Architecture of the Paris Métro feature stonework, statues and other replica museum pieces, under subtle lighting, which together make the station into an antechamber of the Musée du Louvre. Until the reconstruction of the Louvre in the late 1980s, this station was the closest to the museum's entrance. When I. M. Pei's pyramid was added to the Louvre and made the central entrance at the end of the 1980s, the neighboring metro station Palais-Royal became the closest to the museum entrance; so close, in fact, that a subterranean corridor was constructed leading directly from the museum to the Palais-Royal station, which was renamed "Palais-Royal –
Louvre castle Louvre castle The Louvre Castle was a castle built by King Philip II of France to reinforce the walls he had built around Paris and further protect the city. It was later demolished in stages to make way for the Louvre Palace. Its main location was on the right bank of the Seine river. Before his departure for the Third Crusade in 1190, King Philip II wanted to protect Paris, the capital of his Kingdom, against invasions. In particular, he wanted to defend Paris against English soldiers based in Normandy. Additionally and more specifically, King Phillip II wanted to build