The wall beneath the palace

Look at the thick wall beside you and the space around it. You are beside remains of the moat and the fortress it surrounded. These belonged to a Louvre built to protect Paris, long before paintings were displayed in the palace above. Philippe Auguste, the French king also known as Philip II, had the fortress built between 1190 and 1202. It strengthened the city’s western defences. Imagine the difference between approaching these walls as an obstacle and walking beside them today as a visitor. Their purpose has changed completely. Only part of that building survives here. The palace above grew through later centuries, while these lower remains kept traces of the older structure. Looking at them gives you a way to begin the Louvre’s story close to its foundations. Follow the stonework along the visitor walkway. The moat kept people away from the wall. Today the cleared space lets you walk beside part of it and see the base of the fortress. Compare the height of the remains with the building that now stands above them.