PARIS: Where is the Louvre?

The Musee du Louvre is on of Paris's  historic monuments and is undoubtedly one of the world's most impressive museums. It contains a staggeringly impressive 35,000 priceless objects from prehistory to the 19th century which are exhibited over an area of 60,600 square metres. With more than 8 million visitors each year, the Louvre is also the world's most visited museum.

Where is the Louvre?

The address for the Louvre is as follows:
4 Place du Louvre  
Paris
Post code  75001
FRANCE

It is located on the right back of the river Seine. There are various ways to get to the Louvre, so consider the following:

By Métro: 

Palais-Royal–Musée du Louvre station.
Bus: the following bus lines stop in front of the Pyramid: 21, 24, 27, 39, 48, 68, 69, 72, 81, 95, and the Paris Open Tour bus.

By Car: 

An underground parking garage is available for those coming by car. The entrance is located on avenue du Général Lemonnier. It is open daily from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.

By Batobus:

Get off at the Louvre stop, quai François Mitterrand.

From Orly Airport:

Take the RER C train, direction Champs de Mars-Tour Eiffel, and get off at Saint-Michel-Notre-Dame. Walk to the place Saint-Michel and take bus no. 27, direction Saint-Lazare. Get off at the Louvre, in front of the Pyramid.

From Charles de Gaulle Airport:

Take the RER B train, direction Massy-Palaiseau, and change at Châtelet-les-Halles to line 14, direction Saint-Lazare. Get off at Pyramides station and walk to the Louvre from there (3 minutes). Alternatively, take Métro line 1 at Châtelet-les-Halles, and get off at Palais-Royal–Musée du Louvre.

A brief history of the Louvre

Originally built as a fortress by King Phillippe-August in 1190, it was King Charles V (1364-80) who first made the Louvre his home.

In fact you can still see remnants of the fortress as they are visible in the basement of the museum

In the 16th century, François I replaced the existing building with a Renaissance-style palace and founded the royal art collection with 12 paintings from Italy.

During the French Revolution, the National Assembly decreed that the Louvre should be used as a museum, to display the nation's masterpieces.

The young Napoleon

It opened on 10 August 1793 with an exhibition of 537 paintings, the majority of the works being royal and confiscated church property.

Shortly after, Napoleon renovated the Louvre as a museum and had it renamed the Musée Napoléon.

By 1874, the Louvre Palace had achieved its present form of an almost rectangular structure.

In 1983, French President François Mitterrand proposed, as one of his Grands Projets to renovate the building  allowing displays throughout the building.

Architect I. M. Pei was awarded the project and proposed a glass pyramid to stand over a new entrance in the main court, the Cour Napoléon.

The pyramid and its underground lobby were inaugurated on 15 October 1988. The second phase of the Grand Louvre plan, La Pyramide Inversée (The Inverted Pyramid), was completed in 1993.

For related articles click onto:
FRANCE: The Palais des Papes
FRANCE: The Versailles Gardens
PARIS: The Arc de Triomphe
PARIS: The Eiffel Tower
PARIS: The Louvre
PARIS: Where is the Eiffel Tower?
PARIS: Where is the Louvre?
Based on an article from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mus%C3%A9e_du_Louvre and http://www.vagobond.com/10-things-to-see-in-the-louvre-cultural-travel/ and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virgin_of_the_Rocks and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horse_Tamers and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winged_Victory_of_Samothrace
Images care of http://www.parisdigest.com/museums/museedulouvre.htm and http://www.visitingdc.com/paris/louvre-museum-picture.asp and http://www.flickr.com/photos/31866135@N07/3238962707/ and http://www.flickr.com/photos/rosebennet/5211859620/ and http://fineartamerica.com/featured/1-the-raft-of-the-medusa-theodore-gericault.html and http://www.skinit.com/skins/fine_art/fine_art_da_vinci/BRGDAV05 and http://makloox.zoohaven.com/art_horse/index02.html and http://landarchs.com/louvre-pyramid/ and  

http://www.paris4travel.com/musee-de-la-mode-et-du-textile/map-of-the-louvre/ and http://classics.honestjohn.co.uk/reviews/citroen/2cv/