Culture & Travel
13 December 2021If you’re planning to visit the Louvre Museum on your upcoming Paris trip, here is what you need to know about the world’s most famous museum.
We can say that the Louvre, the largest and most visited museum in the world, is one of the most iconic places in Paris. The Louvre Museum, which opened its doors on August 10, 1973, with 587 paintings on display, hosts more than 380,000 famous works of art to date, and by receiving millions of visitors from all over the world, it has become the most popular museum, and some of the world’s most famous masterpieces, such as Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa and Vénus de Milo, are displayed here.
Historical Facts About the Louvre
Originally built as a fortress in 1190, the Louvre was rebuilt in the 16th century to serve as a royal palace. It was expanded by every ruler of the period and showed tremendous growth during this time. In 1682, Louis XVI moved his royal residence to the French city of Versailles, after which the Louvre began to house various art academies.
Egyptian antiquities, ancient Greek and Roman sculptures, paintings by important European artists before 1800, and crown jewels and other works of the French nobility are exhibited in the collection at the museum. The exhibition is divided into eight sections: Near Eastern Antiquities, Egyptian Antiquities, Greek, Etruscan and Roman Antiquities, Islamic Art, statues, Decorative Arts, Pictures, Prints, and Drawings.
Must-See at the Louvre
It can take more than two months to see all the works in the Louvre, which is rich in collections. But don’t let this discourage you! You can easily visit the main touristic spots in three hours. Here are some key corners you should see:
• La Gioconda / Mona Lisa
• Venus de Milo
• Winged Victory of Samothrace
• Sleeping Hermaphrodite
• Coronation of Napoleon
• Liberty Leading the People
• The Wedding at Cana
• Psyche Revived by Cupid’s Kiss
• The Raft of the Medusa
• Greek and Roman antiquities of the Louvre
• Crown Jewels of France
• Great Sphinx of Tanis
Entry Points for Visitors to the Louvre Museum
Here are the Louvre entry points that will help you enjoy the visit to the Louvre Museum, which receives more than eight million visitors a year, and help you avoid long queues:
Carrousel Du Louvre
It is the Louvre entry point with the shortest waiting time. Using this entrance, you can enter the museum easily and quickly. The Carrousel Du Louvre is underground, connecting the mall, shops, and restaurants to the museum. There is a convenient place to shop or have lunch, as well as a welcome desk where you can get service related to your trip. You can reach the Carrousel du Louvre entrance from the Palais Royal-Musée du Louvre metro station on lines 1 and 7.
La Pyramide
It is used as the main entrance of the Louvre Museum, and therefore we can say that it is the busiest and most active entrance point of the museum. Due to the crowd, you can wait outside for a long time even with the ticket you bought in advance. If you are determined to see the pyramid, you can take a stroll through the palace courtyard and take a photo in front of the striking glass entrance.
Porte des Lions Louvre
If you don’t want to wait for hours to enter the museum, the best option for you is the Portes des Lions Louvre entrance, also known as the secret entrance, the Lion’s Gate. This point, which is also the closest entrance to the Mona Lisa, is located in the south part of the museum.
Porte de Richelieu
This entry point, reserved for Louvre visitors with pre-determined tour groups and member passes, is on Passage Richelieu, the street north of the pyramid connecting the palace courtyard to Rue de Rivoli. If you want to tour the Louvre Museum as a group, you can book a place on the official website of the Louvre. So you can tour the museum with an official Louvre tour guide or choose your tour guide and choose a time slot to visit the museum together.
