The Louvre Pyramid is the Paris landmark opened in 1989 as the glass pyramid entrance to the Louvre Museum.
Designed by Chinese-American architect I. M. Pei, the pyramid was commissioned during President François Mitterrand’s Grand Louvre project. The redevelopment reorganized the museum’s entrances and expanded its usable exhibition and visitor space beneath the Cour Napoléon.
The transparent structure uses a metal framework and glass panes, creating a strong contrast with the historic palace façades surrounding it. Its entrance leads to the underground Hall Napoléon, from which visitors can reach the museum’s major wings.
The pyramid was controversial when proposed because many critics thought its modern geometry clashed with the Louvre’s classical architecture. It later became one of Paris’s most recognizable visual symbols. The landmark is sometimes confused with the smaller inverted pyramid inside the shopping area beneath the museum, which is a separate structure.