A virtual tour of the Louvre Museum, Paris

 The exterior of the Louvre Palace and Museum

Most people who visit the Louvre Museum in Paris are in search of Leonardo Da Vinci's Mona Lisa. As was I. Considered one of the world's most famous paintings (one that has been featured in several Hollywood films as well), the coveted Mona Lisa's enigmatic smile has been the topic of debate for centuries. However, my desire for seeing it up close to really decipher the secret behind that smile remained unfulfilled as this is the one painting that is kept at a few metres distance from viewers, with an exterior glass case, owing to the numerous visitors that flock here every single day. Here are a few glimpses of one of Da Vinci's most popular works.

Interestingly, this painting was stolen from the Louvre in 1911 and returned to it in 1913.

The thing that fascinates me most about the Musée du Louvre is the grand glass pyramid erected over the entrance. It is said that attendance to the museum has doubled since this glass pyramid was constructed.

The Louvre exhibits almost 35,000 objects from prehistory to the 19th century, sprawled over an area of 60,600 square metres. ‘The world’s most visited museum’ houses sculptures, objets d'art, paintings, drawings, and archaeological finds, and receives more than 15,000 visitors each day, 65 percent of whom are tourists.

                     Ground Floor: Egyptian, Near Eastern, Greek, Etruscan and Roman antiquities

First Floor: The Winged Victory of Samothrace

The collection is divided among eight curatorial departments: Egyptian Antiquities; Near Eastern Antiquities; Greek, Etruscan, and Roman Antiquities; Islamic Art; Sculpture; Decorative Arts; Paintings; Prints and Drawings.

The Wedding Feast at Cana by Veronese

                                              First Floor: French paintings from the 19th Century

I met this artist who was replicating an Italian sculpture at the museum's Ground Floor

Psyche and Cupid by Antonio Canova

Ground Floor: Etruscan and Roman antiquities

To check out detailed information on the various collections housed in the museum, frequent exhibitions an more, check out their official website here. You can also buy tickets online to avoid queuing up at the museum.