00:00 The Louvre is located in Paris, has a large collection of items, and is the world's greatest museum.

01:52 The Louvre was originally built as a fortification for the city of Paris and was later turned into a royal residence.

03:20 The Louvre was used as a royal residence and government office space before becoming a museum during the French Revolution.

04:50 The Louvre's collection consists of over 615,000 objects, with 38,000 on display in the museum, and was primarily accumulated by French rulers over the centuries.

06:28 During Napoleon's reign, the Louvre was renamed Musee Napoleon and he collected art during his military campaigns, while the collection expanded through donations and archaeological digs in the years following.

07:56 During World War II, the majority of the Louvre's collection was moved to the Chateau des Chambards, resulting in a nearly empty museum with few visitors, and today the Louvre is a major tourist attraction with an average of 28,000 visitors per day, although the majority of visitors go directly to see the Mona Lisa and then leave, leaving the rest of the museum relatively empty.

09:30 The best time to visit the Louvre is when it opens, and if you want to see the Mona Lisa, go there first; make a list of what you want to see and use that as your guide for the day, as there are plenty of other things to discover in the process.