A clock, a pyramid, and a triumphal arch on a tipped walking tour – part 3 – birth of a museum

A museum is born. In May 1791, the Assembly declared that the Louvre would be “a place for bringing together monuments of all the sciences and arts”. They nationalized the royal collection when the revolutionaries captured Louis XVI on 10 …

A clock, a pyramid, and a triumphal arch – part 2 – the first transformation

Chateau Louvre. At the close of the previous post, Louis IX had begun the transformation of the Louvre from a fortress to a royal residence but it proved to be a particularly gradual transformation. Louis IX, the only French king …

A clock, a pyramid, and a triumphal arch on a tipped walking tour

Broadly speaking, there are three ways to approach tourism in a city with as many diverse attractions as Paris. On one hand you can choose the highly organized option – sweating out a list of places to visit and sights …