The Complete Guide to The Louvre Museum in Paris

The Louvre Museum in Paris has to be one of France’s most iconic buildings and top tourist attractions. It houses one of the best collections of art in the world within the grand and ornate Louvre Palace. It attracts millions of tourists a year because of the incredible array of art on display.

From the ultra-famous Mona Lisa to lesser-known sculptures and antiquities, the museum has something for everyone. If you want to know all about the museum and the works of art you simply cannot miss then just keep reading!

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Admission

Paris’ the Louvre museum is open between 9:00 Am and 6:00 PM every day of the week except for Tuesdays including most public holidays (with the exception of Christmas Day, New Year’s Day and May Day). If you are planning to go in the evening make sure to get there early enough as the last entry is 1 hour before the museum closes.

Tickets

Tickets bought online cost €17 whereas tickets bought inside the museum cost €15. Be warned though, there are a limited number of tickets at peak times, so buying online in advance will ensure you aren’t disappointed. For an extra €5, you can hire an audio guide which are available in 9 languages. To discover all the museum has to offer I would certainly recommend hiring one, or better yet take a guided tour, this way you won’t miss anything!

For anyone under the age of 18 (or under the age of 26 if you are an EEA resident) entry is free. Check the museum’s website to see a full list of groups eligible for free entry and the group rates on offer for parties of 7 or more.

To find tickets at the best price for entry or guided tours then look no further!

Location

Paris’ the Louvre is housed within the Louvre Palace which is on the right bank of the Seine in the 1st Arrondissement. It is right in the centre of Paris within walking distance of many other exciting monuments and right next to the Tuileries Gardens.

The main entrance to the museum is through the Louvre Pyramid but during peak times the queue will be enormous! There is certainly a novelty to entering the museum through the pyramid, but my recommendation would be to head in through Carrousel du Louvre, the underground shopping centre.

If you are travelling there via public transport the closest metro stations are the Louvre Rivoli and Palais Royal -Musée du Louvre. However, my recommendation would be to stop at Concorde. This way you can get a chance to see Place de la Concorde, another must-see square in Paris. After that take a relaxing stroll toward the museum through the Tuileries Gardens and see the museum from afar to take it all in properly!

The Louvre Palace

The Louvre Palace has stood for centuries and served many purposes over the years. Originally it was constructed as a fortress by Philippe Auguste in the 12th century. In the 16th century, it was rebuilt as a palace for royals to live in but in the 1660s Louis XIV moved to the Palace of Versailles so from then on it ceased to be a royal residence.

In 1793 part of the palace was turned into a museum. When it first opened it housed 2,500 works of art. Since then, the museum has only expanded and taken over more space in the palace.

In 1981 a total remodel and expansion of the Louvre began and was dubbed the Grand Louvre Project. The project was initiated by President François Mitterrand with most of it completed by the 1990s. It was hugely contentious at the time as it made fundamental changes to such an important French landmark.

One of the key aspects of the Grand Louvre Project was dedicating the whole palace to the museum. The centrepiece of the project undoubtedly is the Louvre pyramid.

The Louvre Pyramid

The Louvre Pyramid is an enormous glass and steel pyramid that is surrounded by three smaller pyramids. It was designed by the Chinese/ American architect I. M. Pei and completed in 1988. The pyramid is situated in the main courtyard in the Louvre Palace called Cour Napoléon.

The structure stands at 71 feet high and the base has a surface area of 11,000 square feet. The pyramid is made up of 603 rhombus-shaped pieces of glass and 70 triangular shaped ones held together by the steel frame.

The design and construction of the pyramid was met by fierce backlash early on. The modern aesthetic was a completely different style to the rest of the Louvre architecture and was seen to be culturally and historically at odds. There was also criticism of the choice of architect. I. M Pei wasn’t French so there was doubt over whether he would appreciate the importance of the task and whether he would do it justice. Although controversial at the time the pyramid is now an icon of Paris.

The Inverted Louvre Pyramid

Once you’ve seen Paris’ iconic Louvre pyramid you have to check out its smaller, and upside-down sibling. This one was also designed by Pei as part of the Grand Louvre Project and was completed in 1993. Although the inverted pyramid of the Louvre may be slightly lesser-known it just as impressive and should not be missed on your trip to the Louvre.

The tip of the pyramid extends to just 4.6 feet above the floor. Just beneath it there is a smaller stone pyramid that is only 3.3 feet in height. The base of the pyramid lies in the middle of the roundabout of the Place du Carrousel in the space where the Tuileries Palace once stood. The pyramid extends into the Carrousel du Louvre and acts as a giant skylight.

Museum collections

So, we’ve talked enough about the architecture and location, let’s get down to the reason to visit: the artwork! The Louvre’s collection is unparalleled and widely regarded as one of the best in the world. You certainly won’t find a better collection of 15th to 19th-century French art anywhere. Whether you are an art aficionado or not, I guarantee this museum will be one of the highlights of your trip to Paris.

The museum is spread over five floors and has 615,000 objects in its collection. The museum contains a mix of everything produced up to 1848. Anything produced after this date was transferred to the Musée d’Orsay when it opened in 1986. Across eight different departments, there are 35,000 works of art on display. If you spent 30 seconds in front of each one it would take you over three months to see all of them!

The exhibits you can’t miss:

The Louvre has the most enormous array of art so deciding where to start can be a bit of a daunting task. Here is a list of my standouts to help you decide:

1. The Mona Lisa

It must come as no surprise that the Mona Lisa gets a feature in my recommendations. It’s probably the most iconic piece in the museum and is one of the most expensive paintings in the world. It was believed to be painted between 1503 and 1506 by Leonardo da Vinci. Did you know it was stolen in 1911 by a museum employee? The painting was returned to the people of Paris and the Louvre in 1914 but only after becoming world-famous. Due to its popularity, expect huge crowds to surround the painting!

2. Winged Victory of Samothrace

The Winged Victory is a marble statue of Nike, the Greek goddess of victory. It was created in the 2nd century BC and is one of the few surviving sculptures from this time. Winged Victory is widely considered to be one of the best and most important ancient Greek sculptures.

3. Liberty Leading the People

Liberty leading the people was painted by Eugène Delacroix in 1830. It commemorates the July Revolution of 1830 which overthrew King Charles X. The woman is holding the tricolour which was the flag of the revolution and later became France’s national flag. The woman personifies victory and is a symbol of France. It’s the most fitting artwork to be housed in Paris and the Louvre.

4. Venus de Milo

The Venus de Milo is another fantastic example of ancient Greek sculpture. It was created sometime between 150 and 125 BC by Alexandros of Antioch. It is believed that the statue depicts the Greek goddess of love, Aphrodite.

5. Psyche Revived by Cupid’s Kiss

Of all the works of art in the museum, this one has to be my favourite. It is a masterpiece of emotion and romance that you’d be sorry to miss. The sculpture depicts Cupid reviving Psyche with a kiss after she opened a flask from the underworld that sent her into a deathlike sleep. It was sculpted in 1787 by Antonio Canova out of marble.

6. The Dying Slave and The Rebellious Slave

Both works of art were sculpted out of marble by Michelangelo between 1513 and 1516. Michelangelo was commissioned to sculpt them for the Tomb of Pope Julius II although they were not finished in time so were omitted. They are some of Michelangelo’s best sculptures and fantastic examples of his ability to capture the human form.

7. The Wedding at Canna

The Wedding at Cana was painted by Paolo Veronese in 1563. It illustrates the bible story of the Marriage at Cana where Jesus performed his first miracle and turned water into wine. It stands at an enormous 22 feet high, making it impossible to miss.

8. Coronation of Napoleon

The Coronation of Napoleon is another painting with huge dimensions. It’s 20 feet high and 32 feet wide! It is an oil painting by Jacques Louis David, who was Napoleon’s official painter and was completed in 1807. This impressive work of art depicts Napoleon’s coronation in Notre Dame.