nile civilization (4,000 BC) to the 4th century AD.

Greek, Etruscan, and Roman Antiquities:
The Greek, Etruscan, and Roman antiquities department of the Louvre Museum focuses on Mediterranean history dating from the Neolithic era to the 6th century. One of the oldest departments of the Louvre, a large part of the collection was inducted by the French royalty in the 16th century.

Near Eastern Antiquities
This department is massive with 25 rooms dedicated to the exhibition of art and artifacts from early Near Eastern civilization. The department is divided into three geographic areas: the Levant, Mesopotamia (Iraq), and Persia (Iran).

Sculptures
The department for Sculpture at the Louvre Paris is rich with works created before 1850 that do not belong in the Etruscan, Greek, and Roman department. It holds the largest collection of French sculptures in the world. Some of the notable works are Satan by Jean-Jacques Feuchère and Diana the Huntress by Jean-Antoine Houdon, among others.

Islamic Arts
The department of Islamic Arts at the Louvre is the newest section in the museum. Founded in the year 2003, the collection features 3,000 works from the Arabian peninsula spanning the 7th to 19th centuries. Some important works showcased in this section are the Plate with Peacock, three pages of the Shahnameh, and the Barberini Vase.

Decorative Arts
The department of Decorative Arts at the Louvre consists of artifacts, tapestries, ceramics, stained glass, and more from the Middle Ages to the mid-19th century. Some highlights of the department include the coronation crown of Louis XIV, Giambologna’s bronze Nessus and Deianira, and Napoleon III’s apartments.

Prints & Drawings
This department houses the largest collection of drawings in the world with 1,40,000 pieces in the Louvre’s catalog. It is the least known part of the museum as most of the works cannot be displayed due to the fragility of the drawings.

Tickets and other charges

Tickets purchased online €17

Tickets purchased at the museum
Limited number available during off-peak times. €15

18 year olds, -26 year old residents of the EEA free

Audio guide
6 admission tickets and 6 audio guide bookings per person. €5

Guided tours, storytime and workshops
This price does not include admission to the museum. €9 to €12

Guided tours, storytime and workshops + Louvre. €26