Musee Du Louvre -

When we hear the word museum, the first name that comes to many of us is The Louvre.

The Musée du Louvre is on the site of a keep that was built by King Phillippe-Auguste in the late 12th century. King Phillippe-Auguste was concerned with Viking invasions, and built a keep to protect the city of Paris. part of the building we see today was built by Francois I in the 16th Century and grew during the reign of subsequent Kings.

The collection of art in the museum is considered one of the best collections of art in the world. It too was started during the reign of Francois I, after he purchased 12 Italian paintings. The collection continued to grow through the years. It had 200 artworks during the reign of Louis XIV in the early 18th century, but there are over 35,000 artworks today.

The museum opened its doors in 1793, following the French revolution, and has been open ever since.

It would be easy to get lost in the many halls and exhibits in this amazing museum. Artwork from different civilizations and centuries give you a glimpse into the history of mankind.

You could easily spend days visiting the Louvre, but if you do your research beforehand and know what pieces you really want to see, you should have no problem seeing them in a couple of hours.

If you are not sure exactly what pieces you want to or should check out, here are some of our favorites: Leonardo Da Vinci’s La Jaconde (The Mona Lisa), the Venus de Milo, Veronese’s The Wedding Feast At Cana, the Winged Victory of Samothrace, the Glass Pyramid, the Napoleon III Apartments and the Egyptian and Greek Antiquities Collections. This is a really short list only covering some basic works and areas.

I highly recommend you visit the museum website and research what is available to see. There are entire exhibits for every taste!

The museum is open Mondays, Thursdays, Saturdays, Sundays from 9:00AM to 6:00PM; Wednesdays and Fridays from 9:00AM to 9:45PM; and closed on Tuesdays.