Louvre Museum

Philip II began the Louvre in the late 12th century as a fortress guarding the western approach to Paris; its foundations can still be seen beneath the museum. In the 16th century Francis I began rebuilding it as a Renaissance palace, and it remained a principal royal residence until Louis XIV moved the court to Versailles in 1682. During the Revolution the palace was opened as a public museum on 10 August 1793, initially with a few hundred paintings and objects largely drawn from the royal collections.

The museum expanded through the 19th and 20th centuries, and the Grand Louvre project of the 1980s and 1990s transformed it: I. M. Pei's glass pyramid and the hall beneath it opened in 1989. In October 2025 thieves broke into the Galerie d'Apollon and stole several pieces of the French crown jewels, prompting a review of security. In 2026 architects were chosen for the 'Louvre – New Renaissance' project, which plans a new entrance on the eastern side and a dedicated room for the Mona Lisa.

The Louvre sits at the heart of the old royal city. The arcades of the rue de Rivoli on the north side are lined with shops and cafés, the gardens of the Palais-Royal offer a calm corner just across the road, and the Tuileries are a favourite spot for Parisians to sit by the fountains on fine days. On the river side, the Pont des Arts footbridge leads across to the Institut de France and the bookstalls of the Left Bank quays.