Search out priceless treasures in Paris' classic Musée du Louvre

FRANCE // While many of the 10 million-plus visitors who annually enter the Louvre head straight to the Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo, the planet's most visited museum is no two-hit wonder. This is an intricately curated record of human endeavour and expression, housed in a 12th-century fortress transformed into a royal residence in the mid-16th century that's as fascinating as its 35,000 exhibits. The glass pyramid main entrance is now a Parisian landmark in its own right.

 

What is special about Louvre Museum?

Where better than the Louvre to understand these great works of art? The palace is home to some of the world's most iconic works - paintings, sculptures, architectural elements and art objects by famous or unknown artists of various origins and periods. And no two masterpieces are alike!

What's inside Louvre?

The Louvre contains approximately 500,000 objects and displays 35,000 works of art in eight curatorial departments with more than 60,600 square meters (652,000 sq ft) dedicated to the permanent collection. The Louvre Museum exhibits sculptures, art objects, paintings, drawings and archaeological finds.
 

What is the famous thing in the Louvre museum?

Mona Lisa

Mona Lisa. Protected by a transparent wall, Leonardo da Vinci's famous Renaissance work is a must for visitors to the Louvre. Always surrounded by a crowd, the charming oil portrait is said to be of Lisa Gradini and was commissioned by her husband, Francesco del Giacondo.

Why is it called the Louvre?

According to the first, the word louvre is derived from the Latin word lupara, meaning wolf, due to the existence of wolves in this area in the past centuries. An alternative theory is that it is a misunderstanding of the Old French word low, meaning tower, referring to the original purpose of the Louvre as a defensive structure.

 

Why do people love the Louvre museum?

The Louvre Museum is known as the largest and most visited museum in the world. It houses an incredibly extensive collection, ranging from Greek antiquities from 6500 BC to relatively modern paintings and sculptures from the 19th century.