Musée du Louvre

The Louvre began as a medieval fortress, grew into the main royal palace of the French kings and opened as a public museum in 1793. Today it is the largest art museum in Paris, spread across three wings around the Cour Napoléon, where I. M. Pei's glass pyramid has served as the main entrance since 1989. The collections run from ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece and Rome through Islamic art and the decorative arts to European painting and sculpture up to the mid-19th century.

Most first-time visitors head for three famous works: the Mona Lisa in the Denon wing, the Winged Victory of Samothrace at the top of the Daru staircase, and the Venus de Milo among the Greek sculpture. They are worth seeing, but the museum rewards a more selective plan. The remains of the medieval moat and keep beneath the Sully wing show how the palace started, the Richelieu wing holds the Code of Hammurabi and the richly furnished Napoleon III apartments, and the large French paintings by David, Géricault and Delacroix fill the Denon galleries. Picking two or three areas in advance makes the day far less tiring.

The museum suits art lovers, history enthusiasts and families, and it is free for under-18s and for EEA residents under 26. Everyone else pays a standard ticket, with a higher rate for visitors from outside the EEA, and an audio guide is available for an extra charge. All visitors on the first Friday of the month after 6pm (except July and August) and on 14 July get in free. A Louvre ticket also covers the nearby Musée national Eugène-Delacroix on the same day or the next.

Booking a time slot online at the official ticketing site is strongly recommended for every visitor, including those entitled to free entry, and the museum makes reservations compulsory during busy periods such as the autumn school holidays. The Louvre warns against mirror websites and street sellers, so buy only from the official site. It opens at 9am every day except Tuesday, closes at 6pm on most days and stays open until 9pm on Wednesdays and Fridays, which are usually the calmest times to visit. Last entry is one hour before closing, rooms are cleared 30 minutes before, and any exit is final, so plan breaks inside. Allow at least three hours.

Palais-Royal–Musée du Louvre metro station (lines 1 and 7) is next to the museum, and an underground entrance also leads in from the Carrousel du Louvre shopping arcade. Afterwards, the Tuileries Garden, the Musée de l'Orangerie and the arcades of the Palais-Royal are all a short walk away.