The ‘Mona Lisa’ is to be moved to a new exhibition space at the Louvre museum in Paris as part of a major renovation of the institution.
France’s president Emmanuel Macron made the announcement in front of the artwork on Tuesday (28 January). The ‘Mona Lisa’ will be moved by 2031, and guests will be charged separately to see the masterpiece by Leonardo da Vinci.
Additionally, the Louvre will hold an international competition to design a second entrance to the museum to alleviate overcrowding, and the museum will create underground rooms to expand its exhibition space.
Also, higher entrance fees for non-EU residents will be introduced from January 2026.
Macron’s announcement came after the Louvre’s director Laurence des Cars said the museum is in need of an overhaul. Visiting the institution has become a “physical ordeal”, with some spaces in “very poor condition”, she wrote in a leaked memo.
To address these issues, major renovation work will be carried out in the coming years to improve infrastructure, and add new toilet and dining facilities.
Removing the Mona Lisa from the Salle des États would allow the Louvre to showcase it properly and enable visitors to view other “often overlooked” masterpieces on display in the room, Macron said (via the BBC).
The overall cost of the project is estimated at several hundred million euros. It would be funded through ticket sales, donations, and the museum’s sponsorship deal with the Louvre Abu Dhabi.
Louvre renovation to address overcrowding
The Louvre is designed to welcome about 4 million visitors annually, but hosted 8.7 million people in 2024. Macron said the Louvre aimed to welcome 12 million visitors a year once it had been renovated, the Guardian reports.
Macron said: “Today, 9 million visitors a year is obviously a treasure, but the access, flow and security do not allow people to visit the establishment in the best conditions.”
Speaking ahead of Macron, Des Cars said: “The Louvre is more than a museum, it’s part of our French identity.”
In recent years, the world’s most visited museum has limited daily attendance and raised ticket prices to improve the visitor experience.
Images courtesy of the Louvre
