5 Best Sights in Around the Louvre, Paris

Simply put, the Louvre is the world's greatest art museum—and the largest, with 675,000 square feet of works from all over the world. The Mona Lisa is, of course, a top draw, along with the Venus de Milo and Winged Victory. These and many more of the globe’s most coveted treasures are displayed in three wings—Richelieu, Sully, and Denon—which are arranged like a horseshoe around I. M. Pei's Pyramide. The giant glass pyramid surrounded by a trio of smaller ones opened in 1989 over the new entrance in the Cour Napoléon.

While booking admission tickets online in advance is not required, it's the best way to avoid disappointment: the €22 timed entry guarantees admission, while tickets bought on-site are only sold when space is available—and given a recent decision to limit daily visitors to 30,000 (a third of the previous norm), it's unlikely that spontaneous appearances at the museum will result in a successful visit. Be aware that children under 18 get in for free. Slick Nintendo 3DS multimedia guides (€5), available at the entrance to each wing, offer a self-guided discovery of the museum in a variety of languages, and extended openings (noctournes) on Friday evening allow you to visit the museum until 9:45 pm.

Having been first a fortress and later a royal residence, the Louvre represents a saga that spans nine centuries. Its medieval roots are on display underground in the Sully wing, where vestiges of the foundation and moat remain. Elsewhere in this wing, you can ogle the largest display of Egyptian antiques outside of Cairo, most notably the Great Sphinx of Tanis, one of the largest outside of Egypt (Salle 338). Upstairs is the armless Venus de Milo, a 2nd-century representation of Aphrodite (Salle 345). Highlights of the wing’s collection of French paintings from the 17th century onward include One Odalisque by Jean-August-Dominique Ingres (Salle 702). In the Denon wing, climb the sweeping marble staircase (Escalier Daru) to see the sublime Winged Victory of Samothrace, carved in 305 BC. This wing is also home to the iconic, enigmatic Mona Lisa (Salle des Etats); two other Leonardo da Vinci masterpieces hang in the nearby Grand Galerie. The museum’s 30,000-square-foot Arts of Islam exhibition space is here, too. Topped with an undulating golden roof evoking a flowing veil, its two-level galleries contain one of the largest collections of art from the Islamic world. After admiring it, be sure to visit the Richelieu wing and the Cour Marly, with its quartet of horses carved for Louis XIV and Louis XV. On the ground floor, the centerpiece of the Near East Antiquities Collection is the Lamassu, carved 8th-century winged beasts (Salle 229). The elaborately decorated Royal Apartments of Napoléon III are on the first floor. On the second floor, French and Northern School paintings include Vermeer's The Lacemaker (Salle 837).

After years of false starts, tycoon François Pinault is now showcasing his billion-dollar trove of contemporary works by bold-faced names such as Mark Rothko and Damien Hirst under the historic iron-and-glass dome of the 19th-century Commerce Exchange, one of the city's most stunning, if underused, buildings. After losing a previous bid to open a museum outside Paris and taking his works to Venice instead, Gucci owner Pinault could only watch as archrival Bernard Arnault opened his Frank Gehry–designed Fondation Louis Vuitton in 2014. Not one to be outdone, Pinault tapped star Japanese architect Tadao Ando to carry out a nearly $140 million redesign of Paris' former grain exchange in 2017. Inside, four levels of exhibition space spiral skyward along a giant concrete cylinder ringed at the top by a walkway offering a bird's-eye view of the galleries below. The sparsity of the collections only contributes to the spaceship-like appeal of the contemporary renovation, with a handful of 19th-century details remaining: double-helix stone staircases, wooden display cases dating to 1889, the engine room on the lower level, and the realist mural adorning the underside of the dome, displaying seasonal panoramas of French traders engaged in commerce with the rest of the world. Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, who supplied a 50-year lease, called Pinault's creation an "immense gift" to the city. Free 20-minute tours depart daily from the ground-floor level; on the hour, tours explore the collection, while on the half-hour, they delve into the history and architecture of the building. A children's area allows kids to engage with a tour guide, discovering the collection by way of games and books, while the Halle aux Grains restaurant from Michelin-starred father-and-son team Michel and Sébastien Bras allows you to discover a tasting menu in three, five, or seven courses or an à la carte selection of upscale, contemporary French specialties. Don't miss the 100-foot-tall Medici Column on the back side of the building. It was once the stargazing perch of Marie de Medici's powerful astrologer, Cosimo Ruggieri. Legend has it that on stormy nights, a silhouetted figure can be seen in the metal cage at the top.

In high season, the lines to see Claude Monet's massive, meditative Water Lilies (Les Nymphéas) can stretch into the pretty Tuileries Gardens, but the paintings are well worth the wait. These works, displayed in two curved galleries designed in 1914 by the master himself, are the highlight of the Orangerie's small but excellent collection, which also features early-20th-century paintings by other Impressionist masters like Renoir, Cézanne, and Matisse. Many hail from the private holdings of high-powered art dealer Paul Guillaume (1891–1934), among them the dealer's portrait by Modigliani entitled Novo Pilota (New Pilot). Temporary exhibitions are typically quirky and well-curated. Originally built in 1852 to shelter orange trees, the long rectangular building, a twin of the Jeu de Paume across the garden, includes a portion of the city's 16th-century wall (you can see remnants on the lower floor). A small café and gift shop are here, too. Timed entrances, easily bookable online, are strongly recommended.

This Napoléon III–era building at the north entrance of the Jardin des Tuileries began life in 1861 as a place to play jeu de paume (or "palm game"), a forerunner of tennis. It later served as a transfer point for art looted by the Germans during World War II. Rather than a permanent collection, today the ultramodern, white-walled building provides a space for temporary exhibits from up-and-comers as well as icons such as Diane Arbus, Richard Avedon, Cindy Sherman, and Robert Frank. In 2022, the museum launched the first annual Jeu de Paume festival, a celebration of multiple media that marries exhibits, screenings, concerts, and more. Book your ticket in advance online for €12 or purchase on site for €13.

The city's leading showcase of French design, Les Arts Décoratifs was rechristened the Musée des Arts Décoratifs—or MAD—in 2018 in an effort to better carve out a niche for itself. Sharing a wing of the Musée du Louvre, but with a separate entrance and admission charge, MAD is actually three museums in one spread over nine floors. The stellar collection of decorative arts, fashion, and graphics includes altarpieces from the Middle Ages and furnishings from the Italian Renaissance to the present day. There are period rooms reflecting different eras, such as the early 1820s salon of the Duchesse de Berry (who actually lived in the building), plus several rooms reproduced from designer Jeanne Lanvin's 1920s apartment. Don't miss the gilt-and-green-velvet bed of the Parisian courtesan who inspired the boudoir in Émile Zola's novel Nana; you can hear Zola's description of it on the free English audio guide, which is highly recommended. The second-floor jewelry gallery is another must-see.

MAD is also home to an exceptional collection of textiles, advertising posters, films, and related objects that are shown in rotating exhibitions. Before leaving, take a break at the restaurant Le Loulou, where an outdoor terrace is an ideal spot for lunch or afternoon tea (be sure to reserve—spots fill up quickly!). Shoppers should browse through the on-site boutique as well. Stocked with an interesting selection of books, paper products, toys, tableware, accessories, and jewelry, it's one of the city's best museum shops. If you're combining a visit here with the Musée du Louvre, note that the two close on different days, so don't come on Monday or Tuesday. If you’re pairing it with the exquisite Nissim de Camondo, joint tickets are available at a reduced cost.