Naturally, the Louvre itself is a work of art. The building was a proper palace once, and before that a fortified castle. One thing that astonished me was the size. The building's layout includes wings surrounding courtyards that contain within themselves smaller courtyards (these invariably filled with statuary). The corridors seem to go on forever, and there are 4 levels, although with stairs going up and down all over the place, the distinctions blur, and it is easy to get lost.
The main courtyard is home to I.M Pei'sw famous glass pyramid, which is a skylight for the admittance area of the main entrance. A second glass pyramid does the same for the attached shopping mall.
Recently, much of the foundation of the original castle has been excavated, and you can walk around a section of its perimeter. These foundations were laid around 1190, with the more recent (and visible) building starting in 1535.
The Louvre, although not oriented with the axis (like the Grande Archew), is supposedly the starting point for axe historiquew, in particular, the equestrian statue of Louis the 14th. And here he is, Louisw et poupé:
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