The Louvre Museum (Musée du Louvre) is a famous museum in Paris. The building, a former royal palace (see below), lies in the centre of Paris, between the Seine river and the Rue de Rivoli. Its central courtyard, now occupied by the Louvre glass pyramid lies in the axis of the Champs-Élysées, and thus forms the nuceus from which the Axe historique springs. Part of the royal Palace of the Louvre was first opened to the public as a museum on November 8, 1793, during the French Revolution.
    The Louvre is one of the greatest museums in the world, holding the rich artistic heritage of the French people from the early Capetian Kings through the Empire of Napoleon Bonaparte and to the present day.