PHOTOS: As The Louvre in Paris shuts down due to 'overcrowding', here are 5 facts about the art museum

The Louvre, known as the world's most-visited museum, shut down on June 16 after staff went on strike in frustration over overcrowding at the museum that they weren't able to handle

Updated On: 2025-06-17 12:21 PM IST

Compiled by : Nascimento Pinto

Gallery attendants, ticket agents and security personnel refused to take up their posts in protest over unmanageable crowds and chronic understaffing. Text and Photos Courtesy: AP/Pixabay

Popular for Mona Lisa 
The museum popularly houses The Mona Lisa painting. Roughly 20,000 people a day squeeze into the Salle des États, the museum's largest room, just to snap a selfie with Leonardo da Vinci's enigmatic woman behind protective glass

Managed by the French government, The Louvre welcomed 8.7 million visitors last year ¿ more than double what its infrastructure was designed to accommodate. Even with a daily cap of 30,000, staff say it has become a daily test of endurance

History of shut downs 
It's rare for The Louvre to close its doors. It has happened during war, pandemic, and in a handful of strikes including spontaneous walkouts over overcrowding in 2019 and safety fears in 2013 and now in 2025

Location
The Louvre inside the Louvre Palace is on the right bank of the Siene river is a national art museum in France, and the modern structure was built in 1793 and is currently led by director Jean-Luc Martinez, a French archaelogist and art historian

Collection 
The collection at the museum has 500,000 objects and 35,000 works of art including the Mona Lisa, which is one of the most popular tourist attractions there

Pop culture 
While the museum is already very popular, Dan Brown's 'The Da Vinci Code' generated even more interest as The Louvre was mentioned in the book and the 2006 was also shot inside its galleries

Next Gallery

IN PHOTOS | Looking for things to do? Here are 6 unique activities to indulge in Mumbai in this weekend

Related Photos