Abu Dhabi houses the most precious jewels of the United Arab Emirates and its most emblematic buildings. In its quest to obtain the most outstanding constructions in the world, Abu Dhabi introduced one of its iconic treasures in art and culture in 2017: the Louvre Museum. Bearing the name of the iconic museum in Paris, this site was designed by the French architect Jean Nouvel and its construction cost around 100 million euros.
It shares the same name as its Parisian counterpart because the authorities of the French headquarters signed a 30-year agreement to associate its name with a cultural district in the middle of Saadiyat Island, in Abu Dhabi.
A dream trip that can be taken with stopovers in Abu Dhabi.
The Louvre Museum stands as one of the most spectacular buildings in Abu Dhabi on Saadiyat Island. It opened in November 2017 and has since become one of the most visited sites. The complex features 50 buildings, including 23 galleries with 600 pieces of art. It also boasts a distinctive element: its oval ceiling that interacts with the light and shadows of the day.
Among the most iconic pieces in this museum are works such as Napoleon Crossing the Alps by painter Jacques-Louis David, which was a loan from Versailles; the Belle Ferronière by Leonardo da Vinci. Also available are Monet’s The Gare Saint-Lazare, Picasso’s Portrait of a Lady, and works by Van Gogh, Magritte, Warhol, and Cy Twombly.
The shocking figures of the most spectacular museum in Abu Dhabi
The Louvre Museum in Abu Dhabi is part of an ambitious project that aims to bring more buildings of this style to Abu Dhabi, including the most prestigious art institutions in the world. On Saadiyat Island, a cultural and tourism program worth 27 billion dollars is planned.
This plan would include the installation of the Zayed National Museum, a Guggenheim Abu Dhabi for contemporary art, a performing arts center designed by Zaha Hadid, and a maritime museum with the signature of Tadao Ando. However, this plan has been postponed until 2025. In addition to its enormous halls and vast works of art, this site has a particularity that sets it apart from the Louvre in Paris, and that is that it can be visited in just a few hours, even during layovers on a flight in the city.
