Louvre Abu Dhabi- A New Era Begins Here

Louvre Abu Dhabi

It’s always a fulfilling experience for the travellers to explore Abu Dhabi. The city has so much to see and live. The cultural heritages attract the tourists to find some relief. The natural islands of Abu Dhabi provide greater relief amidst the hot desert environment. The capital of United Arab Emirates has to offer something that for every taste.

The bustling city of Abu Dhabi attracts people for its vibrant nightlife, shopping malls, superb skyscrapers, museums, theatres, concert halls, and many more. The entire city is well planned with all the modern amenities for the people. You can find an exciting collection of art galleries in the city that preserve the cultural heritage of the nation. The museums and other places of art reflect the traditional Bedouin culture and tradition. The city has brilliantly restored the ancient history in the most beautiful way that makes it interesting for its visitors.

Abu Dhabi is a wonderful place to visit for its varied environment former natural archipelago and rich cultural heritage. There are more than 200 Islands off the coast that attract the tourist for its exotic weather. Many of the islands have been developed into tourist resorts. This gives a varied experience to the visitors as they stay in these develop properties. The ecologically reserved Island provides world-class natural accommodation to the tourist who chooses to spend time in the nature reserves to the islands. 

Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world. A large number of people visit this beautiful city to have a lifetime memory and luxurious stays during their holidays. This alluring city is renowned for its tourism, culture, and art. The higher officials and the authorities of Abu Dhabi left no stones unturned, to make the country a top cultural destination. It is always a better decision to perform a research about a place before visiting there in person. If you know the rich cultural heritage and the history of that place, then, the tour will be much more appealing to you.

The Louvre, Abu Dhabi is a museum focusing on art and civilisation. It was established with a view to creating human connections through art, from ancient days to present day. Because of its location, this charismatic museum is often referred to as “museum in the sea”. 

Location, Size, and Other Details

The Louvre, Abu Dhabi is a new cultural destination for the Emirates people. The construction work started officially on 26th May 2009. The beautiful museum was established on 8th November 2017. Though, it opened its doors to the public from 11th November 2017. 

The final cost of constructing the Louvre Abu Dhabi museum was 60 Million Euros. Additionally, 25 million US dollars was paid by Abu Dhabi government to tie up and retain the Louvre name. Besides, special exhibitions, art loans, and management advice will be settled with a payment of 747 million US dollars. 

The First Universal Museum, Louvre Abu Dhabi was a part of a 30-year agreement between Abu Dhabi city and the French Government. This renowned museum occupies a space of approximately 24, 000 sq. metres. The largest art museum in the Arabian Peninsula has galleries with the size of 8, 000 sq. metres. Out of this 8, 000 sq. metres, the persistent and established collections of the museum occupy a space of about 6, 000 sq. metres. The short-term and momentary exhibitions utilize about 2, 000 sq. metres. This means that every time you visit, the Louvre Abu Dhabi will offer you something new and lovely with their temporary exhibitions.

 This beautiful and magnificent museum is located on Saadiyat Cultural District on Saadiyat Island. It is a part of Manarat AlSaadiyat, along with the Zayed National Museum and the Guggenheim museum. Manarat AlSaadiyat is the tourist and cultural development for the Saadiyat Island.

Description of the Louvre Abu Dhabi

The designing of the Louvre Abu Dhabi was done by none other than the world-famous French architect, Jean Nouvel.  Multi-disciplinary engineering works for this grand museum are done by Buro Happold. 

The charismatic museum is designed in such a way so that it looks like “a floating dome structure”.  The web patterned dome is created so that the sun rays can pass through. This was mainly done with the motive that the comprehensive impact of the Louvre Abu Dhabi appears as “rays of the sun passing through the date palm leaves in an oasis.”

The diameter of this dome-shaped museum is about 180 metres. The highest point of the dome is 40 metres above the sea level. 

The Louvre Abu Dhabi introduces a new Way-finding System. It helps people to locate their preferred artworks.

The prime attention of the displayed artworks in the Louvre Abu Dhabi is to unite the Eastern and Western Arts with each other.

There is a rich and luxurious collection of artefacts, artworks, and loans from the top museums of France. In addition to this, there are exhibitions, a Children’s Museum, and museum galleries.

• Museum galleries- the majestic museum galleries depict the stories of humanity through 12 motivating chapters. Each chapter portrays common connections through humanity.
• Exhibitions- the Louvre Abu Dhabi organises four temporary exhibitions every year. These are the times of the year when art and history lovers accumulate in the society. Many tourist accommodators host special packages during this time.
• Children’s Museum- The children’s museum was created with the motive to encourage the youth’s creative minds and talents. They distributed the museum between two floors. It introduces interactive workshops and family focussed exhibitions in both Arabic and English languages. People often visit Abu Dhabi to enlighten their children about the evolution of the Emirates. The Children’s Museum is one of the most important centres to illuminate children about the bright cultural history of the city.

Additionally, a café and a restaurant are opened for the relaxation of the public and for satisfying their taste buds. The cafe serves quick refreshments to the visitors. Apart from that, there is a boutique shop for buying souvenirs to way back home. This helps in making the trip to this splendid museum, a memorable one.

Design of the Louvre Abu Dhabi

The engineers constructed the “floating dome” shaped museum from 7850 aluminium stars of various shapes and sizes. These stars look like a collage of geometrical pattern. The eight-layered rooftop is made up of small holes for the sun rays to penetrate through it. They created a perfect variance of light and shade due to this. The white blocks and paved public walkway forms the museum’s interior. This perfectly reflects the Arabian city style. 

A team of professional engineer expertise in water-based projects has been assigned to this “museum in the sea”. True to its name, the specialist water engineers designed a waterproof and weather-proof basement and tidal pools inside the galleries. They did this mainly to protect the valuable artefacts and artworks and the visitors from the erosive effects of the seawater and the environment.

Entry Fees and other necessary information

The entry ticket to the Louvre Abu Dhabi is only 60 AED for every adult visiting here. However, a discounted price of only 30 AED is offered to –

• The people aged between 13 to 22 years
• UAE School, college teachers, and university faculty members
• The UAE military
• Auditorium and Workshop ticket holders

Again, there is an option for free entry, i.e. there will be no entry fee for–

• The Children who are under 13 years of age
• Louvre Abu Dhabi Art Club members and the Journalists
• The disabled and handicapped visitors having one companion
• ICOM/ICCROM/ICOMOS valid members

The admission fees to this magnificent museum give the permission to its visitors to enter the beautiful museum galleries, Children’s museum, various exhibitions and public spaces that lie below the dome. 

The grand museum, Louvre Abu Dhabi is opened six days a week, Monday being a holiday. The timings are from 10 AM to 8 PM.

The car parking is not an issue in this grand museum for the visitors. It provides ample space for parking the cars. The visitors have a varied number of transportation alternatives i.e. by land or by sea.

Ending Words

The Louvre Abu Dhabi is a new cultural destination which aims at uniting the different cultures with each other. Because of its grandeur, style, world-renowned displayed artworks, and attractiveness, the Louvre Abu Dhabi should be on your next travel list. The tour to the Louvre Abu Dhabi will magnify the cultural evaluation and admiration with spectacular arts showcased all around. 

Abu Dhabi is a city which remains undiscovered for many people. The attractive city attracts people from all around the world with its rich cultural heritage and traditions. The busy city is one of the top destinations in the global tourism industry. From the vast desert areas to the top cultural destination in the world, the attractions of Abu Dhabi take pride in winning millions of hearts.