Louvre Guides: Masterpieces, Map, History and Heists
These guides tell you what you will see at the Louvre Museum before you go in: who made each famous work, when, how big it is and which room and floor it is in, with details from the museum's own records and from Wikipedia. They also explain how to find your way with the Louvre map across its three wings (Denon, Sully and Richelieu), the history of the palace and the pyramid, and what is known about the museum's two best-known thefts, the Mona Lisa in 1911 and the French Crown Jewels in 2025. If you already know what you want to see and still need a ticket, compare the options in the tickets section.
Finding your way: map, pyramid and history
Start here if it is your first visit. The Louvre map explains the three wings and the floors from -2 to 2, which entrance to use and which room each famous work is in. The pyramid guide covers who designed it, why it was so controversial and how you enter through it. The history of the Louvre traces its path from fortress to royal palace to museum, and the virtual tour explains how to explore the museum's rooms and see its works free from home with the official tools.
Louvre Map: Floor Plan by Wing, Level and Masterpiece
The Louvre map explained: the Denon, Sully and Richelieu wings, the five levels, which entrance to use and which room each famous work is in.
Louvre Pyramid: Who Built It, How Big It Is, the Inverted One
The Louvre Pyramid: who designed it and when, why it was so controversial, how big it is, what the Inverted Pyramid is and how to enter through it.
Louvre History: From Fortress to Palace to Museum
Louvre history in dates: the 1190 fortress, the Louvre Palace of the French kings, the museum of 1793, Napoleon III and the 1989 glass pyramid.
Louvre Virtual Tour: Official Online Visits and Photos Inside
The official Louvre virtual tour: which online visits exist today, whether they are free, where to see photos of the museum inside and the photo rules.
The Mona Lisa and its 1911 theft
Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa hangs in room 711, the Salle des États, on level 1 of the Denon wing. Here you will find who the woman in the portrait is, how big the painting is, why it is in France and not Italy and why it is so famous. The second guide tells how Vincenzo Peruggia stole it on August 21, 1911, who the suspects were and how it was recovered more than two years later in Florence.
Mona Lisa: Who Painted It, How Big It Is and Where to See It
The Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci: who the sitter was, when it was painted, its size, why it is so famous and which room of the Louvre it hangs in.
Mona Lisa Stolen: Vincenzo Peruggia and the 1911 Theft
How the Mona Lisa was stolen from the Louvre by Vincenzo Peruggia on August 21, 1911, who the suspects were and how the painting was recovered.
The Louvre's great paintings
Four canvases almost everyone looks for on level 1 of the Denon wing. Delacroix's Liberty Leading the People and Géricault's Raft of the Medusa share room 700. Veronese's Wedding at Cana, the largest painting in the museum, is in the same room as the Mona Lisa. David's Coronation of Napoleon is in room 702 on the same floor. Each guide explains what the work depicts, how it was painted and where to see it.
Liberty Leading the People: Meaning and Where to See It
What Delacroix's Liberty Leading the People depicts: the July Revolution of 1830, its figures, its style and which room of the Louvre it hangs in.
The Raft of the Medusa: What Géricault's Painting Shows
What The Raft of the Medusa by Géricault depicts: the real 1816 shipwreck, why it caused a scandal at the 1819 Salon and which Louvre room it hangs in.
The Wedding at Cana: the Largest Painting in the Louvre
The Wedding at Cana by Veronese is the largest painting in the Louvre (6.77 × 9.94 m): what it shows, how it reached Paris and where it hangs.
The Coronation of Napoleon: David's Painting in the Louvre
What The Coronation of Napoleon by David depicts: the ceremony of December 2, 1804, who is in it, how big it is and which Louvre room it hangs in.
The most famous sculptures
The Venus de Milo is in room 345 of the Sully wing, level 0, and the Winged Victory of Samothrace presides over the landing of room 703 on level 1 of the Denon wing. Their guides give each one's date, material, height and discovery, and explain why one is missing its arms and the other its head. Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss, Antonio Canova's marble, is in room 403 of the Denon wing, level 0.
Venus de Milo: Sculptor, History, Arms and Where to See It
The Venus de Milo statue: what it shows, who made it, how it was found on Milos in 1820, what happened to its arms and which Louvre room it is in.
Winged Victory of Samothrace: What It Is and Where to See It
The Winged Victory of Samothrace: what it depicts, who made it, why it has no head, how it reached the Louvre and on which staircase you will find it.
Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss: Canova's Sculpture
What Canova's Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss depicts: the myth told by Apuleius, the 1793 marble sculpture and which room of the Louvre it is in.
Antiquities: Mesopotamia and Egypt
The Louvre is not just painting. The Code of Hammurabi, a 2.25 m basalt stele with the laws of the king of Babylon, is in room 227 of the Richelieu wing, level 0. The Egyptian antiquities guide gathers that department's best-known pieces, such as the Seated Scribe and the Great Sphinx of Tanis, in the Sully wing.
Code of Hammurabi: What It Is and Where to See It at the Louvre
What the Code of Hammurabi is, what its laws say, how the basalt stele reached Paris and which Louvre room you can see it in today.
Louvre Egyptian Collection: Seated Scribe and Great Sphinx
What to see in the Louvre Egyptian collection: the Seated Scribe, the Great Sphinx of Tanis and the Sully wing rooms, with dates, sizes and room numbers.
The Crown Jewels and the 2025 heist
The Apollo Gallery, on level 1 of the Denon wing, is the room Louis XIV had Le Brun decorate and the one that holds part of the French Crown Jewels, including the Regent diamond. It was the scene of the heist of October 19, 2025, in which eight pieces of jewelry were taken in about seven minutes. We cover what was stolen, the arrests and what is known, using only reliable sources.
Apollo Gallery Louvre: the French Crown Jewels
What the Apollo Gallery at the Louvre is, which French Crown Jewels it holds, the story of Empress Eugénie's crown and how to visit the Galerie d'Apollon.
Louvre Heist 2025: the Robbers, the Stolen Jewels, What We Know
The Louvre heist of October 19, 2025: how the robbers got into the Apollo Gallery, which jewels they took, the arrests and what is known, with sources.