The Louvre Endowment Fund

Renovation of the Tuileries Garden

The Tuileries garden, designed by André Le Nôtre under Louis XIV, extends beyond the Louvre palace. The biggest and oldest public park in Paris, the French royal garden is in need of major renovation. Once the improvements have been made, the Tuileries garden will be in a better position to accommodate a diverse public and all the Parisians who enjoy it each day.

The first stage of the renovation program will be to make casts to replace the original sculptures in the garden’s promenades, and thus protect them from the elements. Two miraculously preserved arcades from the former Tuileries palace will be erected in the garden.

There is then an ambitious plan to restore the garden to its original luxuriance with the introduction of new plant species in keeping with Le Nôtre’s initial design.
Lastly, work will be done to reinforce the walls and renovate the grounds, as well as recycle the water that flows between the basins. The Louvre aims to take an environmentally responsible approach to making the Tuileries garden a genuine green lung in the heart of Paris.

The Pyramid project for improved visitor services

The Louvre is the world’s most visited museum. The infrastructure initially planned to accommodate 4.5 million annual visitors is no longer suitably adapted for the 8.3 million people who now visit the museum each year.

The aim of the “Pyramid” project is to improve visitor services. Ticket sales will be removed from beneath the Pyramid, fully freeing the space for visit preparation.
Groups will enter via the Hall Charles V.

New spaces for public information and education will be created, such as a multimedia resources and visitor assistance center featuring more modern communication technology. Information stations and interactive kiosks will also be installed to guide visitors through the museum.

Renovation of the Cour du Sphinx and expansion of the Etruscan and Roman Antiquities collections

While the “Grand Louvre” project and recent work reorganized the main part of the Greek collections, the Etruscan and Roman collections are still awaiting expansion. In the end, the Cour du Sphinx, one of the most stunning areas in the palace with its magnificent Le Vau facade, was chosen to house and showcase this superb archeological heritage.

The Roman collections will be installed in and around the Cour du Sphinx. The Etruscan collections will occupy the Salle des Sept Cheminées on the upper floor.
Visitors will thus gain a clearer and more coherent understanding of the historical and archeological context of the collections as they make their way through the museum.
This project will also enable works currently in storage to be exhibited.