In 1190 the Louvre was a grand fortress that would help prevent invasions from the north. In the 16th century it became a royal palace; Francis l replaced certain parts of the medieval stronghold with classical antiquity and Italian Renaissance architecture. It was not until 1793, after the French Revolution, that the Louvre finally opened as a museum. Today it contains over 380,000 objects and displays roughly 35,000 works of art. If you were to spend 30 seconds on each piece of art in the Louvre Museum it would take 100 days to see them all! This does not even take sleeping, eating or using the bathroom into account.

Entry through the 21 meter tall glass and metal pyramid created in 1983 by Chinese-American artist I.M. Pei

‘There is no living man/No matter his talent/Who can resist my sting/And deny worms their meal/Pray for the dead’