From October 16 to 18, 2026, the Journées nationales de l’architecture return to bring life to the capital and the Île-de-France. This cultural event invites everyone to survey the surrounding urban landscape, to understand the art of building, and to peek behind the doors of lesser-known monuments like the Louvre Belfry. In the heart of the Louvre district, this slender silhouette sparks curiosity among walkers with its unique history.
Completed between 1858 and 1860, this 38-meter-high tower was conceived by architect Théodore Ballu during the reign of Napoleon III. At the time, Haussmann’s grand renovations were reshaping Paris. To create a cohesive ensemble that faces the Louvre’s colonnade, Ballu designed the 1st arrondissement town hall by echoing the façade of the nearby Saint-Germain-l’Auxerrois church. The belfry then fills the void between the two façades.
It falls within the neo-Gothic style, a 19th‑century architectural movement that reinterprets medieval forms: pointed arches, slender pinnacles, carved rosettes, expressive gargoyles, and intricate openwork stone detailing. A persistent urban rumor claims that Théodore Ballu designed this bell tower to rival the height of Notre-Dame de Paris, though in reality it was mainly a matter of achieving visual symmetry and urban balance.
The building’s historic mission is to house Paris’s municipal carillon, a collection of several dozen bells designed to pace the district’s civic life. According to some contemporary accounts, the famed bell “Marie,” which rang the alarm during Saint Bartholomew’s Day in 1572, was at one point moved to this new carillon, though historians attribute that tragic toll to the south tower of the adjacent medieval church. Today managed by the City of Paris, the site testifies to the ingenuity of Second Empire builders in reconciling civil architecture with sacred heritage.
Visites guidées : "Une chronologie imparfaite de la Tour du Louvre"
Pourquoi la petite rue qui menait autrefois au beffroi s’appelait-elle rue du Tronc-Saint-Bernard ?
À qui le roi Philippe Auguste dut-il acheter son terrain pour faire construire le Louvre ?
Pourquoi l’hôtel du Petit-Bourbon était-il peint en jaune ?
Que firent la grosse Marie, les petits Germain et Vincent le soir de la Saint-Barthélemy ?
Connaissez-vous le lien entre Saint-Germain-l’Auxerrois et le mot « traductrice » ?
À combien s’élevait l’amende infligée à l’habitant de la place du Louvre qui refusait d’allumer les chandelles de ses cinq lanternes ?
Qui pratiquait l’effeuillage dans la rue Chilpéric, autrefois attenante au beffroi ?
À qui appartenaient les ossements retrouvés sous le beffroi ?
Si vous ne connaissez pas les réponses à ces questions, rendez-vous samedi 17 octobre (14h30 et 16h) à la découverte du Beffroi du Louvre et de ses environs, avec Béatrice Lezaun.
Conditions de participation : Gratuit | Sans réservation
Horaires : samedi 17 octobre 2026 - 14:30 ⤏ 15:30, 16:00 ⤏ 17:00
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Dates and Opening Time
From October 17, 2026 to October 18, 2026
Location
Saint-Germain l'Auxerrois church
2 Place du Louvre
75001 Paris 1
Route planner
Access
Metro Louvre - Rivoli - Pont Neuf.
