Napoleon in the Louvre
Do you want to discover the paintings of Napoleon in the Louvre? There is more than that: follow in the footsteps of Napoleon in the Louvre Museum. Napoleon is very present in the Louvre, not only through the museum's artifacts but also through the building and its surroundings, which were strongly shaped by the French Emperor. A tour with Yves, a postgraduate, fully licensed tour guide.
💡 Looking for all Louvre tour options? See our complete Louvre Tours guide with highlights tours, themed tours, and evening tours.
Entablature and quadriga of the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel. Credit: Pixabay, dezalb.
Napoleon in The Louvre Private Tour Essentials
€219 for 1 to 2 people + €30 per extra person
- +/- 2-hour guided tour in English
- Really private = your party only (6 people max.)
- Postgraduate (MPhil) local licensed guide-lecturer
- Flexible schedule
- Not available on Tuesdays or Thursdays
- Not available January 1st, May 1st & December 25th
- Best days for the tour: Friday, Saturday, Sunday
Price does not include Louvre special tour tickets (€ 28 for people over 18, free under 18) and mandatory € 20 "right to speak" Louvre fees.
We will purchase both for you, as you can't buy them yourself.
Tickets you can purchase online yourself are not tour compatible. See our clarification about these abusively called skip-the-line tickets.
KNOW MORE / BOOK
Yves, Your Private Tour Guide in the Louvre
Certified French national guide
BA, Magna Cum Laude, Heritage Development & Preservation
from Conservatoire des Arts et Métiers (Grande Ecole established in 1794)
Postgraduate from Paris Dauphine-PSL University
Napoleon in the Louvre Tour Content
Napoleon and the Louvre
- Bonaparte witnesses the fall of the monarchy on 10 August 1792
- The Tuileries Palace & the Napoleon district
- The rue de Rivoli
- The Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel
- The impact of Napoleon on the Louvre
- Percier and Fontaine, the architects of the Emperor
- How Napoleon III realized the dream of his uncle
The Musée des Arts Décoratifs, installed in the wing of the Louvre commissioned by Napoleon. Credit: Unsplash, Jean-Baptist D.
Designed by Percier and Fontaine, the architects of the Emperor, the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel was built between 1806 and 1808 to commemorate the victory and campaign of Austerlitz (December 2nd, 1805). Photo © Broaden Horizons.
Some of the Empire's Most Famous Paintings
- Jacques-Louis David: "Self-Portrait (1794)", "Pope Pius VII (1805)", "General Bonaparte (1797-1798)" (sketch, École de David).
- François Gérard: "The Empress Marie-Louise (1810)", "Portrait of the Sculptor Canova (1808-1809)", "Emperor Napoleon I in Coronation Robes" (replica formerly owned by Caroline Bonaparte).
- Antoine-Jean Gros: Study for "Bonaparte at the Pont d'Arcole (1796)", "Bonaparte Visiting the Plague Victims of Jaffa (1804)", "Napoleon on the Battlefield of Eylau (1808)".
- Pierre-Paul Prud'hon: "The King of Rome (1811)", "Baron Vivant Denon", "The Empress Joséphine (1805)" (French: L'Impératrice Joséphine dans le parc de Malmaison).
- Jean-Louis André Théodore Géricault: "The Charging Chasseur (1812)", "Wounded Cuirassier Leaving the Field of Battle (1814)"
François Gérard by Antoine-Jean Gros, c. 1790. Both were favored students in J.-L. David's studio. Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Study for the painting Bonaparte at the Pont d'Arcole by Antoine-Jean Gros, 1796. Credit The Yorck Project - GNU Free Documentation License.
Napoleon on the Battlefield of Eylau by Antoine-Jean Gros. Credit The Yorck Project - GNU Free Documentation License.
The Charging Chasseur by Jean-Louis Théodore Géricault. Credit The Yorck Project - GNU Free Documentation License.
1810 painting by Boilly showing the public viewing Jacques-Louis David's "Coronation of Napoleon". David's huge painting (+/- 10 x 6 meters), completed in 1807, was exhibited on three occasions between 1808 and 1810 in the Napoleon Museum (today the Louvre Museum). You won't be the first to admire this David masterpiece!
Detail of the Coronation of Napoleon by Jacques-Louis David. In the middle of the foreground is Marshal Murat, the future King of Naples. In the center of the background is Letizia Bonaparte, the emperor's mother. Credit The Yorck Project - GNU Free Documentation License.
Imperial Furniture & Artifacts of Glory
- Throne of the Emperor at the Tuileries palace
- Imperial Crown of Napoleon
- Empress Josephine's Jewels.
- Tea service of Napoleon I & Marie-Louise
- Necessaire of Napoleon I
- Furniture from Madame Récamier's room
The room of Madame Récamier by Jacques-Louis David. Credit The Yorck Project - GNU Free Documentation License.
Inside the Imperial Louvre
- The imperial museums
- The Room of the Marriage of Napoleon and Marie Louise
- The Napoleon III Apartments
- Some of the most famous masterpieces of the Louvre are related to the imperial era despite showing no sign of it.
Napoleon's throne at the Tuileries by Jacob-Desmalter, from a Percier & Fontaine drawing.
Napoleon III Apartments; in the background, a portrait of Eugénie de Montijo, wife of Napoleon III and the last French Empress. She died in 1920.
Other Napoleon Tours
Napoleon in Paris Full-Day Tour
If you are a real fan of the Napoleon era, we have a full-day Napoleon in Paris Guided Tour, which includes the Napoleon in the Louvre Tour. The full program is as follows:
- The 3-hour Napoleon in Paris Tour
- + A Napoleon-Oriented Louvre Tour
- + A Pont des Arts & Rue Bonaparte Walk
- + Napoleon's Tomb at Les Invalides.
Things to Know Before Booking
Louvre Museum Tickets Fare
Price does not include Louvre special tour tickets (€ 28 for people over 18, free under 18) and mandatory € 20 "right to speak" Louvre fees.
We will purchase both for you, as you can't buy them yourself.
Louvre tours are not compatible with the tickets you can buy yourself online!
Restrictions
- Private tour means a tour for you & your party only, not that the museum is privatized.
- Tour duration & content are purely indicative; they may vary due to contingencies.
- In case of unexpectedly closed galleries, you accept that a tour content substitution will apply.
- Prices do not include transportation, food, drinks, or any other extra services.
Attention Points for the Louvre
- Check the Louvre's gallery closures schedule before planning your visit.
- Tours are on foot in the Louvre's huge galleries, so good health & comfortable shoes are mandatory.
- Photos are authorized but without flash. Selfie sticks are not allowed.
- WARNING: In case of free ticket, the corresponding proof is mandatory!
Meeting Point
Outside the museum, close to the Louvre Pyramid (detail during booking)
Access: Metro Line 1 or 7 station Palais-Royal - Musée du Louvre
Book your Louvre Private Tour
Just request the date, time, and number of people you want for your Louvre tour on our calendar, then follow the 3 steps below for an easy online process.
(1) Receive our OK email (48h free pre-booking)
(2) Pay your tour, via the payment link in our email
(3) Receive our
confirmation (email)
(4) We buy the louvre tickets for you. If we don't get them (very rare case) you are fully refund!
Nota bene: Step (1) free pre-booking is lost if no step (2) payment is received after 48 hours.
Private Tour Napoleon in the Louvre
- For 1 to 2 people + €30 for any extra person
- A group of up to 6 people, exclusively yours
- Ticket and right-to-speak costs will be added to the price.
Napoleon III Apartments in the Richelieu Wing. Photo: Nat Molino, Unsplash.
Emperor Napoleon I in Coronation Robes. The portrait was painted in 1805 by François Gérard, a pupil of Jacques-Louis David. Gérard became an official painter of Napoleon, as well as of Louis XVIII and Charles X.