Today’s post is going to be pretty short and sweet – listing some interesting facts about the Louvre, located in Paris.

• built as a fortress in the 14th Century
• was a palace for a while in the 16th Century
• became a museum open to the public in 1793
• you can visit the apartment of Napoleon III
• the most famous piece of art at the Louvre is probably the Mona Lisa, which was stolen in 1911.

• Picasso was questioned about the theft and his friend, the poet Apollinaire was actually briefly accused
•  no one noticed the theft for 24 hours
• you can read about the theft in the book The Vanished Smile
• there are has approximately one million pieces of art, and around 35,000 are on display at any given time
• to see the 35,000 pieces on display, spending one minute at each one, it would take approximately 100 days looking 24/7 without a break.
• The Pyramid consists of 603 rhombus shaped and 70 triangular glass segments.
• one can enter the Carosel de Louvre through the Pyramid, which has a McDonalds, Virgin Megatores, Apple, Esprit and even a Hertz.
• it is closed on Tuesday
• official website