Louvre Museum - Facts for Kids

Basic Information & History

The Louvre Museum in Paris, France, was originally (first) built as a fortress (strong castle) in 1190, making it older than many countries!

The Louvre Museum started as a castle to protect Paris, and its underground (below ground) walls from this medieval (very old) fortress can still be seen today!

Before becoming a museum, the Louvre was home to French kings and queens for over 300 years — imagine living in a museum!

The Louvre Museum officially (for real) opened its doors to the public on August 10, 1793, during the French Revolution (big change in France), when it showed just 537 paintings!

The Louvre’s famous glass pyramid entrance was built in 1989 — it’s younger than many parents but helps millions of visitors enter the museum each year!

The Louvre Museum is so big that if you spent just 30 seconds looking at each artwork, it would take you over 100 days to see everything!

The Louvre Museum welcomes over 8 million visitors every year — that’s like packing 100 huge football stadiums full of people!

The Louvre Museum has over 380,000 artworks (paintings, statues, and old objects), but only about 35,000 are on display — the rest are safely stored away like a giant art treasure chest!

The Louvre Museum is the world’s largest art museum, covering an area of 782,910 square feet — that’s as big as 280 tennis courts put together!

The walls of the original (first) Louvre fortress were around 8½ feet thick — that’s about as thick as two grown-up elephants lying trunk‑to‑tail!

Architecture & Special Features

The Louvre’s glass pyramid is made up of 673 glass panes (pieces) arranged in a perfect triangle shape!

The Louvre Museum has 8 different departments (sections), including Egyptian Antiquities (old things from Egypt) where you can see real mummies!

There are 403 rooms in the Louvre Museum, and if you laid them all in a straight line, they would stretch for about 9 miles (14 km)!

The Louvre’s ceilings are covered in beautiful paintings that tell stories from history and mythology (old stories about gods) — don’t forget to look up!

The Louvre’s glass pyramid is 71 feet (22 m) tall — about as tall as a 7-story building!

The Louvre Museum has its own post office inside, where you can send postcards with special Louvre stamps!

Under the Louvre Museum, there’s a whole shopping mall called the Carrousel du Louvre!

The Louvre Museum has three wings (big sections) named Denon, Sully, and Richelieu — like three giant arms holding precious artwork!

Famous Artworks & Collections

The Mona Lisa at the Louvre Museum is protected by bulletproof (very strong) glass and has her own special room!

The Louvre Museum’s Venus de Milo statue is over 2,100 years old — that’s older than chocolate!

The Winged Victory of Samothrace in the Louvre Museum stands at the top of a grand staircase and is over 2,200 years old!

The Louvre Museum has over 7,500 paintings — if you hung them side by side, they would stretch longer than 25 football fields!

The Code of Hammurabi at the Louvre Museum is one of the oldest written laws in the world, created over 3,500 years ago!

The Louvre Museum has a giant painting called “The Wedding Feast at Cana” that’s so big it takes up an entire wall!

The crown jewels (fancy diamonds and gold) of French kings and queens are kept safe in the Louvre Museum’s Apollo Gallery!

The Louvre Museum has artwork from every continent (big land area) except Antarctica!

The smallest painting in the Louvre Museum is only as big as a postage stamp!

The heaviest treasure in the Louvre Museum (a giant statue of Queen Napirasu) weighs as much as two grand pianos!

Modern Day & Visitor Experience

The Louvre Museum has its own team of art detectives (investigators) who study paintings to make sure they’re real!

Children under 18 can visit the Louvre Museum for free!

The Louvre Museum is open six days a week and closes only on Tuesdays!

You can take special treasure hunt tours in the Louvre Museum to discover art in a fun way!

The Louvre Museum has special audio guides (talking machines) just for kids that tell exciting stories about the artwork!

The Louvre Museum offers art classes where children can learn to draw like the great masters (famous artists)!

There are around 14 cafes and restaurants in the Louvre Museum where you can rest and refuel during your visit!

The Louvre has super fun family areas where kids can draw, solve puzzles, and explore copies of cool artworks.

The Louvre Museum’s website has special games and activities for children to learn about art from home!

On the first Saturday evening of each month, the Louvre Museum stays open late and has special nighttime activities!

Historical Events & Stories

During World War II, the Louvre Museum’s artworks were hidden in secret locations to protect them from being stolen!

Napoleon Bonaparte (a French emperor) added many artworks to the Louvre Museum’s collection during his time as Emperor of France!

The Louvre Museum survived a great flood in 1910 when the Seine River overflowed (too much water) — the artworks were moved to higher floors!

King Francis I started the Louvre Museum’s art collection in the 16th century by inviting Leonardo da Vinci to France!

The Louvre Museum’s first curator (person who takes care of the museum) was a painter named Dominique Vivant Denon!

The French Revolution turned the Louvre from a royal palace into a public museum for everyone to enjoy!

The Louvre Museum’s glass pyramid was very controversial (many people disagreed about it) when it was first built — some people thought it didn’t match the old building!

The Louvre Museum has survived one major fire throughout its history!

The last king to live in the Louvre Museum was Louis XIV, who moved to Versailles in 1682!

The Louvre Museum’s collection grew so big that in 1986, they had to build a new museum called the Musée d’Orsay to hold some of the artwork!

Cultural Impact & Global Influence

The Louvre Museum has inspired museums all around the world, including the Louvre Abu Dhabi!

Artists still come to the Louvre Museum today to study and copy the famous paintings!