Strolling through the Louvre's courtyards at sunset and into early evening.
One of the most famous museums in the world, the Louvre is the national art museum in Paris. It occupies the Louvre Palace, a royal residence originally built in the late 12th to 13th centuries and was redesigned and extended many times. During the French Revolution, the National Assembly decreed the Louvre should be used as a museum to display the nation's masterpieces. The museum opened on 10 August 1793.
The Louvre pyramid was designed by renowned international modernist architect I. M. Pei in the 1980s as a new main entrance to the museum. The pyramid and the underground lobby beneath it were needed, due to deficiencies in the Louvre's earlier layout, which could no longer handle an ever increasing number of visitors. Visitors entering through the pyramid descend into a spacious lobby then ascend into the Louvre's various wings.
The Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel, built between 1806 and 1808 to commemorate Napoleon's military victories in the Wars of the Third and Fourth Coalitions.
The Institut de France, established in 1795, is visible through the portal. The building was originally constructed as the Collège des Quatre-Nations, as a school for students from new provinces attached to France under Louis XIV.
The Institut de France, established in 1795, is visible through the portal. The building was originally constructed as the Collège des Quatre-Nations, as a school for students from new provinces attached to France under Louis XIV.
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