Paris? Fashion, food and the Eiffel Tower.
Well, if you think that these are the only things that dominate the magnificent city of Paris, feel free to step away from the stereotypes and look deeper into those travel wish-lists. Nearly as exemplary as the divine French city itself, Paris is home to the extraordinarily dazzling Louvre Museum which discloses so many stories, right from the structure of the building to the irreplaceable artwork it houses.
Rightly dubbed as, ‘The museum of museums’, The Louvre Museum is the largest museum in the world and welcomes over 10 million visitors yearly. Furthermore, it is occupied by a remarkable collection of more than 35, 000 artifacts on display that include sculptures, history, artifacts, art, paintings and the historic Mona Lisa masterpieces.
Much to everybody's fascination, the coinage of the Louvre was not as a museum, nor for the possession of the world’s greatest collections of art. Well, if you didn't know that this museum was quite old, you're in for a shock as Louvre was originally built as a fortress during the rule of King Philip Auguste, close to the beginning of the thirteenth century. As history folded, it was then King Charles V who went on to transform the then fortress into his home in the latter half of the fourteenth century where it was retitled as The Louvre Palace. It was only after the due collapse of the French monarchy, Louvre in 1793 became home to a diverse collection of national art treasures.
While the museum of Louvre is claimed to be an architectural masterpiece, right from its iron handrails, stone stairs, the entrance via the Louvre pyramid, and endless corridors to its amicable windows out looking the beautiful gardens and Paris sky, nothing can amount to the admiration and crowds that draw up at the famous Mona Lisa painting. This world-famous work of art by artist Leonardo da Vinci is the highlight of many visiting this historic structure. Adding to the awe as you gasp at the world famous Mona Lisa is the fact that the painting of "The Wedding Feast at Cana" by Paolo Veronese is located bang opposite.
The museum of Louvre also holds moments in history much beyond the infamous Mona Lisa. From far and beyond and around the world, some of the other famous masterpieces include the armless statue of Venus de Milo and the French national treasure ‘La liberté guidant le peuple’. There’s really something magical and inexpressible when you see these famed creations up close in person after hearing of their glory through pictures, books and magazines. Louvre is rightly one of the largest museums in the world, as Oriental Antiquities, graphic Arts, Islamic Arts, Sculpture, (general) Art, painting, Etruscan, Roman and Egyptian are the eight sectors the museum is divided into. And all this can easily take up more than a day if you explore every nook and corner of this magnificent structure.
Anyone with Paris on their bucket lists? Well, now you know, along with those romantic pictures outside the Eiffel tower, you need to visit the beautiful Louvre Museum. And don’t forget to enter via the Louvre pyramid. After all, why miss the Louvre Pyramid?