Last week, I visited the Louvre in Abu Dhabi, a brand-new museum which opened on November 11th. I had seen the write up on it in the local Dubai newspaper and the advertising was huge so I knew I wanted to check it out. Plus, it was reported that Abu Dhabi had paid France 402 million to use the ‘Louvre’ name. After seeing the museum in France I knew this one had to be good. I took a drive to Abu Dhabi it takes about an hour and a half from Dubai, the Louvre has actually been built on its own island and the building structure has been built into the water. What can I say, the pictures don’t do it justice, it is stunning!
The floating dome, the blue water that surrounds the white walls make it so beautiful, the French architect really knew what he was doing here. Inside, the light streams through the dome making beautiful patterns of light as your walking through. The museums narrative is broken into 12 sections that give visitors a global glimpse of the past 12,000 years on earth. The exhibits inside are spectacular and the whole museum is set out like a maze, each room numbered and easily signed so you are able to keep track of where you have already been so you don’t miss anything out.
They also have a children’s section which is lovely, with all sorts of different sensory and learning exhibits that they can interact with but also learn something at the same time. You can definitely spend a good 4 hours here, they have a café and a restaurant that serves yummy food and has seats outside on the water overlooking the city of Abu Dhabi. They also have an ocean view auditorium where performers sit in a sort of floating/island stage. It is definitely a beautiful place to spend the afternoon.
