Located in the heart of Paris, it is one of the oldest districts in the city. Bordering the Seine, the atmosphere is particularly pleasant. Stroll under the arcades of the rue de Rivoli before visiting the famous and very large Louvre Museum. This is also the area of the Comédie Française, the Musée de l'Orangerie and the Musée du Jeu de Paume. If you are walking in this area, you should definitely stroll through the beautiful gardens of the Palais Royal, or the magnificent Jardin des Tuileries, stroll under the arcades and take pictures among the Buren colonnades. For those who want to take a cruise on the Seine, there is a Batobus stop on the Quai du Louvre. Stroll under the arcades of the Rue de Rivoli, not forgetting the magnificent Place Vendôme and its opulent jewellery shops.
A must-see on a visit to Paris is the Louvre Museum with its buildings stretching down to the Quai François Mitterrand on the banks of the Seine.
Although the Louvre is a must-see, its history is often overlooked. Indeed, this splendid museum of more than 60,000 square metres was not always a museum. Originally, there was a fortress on the site of the Louvre, built in 1190 by Philippe Auguste, which extended over a south-western quarter of the present Cour Carrée. It was in 1546 that King François I decided to transform this medieval building into an opulent palace. Led by Pierre Lescot, the work created a Renaissance-style building. This work continued under the dynasties of Henry II and Charles IX, while the interior decoration of the Louvre Palace was carried out under the dynasties of Louis XI and Louis XIII. However, the project was interrupted in 1678 when King Louis XIV decided not to reside in the Louvre Palace but to leave the centre of Paris and move to the Château de Versailles.
The Louvre is easily recognisable by its pyramid-shaped glass entrance and houses works by artists from all over the world, including Leonardo da Vinci's famous Mona Lisa. No less than 6 hectares of galleries make up this museum, making it the largest in Paris and one of the most important in the world. You should allow a whole day to visit it. It houses decorative arts, paintings, sculptures, Greek, Roman, Egyptian and Near Eastern antiquities. The exhibits date from 5000 BC to the 19th century. The wait to visit this museum can be long, but it is worth it, because the museum fascinates by its number of works and its famous marbles like the Venus de Milo or the Victory of Samothrace. It is impossible to get bored, the wealth of this museum is impressive.
To relax after a long visit to the Louvre, it is ideal to take a walk in the vast Tuileries Garden, which covers more than 25 hectares.
