Le Louvre

The Louvre Palace is a former royal palace located on the Right Bank of the Seine in Paris, in the 1st arrondissement. Le Louvre is the world’s largest and renown museum, welcoming over 10 million visitors a year, or 15000 per day. An interesting point is that seventy percent of those visitors travelled from another country to see it. No wonder it is the third most visited site in France, the first two being the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame Cathedral, and the fourth Chateau de Versailles.

The first official building on this location, was Le chateau du Louvre (Louvre Castle), a fortress built in 1190 by King Philip II, it became a royal palace in the 14th century under King Charles V after the city expanded and its fortress ruction became obsolete. You can still see the walls of the castle as you enter the Louvre. The castle was used by the kings of France as their main Paris residence. In 1546, Le Louvre underwent a transformation into the French Renaissance style, by King Francis I. He then went on to acquire what would become the centrepieces of the Louvre’s holdings, including Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa.  It also became a great atelier for artists under Royal patronage, like Charles Le Brun, Jean-Honore Fragonard and Jean-Louis David. Upon the death of King Henri II, his mother, Catherine de Medici, famous for her influences on Chateau de Chenonceau and Chateau Fontainebleau, then created the Jardins de Tuileries directly opposite of the castle. Today it is a wonderful place to stroll and spend time with loved ones outside. After Louis XIV chose Versailles as his residence in 1682, the royal families move permitted the Louvre to be further as a residence for artists and literary salons.  Read more ...