Louvre Pyramid — Attraction in Paris

The Louvre Pyramid in Paris is a modern architectural masterpiece that serves as the main entrance to the Louvre Museum. It was designed by I.M. Pei, a renowned Chinese-American architect, and inaugurated in 1989.

Architecture and Design👇

The pyramid is constructed from glass and metal and stands 21.6 meters (71 feet) high, with a square base measuring 35 meters (115 feet) on each side.

It is made of 603 rhombus-shaped and 70 triangular glass panes, creating a striking contrast between the classical Louvre palace and contemporary architecture.

The glass used was specially designed to ensure it was completely transparent, avoiding any visual distortion of the historic palace in reflections.

Controversy and Acceptance

Initially, the pyramid faced backlash from critics, who felt its modern design clashed with the Louvre’s historic aesthetic. Over time, however, it became a symbol of the museum’s fusion of tradition and modernity and a celebrated landmark.

Functionality

The pyramid marks the entrance to a large underground lobby that distributes visitors across different wings of the museum.

Beneath the pyramid lies the Inverted Pyramid, a smaller glass structure that draws light into the Carrousel du Louvre, a shopping mall and museum extension.

Symbolism and Legacy

The Louvre Pyramid represents more than just an entrance—its bold design symbolizes the dialogue between past and present in art and architecture, a philosophy that defines the Louvre Museum today.

It remains one of Paris’s most recognizable landmarks, featured in popular culture, including in The...

The Louvre Museum is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world.[21] It is located on the north bank of the River Seine in Paris, the capital of France. The Louvre Museum is the largest art gallery in the world and houses many different human civilizations. The museum houses the famous painting, the Mona Lisa, by Leonardo da Vinci. The museum was originally a castle built by Philippe Auguste in 1190, to avoid the disturbing surprises of an attack on the city during his long absences on the Crusades. The castle took the name of the place on which it was built, and was later transformed into a royal palace known as the Louvre Palace, inhabited by the kings of France. The last to use it as an official residence was Louis XIV, who left it for the Palace of Versailles in 1672 to be the seat of the new government, leaving the Louvre to be a headquarters containing a collection of royal artifacts and sculptures in particular. In 1692, the building was occupied by two academies: one for acting, one for sculpture, and one for painting. The academies opened their first salons in 1699 and occupied the building for 100 years. During the French Revolution, the National Assembly declared that the Louvre should be a national museum to display the nation's masterpieces. The museum opened on August 10, 1793. The Louvre is the largest national museum in France and the most visited museum in the world.[22] Under the late French President François Mitterrand, it underwent major renovations...

The Lourve museum is a huge place! We booked a 10 am two hour tour with a guide with skip the line privilege. The crowds were thinner, probably due to being the off season in early February. It was great to have a tour guide who knew the facility, shared lots of great information, and experience in getting around the crowds. Definitely recommend a guided tour for a first visit.

After our tour, we were able to wander the museum on our own. Recommend the use of an audio guide to explain the exhibits.

We started the tour from the lower level seeing the initial fort version of the Lourve, then passed through the ages of famous paintings and statues, sardined our way close to see the Mona Lisa, and then ended in one of the many antiquity halls.

It was a benefit to visit in the off season as the crowd to see the Mona Lisa was at least 20 deep, and it took a while to swarm up to the front of the line to get the closest view of the iconic painting. Once making your way to the front of the stanchions, there's no way back or out as you're packed like sardines. The attendants occasionally open the stanchion ropes to let the people in front exit and thus allow the pack behind to advance to the front. Disabled and elderly got the benefit of viewing closer to the painting free of the crowds.

We had lunch at Angelina's inside the Lourve. Although the lunch meal was great, the desserts and infamous hot chocolate was even better. Service was superb.

Alas, the Lourve needs more than one day to...