Visit the Louvre Museum
in Paris

History of the Louvre: from royal residence to national museum

The Louvre Palace is a vast royal residence of eight hundred years, located on the right bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement of Paris. In the 16th century, Francis I made it the emblem of the Renaissance in the heart of Paris, by gathering commissions from the greatest European artists. This is the beginning of a collection that has continued to grow.

At the end of the 17th century, after Louis XIV left for Versailles, part of the royal collections of paintings and ancient sculptures was stored in the palace. For a century, the Louvre housed several academies, including that of painting and sculpture, as well as artists housed by the king. The project to open the collections to the public was born in the century of the Enlightenment.

The Revolution fulfilled this aim by inaugurating the museum in August 1793, on the anniversary of the fall of the monarchy. Enriched by war spoils, bequests, donations and archaeological discoveries, the Louvre preserved over 500,000 works in 2019. The renovations of the 1980s, notably the underground entrance marked by the glass pyramid, adapted it to mass tourism.

What to see at the Louvre: the unmissable masterpieces

Among the most famous pieces in the Louvre are Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, the Winged Victory of Samothrace and the Code of Hammurabi. These four works attract the majority of visitors and are the most photographed in the museum. The collections are organized into nine departments, covering Western art from the Middle Ages to 1848 and ancient civilizations.

Mona Lisa is in the Paintings Department, Venus de Milo and the Winged Victory of Samothrace in the Antiquities Department of Greek, Etruscan and Roman sculpture. The Code of Hammurabi, a Babylonian stele of diorite stone, illustrates one of the oldest written laws. Each work deserves its time, but a targeted itinerary allows you to see them all in half a day without rushing.

The Louvre also presents the Seated Scribe, a masterpiece of Egyptian art, and collections covering the arts of the early Christians and those of Islam. Only 36,000 of the 500 000 works preserved are on display at any given time. This is why promising to see the entire museum would be unrealistic: it is better to choose the unmissables and devote time to them.

Opening hours, free admission and access conditions to the Louvre

The Louvre is open every day except Tuesday. The Louvre Museum opening hours are from 9 AM to 6 PM on Monday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, and from 9 AM to 9 PM on Wednesday and Friday. The last admission is one hour before closing, and the evacuation of the galleries begins thirty minutes before. Due to high temperatures, some non-air-conditioned rooms may be closed: check the room closures before your visit.

Free admission to the Louvre applies to EEA residents, those under 26 residing in the EEA, as well as beneficiaries of certain schemes. Online booking is strongly recommended, even for those eligible for free admission. A single ticket grants access to the permanent collections and temporary exhibitions. The France and EEA rate is €22 in 2024, and the timed slot ticket guarantees your access.

The main entrance to the Louvre is via the glass pyramid, an underground access at the foot of the Napoleon Court. The museum is accessible to people with reduced mobility: elevators and on-site services facilitate the visit. For families and groups, dedicated services exist. In case of high attendance, peak times fall on weekends and during holiday periods: prefer a weekday and a morning slot.