Paris, France3-5 hoursWeekdays Morning
Louvre Museum
The world's great art museum in a former royal palace.
Ideal: Ideal for art, history, museum, and culture route enthusiasts.
The building began in 1190 as Philippe Auguste's defensive fortress; medieval wall foundations can still be walked through in the basement today. Converted to a museum in 1793, it now displays roughly 35,000 of more than 380,000 works — spending ten seconds in front of each would take days. What made the Mona Lisa world-famous was an Italian employee walking out with it under his coat in 1911 and its two-year disappearance. The central glass pyramid was added by I. M. Pei in 1989 and consists of 673 glass panels.
Why go?
- To see the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, and vast art collections
- To experience one of Paris's most important museum and culture stops
- To see the contrast between palace architecture and the modern glass pyramid
Travel tip
The Louvre is huge; choose a few sections in advance rather than trying to see everything.
