Louvre-Rivoli: station history
Served by: metro line 1.
Did you know?
A line 1 station in the 1st arrondissement, under rue de Rivoli, west of its crossing with rue du Louvre, it opened a little under a month after the first section of the line. It was first called « Louvre », because of rue du Louvre and the palace entrance, then reached through the Mansart colonnade. In 1989, Palais Royal station became « Palais Royal - Musée du Louvre » and this one took the name « Louvre - Rivoli », after rue de Rivoli, which commemorates Bonaparte's victory over Austria in 1797.
Anecdote
The station had been designed as an « antechamber » of the museum, at the initiative of André Malraux, then minister of Culture, with copies of works, including ancient and medieval statues, on the platforms and a historic plan of the castle under the crypt. During the 2011 renovation, which required twelve weeks of closure, the reproductions were removed, revealing original flat white tiles tested in 1900; nine plaster casts were then presented on the platforms. Its entrance, on rue de l'Amiral-de-Coligny, is decorated with a Guimard edicule.
Audio guide
The Louvre, the world's largest museum
Initially a fortress, the Louvre castle became the most important of the royal and court residences under Charles V in the 14th century. Despite several renovations and embellishments, it was finally abandoned by the royal power in favour of the Palace of Versailles. It was then converted into a warehouse for part of the royal collections of paintings and antique sculptures before becoming, during the Revolution, the museum that bears its name.
On August 10, 1793, the palace of kings became the palace of the people: the museum opened its doors, and its collections have continued to grow ever since. 🎨
Today, it houses approximately 500,000 works, of which some 35,000 are on display, spanning from prehistory to the first half of the 19th century. Eight departments cover five thousand years of history:
🏺 Egyptian Antiquities: The Seated Scribe, Sarcophagi, Mummies
Eastern 🗿 Antiquities: The Code of Hammurabi, one of the oldest written laws, circa 1750 BC
🏛️ Greek, Etruscan and Roman antiquities: the Venus de Milo and the Winged Victory of Samothrace, which overlooks the Daru staircase
🕌 Arts of Islam: ceramics, metals and textiles, under an undulating glass roof
🗽 Sculptures: from Michelangelo to Canova
👑 Art: Crown Jewels, Tapestries, Royal Furniture
🖼️ Paintings: The Mona Lisa, The Raft of the Medusa, Liberty Leading the People
✏️ Graphic Arts: drawings, pastels and prints, presented on a rotating basis
The Mona Lisa alone attracts crowds from all over the world. But you can
Around Louvre-Rivoli
- Jardin des Tuileries, 1050 m away — A garden begun in 1564 for Catherine de' Medici and redesigned in 1664 by Le Nôtre around a central path and two basins. Listed as a historic monument in 1914, it broadly keeps that layout.
- Musée du Louvre, 190 m away — The world's largest museum, a former royal palace home to the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo.
- Pont des Arts, 400 m away — A 19th-century pedestrian footbridge offering one of the finest views over Île de la Cité and the Louvre.
- Galerie Véro-Dodat, 270 m away — Opened in 1826 by two wealthy butchers, one of the first passages in Paris to be gas-lit, recognisable by its black-and-white checkered marble floor.