The Louvre: The Louvre Museum is housed in a medieval fortress, the palace of the kings of France, and has operated as a museum for the last two centuries. The architecture of the Louvre Palace bears witness to more than 800 years of history. Established in 1793 by the French Republic, the Louvre Museum, in the company of the Ashmolean Museum (1683), the Dresden Museum (1744) and the Vatican Museum (1784) is one of the earliest European museums. Divided into 7 departments, the Louvre collections incorporate works dating from the birth of the great antique civilisations right up to the first half of the XIXth century, thereby confirming its encyclopedic vocation.
