Louvre — Cour Napoléon (Glass Pyramid)

The Cour Napoléon of the Musée du Louvre in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France, hosts I.M. Pei's iconic glass pyramid—completed in 1989—as the museum's central entrance. The pyramid stands 21 metres tall at the centre of a Haussmann-era limestone courtyard flanked by the Richelieu, Sully, and Denon wings. At golden hour before sunset, warm raking light strikes the Richelieu and Sully facades while the pyramid's 673 glass panes catch the orange tones and reflect them toward the surrounding shallow pool. The courtyard is oriented on a precise east-west axis aligned with the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel to the west and ultimately the Champs-Élysées axis; in late afternoon from March through September, the sun descends along this alignment, producing dramatic backlit silhouette shots of the pyramid. The central pool—when not drained for maintenance—offers a position directly at water level for a reflected composition of the glass facets against the sky. Evening photography shifts the character entirely: from approximately 21:00 to 23:00 in summer, the pyramid is illuminated from within and from ground-level uplights, casting warm golden glow across the courtyard paving. Tripods are permitted in the Cour Napoléon outdoor courtyard. No fee applies to photograph the exterior; museum admission (around €22 for adults) is required only to enter the building. Drone flight is prohibited over central Paris without DGAC authorization. The courtyard is extremely busy from 09:00 to 20:00; the clearest windows for photography are early morning before 08:30 or late evening after 21:00 in summer.