Enjoy an interesting overview of the major highlights with a Louvre Museum private tour. The Louvre was initially a medieval fortress and it protected the French capital during the reign of King Philippe Auguste(1190-1202). It was until the second half of the 14th century that Kind Charles V made it its home and the Louvre Palace was born. After the fall of the French Monarchy the building's purpose changed and it became the nation's art collection in 1793 home to unique masterpieces such as the Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo. Let your English-speaking guide conduct you through the main departments of the Louvre museum and take your time to admire the top works of famous artists like Rembrandt, Rubens, Da Vinci, David, Delacroix, Michelangelo, Raphael, and some others.
Explore the Louvre Courtyard (Cour Carrée) where you find Pierre Lescot's facade whose construction was ordered by François Ier before his death. Admire the Louvre Pyramid designed by Leoh Ming Pei and stroll around the Tuileries Garden, an Italian-style park created for Catherine de Medicis in the 16th century in the manner of an open-air museum that was later redesigned by André Le Nôtre the garden designer of Versailles Palace.
