Calendar of events : Festivals, fairs & shows
Louvre Museum Paris
Louvre Museum masterpieces : The museum presents the main part of its
treasures to visitors, in the new Richelieu wing : the Venus of Milo, the
Winged Victory of Samothrace, the Mona Lisa of Leonard da Vinci, and so
many others. More information please refer to Louvre Museum official website
> Louvre
museum
Access :
Louvre Museum Subway Station : Louvre (lane 1 - 7) - Group Information :
+33 (0)1 40 20 51 77
Opening hours & tickets cost
Opening Hours : The
museum is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day except Tuesday and the
following holidays: January 1st, May 1st, May 8 and December 25, 2007. It
is open until 10 p.m. on Wednesday and Friday evenings except on Wednesday,
August 15, 2007 (open until 6 p.m.).
Cost of entrance
: 9 Euros - This ticket provides full-day access to the Louvre, except for
temporary exhibitions in the Hall Napoléon. It is also valid for the Musée
Eugène Delacroix. The combined ticket provides access to the permanent
collections, as well as all temporary exhibitions in both the Louvre and
the Musée Eugène Delacroix. The cost of the combined ticket is 13 Euros.
Good to know : Admission to the Louvre is free on the first Sunday of
every month.
Visit Louvre museum : Tickets & guided tour
Museums of Paris
Purchase Paris city pass
Visit the museum with a guide - guided tours (including da Vinci code tour)
Admission to the Louvre Museum is free of queuing! Your guided visit of the Louvre will be centered around three world famous works: the Venus de Milo, the Victory of Samothrace and the Mona Lisa, painted by Leonardo da Vinci at the beginning of the 16th century. After the guided tour, you are free to stay and visit other rooms. The Louvre museum tour is conducted by a qualified guide-interpreter who, will bring to life again for you the small and great events in the history of France and will provide information on French arts and culture > Guided visit of Le Louvre & Da Vinci code tour
Louvre museum history
The first Louvre was a fortress built at the beginning of the 13th century by Philip II Augustus to defend Paris against the Normans and English. It consisted of a dungeon surrounded by towered walls. This castle, enlarged and embellished by Charles V in the 14th century, was sacrificed in the 16th century at the end of the reign of Francis I in order to make room for a new Renaissance structure of the same size. Only the west wing and part of the south wing of the projected palace were finished...
You can still see the old walls in a dedicated area in the basement of the Louvre Museum.
Key dates
In 1564 Catherine de Medici built a little castle in a neighbourhood field
to the west called the Tuileries. It was then decided to create a
grandiose royal residence by joining the Louvre and the Palais des
Tuileries by a series of buildings. The most important is the Grande
Galerie built along the Seine in the reign of Henry IV. The Louvre was abandoned as a royal residence when Louis XIV moved the
court to Versailles Castle in 1682.
After the Revolution of 1789, Napoleon I, later kings, and Napoleon III
lived in the Tuileries. The Louvre was used for offices and a museum.
Along the Rue de Rivoli, Napoleon I began a wing parallel to that of Henry
IV along the Seine. Napoleon III finished the wing, thus closing the great
quadrilateral.
A few years later, during the uprising of the Paris Commune in 1871, the
Tuileries was burned. Paradoxically, the disappearance of the Tuileries,
which had originally brought about the extension of the Louvre, opened the
admirable perspective that now stretches from the Arc du Carrousel west
through the Tuileries Gardens and the Place de la Concorde to the Place
Charles de Gaulle.
The birth of the Louvre
In 1793, during the Revolution, the first state museum was opened in the
Louvre, consisting of the former royal collections of painting and
sculpture. It was enriched temporarily by loot from the Napoleonic wars
and then permanently by purchases and gifts, including archaeological
finds. More and more specialized divisions were created.
In the late 1980s the Louvre embarked upon an aggressive program of
renovation and expansion. When the first plans by the Chinese-American
architect I.M. Pei were unveiled in 1984, they included a glass pyramid in
the central courtyard that would serve as the museum's main entrance.
Despite drawing protests before the fact, since its opening in 1989 the
pyramid has proven remarkably effective in accommodating the large numbers
of visitors, and has even become a relatively beloved landmark of the
city.
Source: Encyclopedia Americana, © 2003 Grolier Publishing Company, Inc.
All rights reserved.
Pictures & hotels nearby
Louvre Museum Pictures : Pictures of Le Louvre and many Paris monuments
Hotels close to Louvre Museum : Our selection of charming
boutique hotels
Exhibitions - Things to do Winter & Spring 2008
Paris hosts a big variety of special events throughout the year from paintings exhibitions in the world renowned museums (Louvre, Orsay, Marmottan, Rodin, Grand Palais ...). Please review our selection of exhibitions or festivals that will take place during your stay > Calendar of events - Winter & Spring in Paris
Visit Louvre museum - tickets
Not to be missed when visiting Le Louvre : The Napoleon III Apartments are an exceptional record of Second Empire decorative art. The state dining room features an imposing table and étagère sideboard in black-stained wood with gilt bronze decorations. The painted ceiling (a luminous sky traversed by exotic birds) is by Eugène Appert. The apartments are located in the Richelieu wing. Copyright 2005-2008 © Shuttle-Paris.com