Kari M's » Paris, France

quote:

In addition to boasting the richest art collection on the planet, the Louvre is the largest palace in Europe and a great place to imagine the lives of the kings and emperors who once called this home. For a glimpse at royal luxury, visit Napoleon’s apartments in the Richelieu wing or gaze at the crown jewels in the sumptuously restored Apollo rooms. View the Italian masters in all their glory, passing the Winged Victory of Samothrace as you move toward Renaissance masterpieces by Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Titian, and Raphael. Throughout the quieter wings of the museum are housed some stunning, world-renowned works of art that are often overlooked by harried visitors: The Code of Hammurabi stele and some spectacular mummies from the Egyptian collection, the Venus de Milo among the Roman statuary, The Lacemaker by Vermeer, Napoleon’s Coronation by Jean-Louis David and the original medieval foundations of this former fortress. Building began in the 12th century and was only “completed” in 1989 with the introduction of the controversial glass pyramids designed by architect I. M. Pei. Today visitors enter the Louvre through an amber-toned pyramid into a world of art that is vast enough to keep the Mona Lisa smiling.

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