La Pyramide Inversée, Glass skylight in Carrousel du Louvre, France

La Pyramide Inversée is a downward-pointing pyramid of laminated glass, 10 mm thick, hung from a 30-tonne, 13.3-metre square steel caisson frame beneath the Place du Carrousel. Its panes are joined by stainless-steel crosses 381 mm long, and its tip hangs 1.4 metres above the floor. Below it stands a stone pyramid about 1 m high, its apex almost touching the glass point.

This structure was completed in 1993 as part of a major renovation of the Louvre complex, designed by architect I.M. Pei. It was created to serve as a modern counterpart to the main pyramid above and to connect the new underground spaces with the historic museum building.

The inverted pyramid became well-known around the world through its appearance in The Da Vinci Code film, where it played a key role in the story. Since then, many visitors come specifically to see this structure and photograph it.

You can best see this structure by walking through the underground shopping center beneath the plaza, where it comes into view as you navigate the passages. The location can be crowded, so visiting during quieter times gives you better views and space to observe the design from different angles.

The tip of the suspended glass pyramid hangs 1.4 metres above the floor, almost touching the apex of the small stone pyramid below. That stone pyramid is not the top of a hidden chamber, as The Da Vinci Code suggests: it can be pushed aside for cleaning and maintenance of the glass above.