Best for
First-time Paris visitors, art and history lovers, anyone with at least half a day
Time needed
3–4 hours minimum, a full day if you're serious about it
Worth it?
Yes — the single essential Paris museum, but plan a route in advance
Skip if
You have under 2 hours in Paris or a strong aversion to crowds
About Louvre Museum
The Louvre began as a fortress built by Philip II around 1190 to defend Paris's western edge, was rebuilt as a royal residence by Francis I in the 1540s, and served as the primary home of French kings until Louis XIV decamped for Versailles in 1682. It opened as a public museum in 1793, in the middle of the Revolution, with a founding collection largely made up of royal and church property seized by the new republic — a symbolic act as much as a cultural one.
Today the collection runs to roughly 35,000 objects on public display out of nearly 500,000 held in total, arranged across three wings (Denon, Sully, Richelieu) and organised by department: Egyptian antiquities, Near Eastern antiquities, Greek and Roman art, Islamic art, sculpture, decorative arts, and paintings from the 13th to 19th centuries. The building itself is part of the exhibit — a genuine royal palace with Napoleon III's opulent apartments still intact, wrapped around I.M. Pei's glass pyramid entrance, added in 1989 and controversial at the time, now inseparable from the Louvre's image.
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Most visitors arrive with one goal: the Mona Lisa, viewed from behind a barrier and a permanent crowd in the Salle des États. It's worth seeing, but it's also the single most crowded three square metres in the building — the Winged Victory of Samothrace on the Daru staircase, the Venus de Milo, and the French Crown Jewels get a fraction of the crowd and reward just as much attention.
The practical reality of the Louvre is that no single visit covers it properly. First-timers do best picking one or two wings and a shortlist of a dozen works rather than attempting a comprehensive tour; the museum's own free app has a decent 'masterpieces' route for exactly this purpose.
What to See: Highlights
- 1The Mona Lisa and Winged Victory of Samothrace
- 2I.M. Pei's glass pyramid entrance and Napoleon III's state apartments
- 3Egyptian, Greek and Near Eastern antiquities on a scale few museums anywhere can match
- 4The French Crown Jewels in the Galerie d'Apollon
- 5Free entry first Friday evening of the month (except Jul–Aug) and on Bastille Day
- 635,000 works on display across three wings — Denon, Sully, Richelieu
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Insider Tips
Book a timed-entry ticket online — walk-up queues run 60–90 minutes in peak season
Pick one or two wings rather than trying to see everything in one visit
Enter via the Carrousel du Louvre underground mall to skip the pyramid queue entirely
Wednesday and Friday evenings (until 9:45pm) are noticeably quieter than daytime
The Mona Lisa is smaller and further away than photos suggest — manage expectations
Book a Guided Tour
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Getting There
Rue de Rivoli, 75001 Paris
Open in Google Maps →- 1Metro 1 or 7 to Palais Royal–Musée du Louvre (direct underground access to the pyramid). Metro 1 to Tuileries also works, a 5-minute walk.
Where to stay
Hotels in Paris
Compare prices across hundreds of hotels near this attraction — from budget hostels to luxury stays. Free cancellation on most rooms.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know before you visit.
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Should You Visit?
Visit if...
- You want to see the Mona Lisa and Winged Victory of Samothrace in person
- You enjoy art, antiquities or palace architecture
- You're willing to book ahead and pick a focused route
- You have at least half a day free in your itinerary
Skip if...
- You're only in Paris for a few hours and have bigger priorities
- Crowds and queues genuinely ruin the experience for you
- You've already done a thorough visit on a previous trip
Ready to Book Your Visit?
More to See in Paris
Musée d'Orsay
The world's finest collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist painting, housed in a converted Belle Époque railway station on the Left Bank of the Seine.
Musée de l'Orangerie
A small, single-focus museum in the Tuileries Gardens built to house Claude Monet's eight enormous Water Lilies murals exactly as he wanted them displayed.
Sainte-Chapelle
A jewel-box Gothic chapel on Île de la Cité holding one of the finest surviving sets of 13th-century stained glass anywhere, built by Louis IX to house Christ's Crown of Thorns.
Jardin des Tuileries
Paris's oldest public garden, running between the Louvre and Place de la Concorde, with Rodin and Giacometti sculptures scattered among its formal French landscaping.