Louvre Claude Monet. The Louvre is slightly askew of the Historic Axis ("Axe historique"), a roughly eight-kilometre (five-mile) architectural line bisecting the city. It begins on the east in the Louvre courtyard and runs west along the Champs-Élysées. In 1871, the burning of the Tuileries Palace by the Paris Commune revealed that the Louvre was slightly askew of the "Axe" despite past appearances to the contrary. The Louvre can be reached by the Palais Royal – Musée du Louvre Métro or the Louvre-Rivoli stations. The Louvre has three entrances: the main entrance at the pyramid, an entrance from the Carrousel du
Paris in the 16th century succeeded by his cousin, Francis I, who was much more interested in the city. Francis gradually moved closer to Paris, first to the Palace of Fontainebleau, then to Saint-Germain-en-Laye, then to the Chateau de Madrid, an enormous hunting lodge that he built in the Bois de Boulogne. Finally, on March 15, 1528, he declared his intention to live in Paris. Since the old royal palace on the Île-de-la-Cité was occupied by the Parlement of Paris, he announced that he would live in the old fortress of the Louvre. While the Louvre was being reconstructed to his tastes, Francis I resided