The Louvre
The Louvre Museum, with its spectacular glass pyramid, is an icon of Paris and one of the world's most-visited cultural sites. Its vast and rich collections encompass all ages: from antiquity (the Venus de Milo, the Winged Victory) and the Renaissance (the Mona Lisa, works by Michelangelo, Raphael, Botticelli, Titian) to 19th-century French masterpieces. The Louvre-Lens project, now underway, will see more of the enormous collection out of storage and on display at a second site in north Paris.
The museum was originally the main Royal Palace in Paris, and was built on the site of an earlier royal fortress, whose remains can be seen on the ground floor. Napoleon, who preferred the Palace of Fontainbleau, turned the Louvre into a repository for all the artworks he looted from throughout Europe - and it remains today one the top three museums in the world, alongside the British Museum and the Hermitage.
Permanent collections
Egyptian Antiquities
The permanent collection of Egyptian Antiquities presents works from c. 4000 BC to 4th century AD.
Temporary exhibitions
From Izmir to Smyrna, Discovery of an Ancient City
The Louvre’s Department of Greek, Etruscan and Roman Antiquities is organizing an exhibition on Izmir’s ancient past.
24th October 2009 - 5th April 2010
Top exhibits
Comments and reviews
Map
Contact information
- Website
- www.louvre.fr
Related links
Other museums nearby
Orsay Museum
The Musee d'Orsay in Paris, is housed in the former Orsay Railway station. The museum displays collections of art from the period 1848 to 1914.
Musee Rodin
The Rodin Museum possesses about six thousand and six hundred sculptures including the two most famous works of the Museum, The Kiss and The Thinker.
Musee du Quai Branly
An unpartitioned geographical itinerary comprising 5,450 artefacts from all four corners of the world.
Musee Guimet
The museum is devoted to the religions of Ancient Egypt, Classical Antiquity and Asia.
Great museum - but you need at least two visits over two days to do it justice!