louvre launches competition for new entrance as mona lisa moves to standalone gallery

Emmanuel Macron reveals renovation plans for the louvre

French President Emmanuel Macron unveils Nouvelle Renaissance, an ambitious renovation of the Louvre designed to tackle overcrowding and improve the visitor experience. With annual attendance nearing nine million, the Louvre’s Pyramid entrance, designed by I.M. Pei, has become overwhelmed by the success of the museum. With this in mind, the initiative includes reimagining the museum’s historic Perrault Colonnade to create a new, more efficient entrance and relocating Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa to a dedicated, standalone gallery.

Nouvelle Renaissance also addresses the long-term sustainability and accessibility of the Louvre, aiming for a more balanced visitor flow, better conservation, and a focus on education. The transformation will be underpinned by a global architecture competition, a nationwide art-sharing initiative, and a partnership with the Ministry of Education to improve art history education in schools. Macron describes the project as a ‘rebirth,’ uniting the 230-year legacy of the Louvre with today’s demands for accessibility, sustainability, and community engagement.

all images courtesy of the Louvre, unless stated otherwise

transforming Perrault Colonnade and relocating mona lisa

On January 28, 2025, Emmanuel Macron held a press conference in front of the Mona Lisa painting at the Louvre, unveiling the transformative Nouvelle Renaissance project aimed at reshaping the museum‘s visitor experience and addressing overcrowding.

The renovation plans include a global design competition inviting architects to imagine the 17th-century Perrault Colonnade as the Louvre’s new entrance. The challenge is to integrate current visitor flow solutions, respecting the classical grandeur of Claude Perrault’s original design. Funded by the own revenues of the museum, the competition seeks to alleviate pressure on Pei’s Pyramid while sustaining the Louvre’s role as a cultural beacon. The competition will be launched in the coming months, with a projected deadline to choose a winning design by the end of 2025. The project will be phased over six years, with 2031 as the target for completion.

Alongside the entrance redesign, the Mona Lisa will move to a self-contained gallery with timed entry and its own independent access, mitigating the relentless crowds that have long dominated its display. Museum officials explain that this dual strategy is crucial for conservation and visitor experience, ensuring Leonardo’s masterpiece remains accessible without jeopardizing its safety. The museum will also implement a differentiated ticketing system with higher ticket prices for visitors from outside the European Union to help finance the transformation. This approach is expected to increase visitation to 12 million annually by 2025.

a global design competition inviting architects to reimagines Perrault Colonnade

Subterranean axes and sustainable gardens complete the project

Beyond the headline transformations, Nouvelle Renaissance introduces a subterranean east-west axis beneath the Cour Carrée to streamline navigation, while the Carrousel and Tuileries gardens will be upgraded into climate-resilient green spaces. Additional infrastructure upgrades prioritize accessibility, staff well-being, and energy efficiency, with a nationwide art-sharing initiative dispersing Louvre collections to regional museums. This initiative aims to bring Louvre collections closer to local communities, promoting regional engagement with the museum’s artistic treasures. The French President also pledges to double annual student visits to 900,000, framing the Louvre as a ‘book’ for global audiences. Macron’s plan focuses on teaching art history on a national level, with a new partnership with the Ministry of Education to improve the teaching of art history in middle schools. At the same time, the Louvre plans to train teachers in the museum to help guide students through art history, making the museum a hub for education.

The announcement for the renovation was also shared through Macron’s and the Louvre’s Instagram accounts, where they posted two images to convey the vision of the project. The first image features a sad Mona Lisa with the French text translating to ‘when the state of the Louvre deteriorates.’ The second image shows a happier Mona Lisa with the French text ‘le projet Louvre Nouvelle Renaissance,’ meaning ‘the Louvre New Renaissance project,’ in meme-style font, emphasizing the positive transformation.

Mona Lisa will move to a self-contained gallery with timed entry and independent access