French President Emmanuel Macron announced on Tuesday that the nearly decade-long overhaul will include a new main entrance, expanded exhibition space and a special gallery dedicated solely to Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, currently displayed in a crowded hall within the museum’s historic wings.

Officials said the renovation is driven by multiple pressures, including years of heavy tourism, rising security demands and outdated infrastructure. The Louvre regularly welcomes around nine million visitors a year, far exceeding the capacity it was originally designed for. Macron described the project as necessary to bring the sprawling institution up to modern standards and ensure the preservation of its collections.

Under the plans, the Mona Lisa will be relocated to a larger, more accessible space within the museum, with dedicated circulation designed to ease congestion and enhance the viewing experience for visitors from around the world. A new entrance on the eastern side of the museum is also slated to open by 2031 to help manage crowds more effectively.

Funding for the renovation, which French media have estimated could run into the hundreds of millions of euros, will come from a combination of the museum’s own resources, ticket sales and sponsorships. As part of that effort, ticket prices for visitors from outside the European Union are set to rise from January 2026.

Museum officials say the overhaul is not just about infrastructure, but also about improving overall access and safeguarding priceless works of art under changing climate and security conditions.