The Louvre, or the Louvre Museum, is a national art museum in Paris, France. It is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement and home to some of the most canonical works of Western art, including the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo.

Long before it became the world's most visited museum, the building was known as the Louvre Castle (Château du Louvre). Originally constructed in the late 12th century (around 1190) by King Philip II Augustus, it was a massive defensive fortress designed to protect the western flank of Paris from Viking raids and English invasions. During the 14th century, Charles V transformed the fortress into a royal residence, and it became known as the Louvre Palace (Palais du Louvre). During the Napoleonic era, it was briefly renamed Musée Napoléon (from 1802 to 1815) to honor the emperor who significantly expanded its art collection through his European conquests. In 2026, visitors can still see the original medieval foundations and the remains of the old fortress walls in the "Sully Wing" basement, serving as a physical reminder of the building's 800-year evolution from a rugged military stronghold to a symbol of French royal power and ultimately a global temple of art.