I spent an entire day of my trip at the Louvre. It's not nearly enough time to see this place. It's so big, even the Guide to the Louvre I bought didn't have everything in it. Obviously, I can't post every single thing I saw, so here's some highlights.
The original structure is the horseshoe-shaped palace and in the courtyard, they've built these modern fountains & pyramids. Apparently, the pyramids are not universally beloved. When we arrived, Holly asked me, quite seriously, what I thought of them. She sounded to me like she thought I'd hate them. Somewhat surprised by the question, I had to think about it before I answered, & I've thought about it more since. What I like about the courtyard is the contrast in the design. The modern parts are so stark & simple, the original parts are so ornate. Both are beautiful, but instead of subtracting, each feeds the appreciation of the other.
This is part of a new exhibit about the history of the Louvre itself. It's easy just to think of the Louvre as a museum & forget that it used to be the emperor's palace. People used to live in this building, if you can believe it. (Trying to imagine the number of Roombas it'd take just to vacuum the place is mind-boggling...) In this part of the exhibit, visitors actually get to walk through what was the moat of the medieval Louvre & see the foundations.
The original structure is the horseshoe-shaped palace and in the courtyard, they've built these modern fountains & pyramids. Apparently, the pyramids are not universally beloved. When we arrived, Holly asked me, quite seriously, what I thought of them. She sounded to me like she thought I'd hate them. Somewhat surprised by the question, I had to think about it before I answered, & I've thought about it more since. What I like about the courtyard is the contrast in the design. The modern parts are so stark & simple, the original parts are so ornate. Both are beautiful, but instead of subtracting, each feeds the appreciation of the other.
This is part of a new exhibit about the history of the Louvre itself. It's easy just to think of the Louvre as a museum & forget that it used to be the emperor's palace. People used to live in this building, if you can believe it. (Trying to imagine the number of Roombas it'd take just to vacuum the place is mind-boggling...) In this part of the exhibit, visitors actually get to walk through what was the moat of the medieval Louvre & see the foundations.
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