The Louvre
The Louvre is the world's
largest museum, a classically grand building that stretches for about 1
km (0.6 miles) between the Seine and the rue de Rivoli. At one time, it
was the world's largest palace. Its life as a museum began less than a
month after the execution of Marie Antoinette, when the leaders of the
Revolution decided that the public should be able to enjoy the royal art
collection.
During the late eighteenth century the Louvre suffered a drastic decline.
It became home to many families of squatters, who even kept livestock in
the corridors. Napoleon ended this situation when he decided to restore
the palace to its former glory. He chose to marry there and within the
next few years he brought a mass of art and sculpture - his booty from
his expeditions abroad to the Louvre.
In the 1980s, President Francois Mitterand decided to give the Louvre a
controversial facelift by installing a futuristic steel and glass pyramid
by IM Pei in the middle of the courtyard as the main entrance. Although
the pyramid caused a furore at the time, Parisians are generally quite
proud of it now.
The nutserun houses some 400,O00 items, of which :35,000 are on display.
The collections are divided into eight: Oriental antiquities, Egyptian
antiquities, Greek, Etruscan and Roman antiquities, Islamic art,
sculpture, paintings, objets d'art and graphic arts. The Denon wing is
the most visited area of the museum, housing a wonderful collection of
Italian masterpieces and the Mona Lisa (La Joconde).
The Louvre is open Wednesday
to Monday and there is an entrance fee. You could get there by Metro to
the Palais Royal-Musee du Louvre.
