Happy New Year from Paris - Louvre

Louvre

Louvre

The final destination of our visit to Paris was the Louvre Museum.
The Louvre Museum is one of the largest and most important museums in the world. It is housed in the Louvre Palace in the heart of Paris. Louvre Museum  first established in the 16th century as the private collection of King Francis I. One of the works of art he purchased was the now famous Mona Lisa painting. The collection grew steadily thanks to donations and purchases by the kings. In 1793, during the French Revolution, the Louvre became a national art museum and the private royal collection opened to the public.

Carrousel du Louvre

The museum has a collection of over 1 million works of art, of which about 35000 are on display, spread out over three wings of the former palace. The museum has a diverse collection ranging from the Antiquity up to the mid 19th century. Some of the most famous works of art in the museum are Venus of Milo, the Nike of Samothrake, the Dying Slave by Michelangelo and of course Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa. After entering the museum through the Louvre Pyramid or via the Carrousel du Louvre, you have access to three large wings. Sully, Richelieu and Denon.

Sculptures

The Denon Wing is the most crowded of the three wings of the Louvre Museum; around the Mona Lisa, a portrait of a woman by Leonardo da Vinci on the first floor is the biggest crowd. Medieval sculptures from Europe are displayed on the lower ground floor of the Denon wing.

Famous Mona Lisa

The Louvre is so large that, unfortunately, there was not the time or the strength to visit all three parts of the museum, so we decided to visit Denon and famous Mona Lisa, for the first time, enough. The area is so large and filled with wonderful works of famous authors. So much wealth on one place, it's simply not possible to describe. It has to be experienced.

Anyway, the history of this building goes back to from 12 th century to the present. 

Crowd around Mona Lisa

Over the centuries the palace was changing, the most recent addition to the Louvre was the construction of the Louvre Pyramid, which functions as the museum's main entrance. The pyramid was built in 1989 by the renowned American architect I.M. Pei. The glass pyramid allows the sunlight to enter the underground floor. The modern addition originally received mixed reviews, as it contrasts sharply with the classical design of the surrounding buildings, but today it is generally accepted as a clever solution which has given the museum a spacious central entrance.

Louvre garden

Louvre garden

With this I'd finish my New Year's walk through Paris.

All that I have described and seen during my two visits to this beautiful city is only a small part of what Paris offers,  I always have a reason to come back here.

Therefore Paris goodbye, see you soon!

Photos by: ilovetravels