The famous painting of the Mona Lisa will have a new home. The Louvre Museum will undergo renovations that include the creation of a new entrance on the east to ease congestion. Emmanuel Macron, the President of France, announced that the Mona Lisa will be moved to a separate room, as the current experience of viewing it is uncomfortable due to the large influx of visitors.
The new location will allow visitors to enjoy Leonardo da Vinci's work with more tranquility and to the level it deserves. A separate access and entry ticket will be established to manage the approximately 30,000 people who visit daily. This renovation will also include the construction of underground rooms and a new access in the Cour Carrée courtyard.
The renovation project, called the "Renaissance of the Louvre," aims to rethink the concept of the museum. The director of the Louvre warned about the poor condition and obsolescence of the museum, given the exponential increase in visitors in recent years. The renovation is expected to be completed by 2031 and will accommodate 12 million visitors annually.
To finance these improvements, an increase in ticket prices for non-EU visitors is planned, which will rise from 22 to 30 euros. This increase is expected to be supplemented by other sources of funding, such as the contribution from the Ministry of Culture and revenues generated from renting the facilities for events like fashion shows. Despite the economic crisis, the total investment is estimated to be between 700 and 800 million euros in the next decade.
