A tour through the Louvre Museum's extensive galleries provides a crash course in Western Civilization's finest art. Some of the world's most famous masterpieces are on display here, including the Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci and the Vénus de Milo. A large number of the museum's paintings were owned by the various kings who lived in the Louvre when it was a royal residence; other pieces were acquired through France's treaties with the Vatican and the Venetian Republic. The collection was further enriched by the spoils of Napoléon I.
The world's largest museum, the Musée du Louvre packs thousands of artworks into a 73,000-square-meter exhibition space in three sections: the Denon, Richelieu, and Sully wings, in a magnificent building that was once the palace of French kings. Each wing has more than 70 rooms displaying paintings and objects of art, plus there are enormous halls filled with sculptures. It's impossible to see the entire collection in one day or even in a week.
