Nine months after the daring raid that saw many of France’s priceless Crown Jewels stolen, the Louvre Museum in Paris has reopened its Galerie d’Apollon to the public. Get all the details below.
Read More: Discover all the Crown Jewels that were stolen in last year’s heist at the Louvre Museum
The world famous Louvre Museum in Paris has finally reopened the doors to its Galerie d’Apollon (Gallery of Apollo), allowing the public to visit for the first time since precious jewellery worth millions was stolen in a daring robbery last year.
But the ornately gilded space – which was created by the same master craftsmen that later worked on the famed Hall of Mirrors at the Château de Versailles – has reopened without any of its jewels on display.
“This is an iconic space within the Louvre, but it will no longer house the Crown Jewels and gemstones, which are to be displayed in secure areas elsewhere in the museum,” said Christophe Leribault, according to the BBC.
A renowned art historian, M. Leribaul was appointed as director of the Musée du Louvre by French President Emmanuel Macron after its former head resigned following last year’s dramatic heist.
The heist took place on the morning of 19th October 2025, when masked thieves broke into the Galerie d’Apollon through a window and stole nine priceless jewels that once belonged to Napoleon III and Empress Eugenie. The entire raid lasted just seven minutes.
One jewel – a 19th century diamond and emerald crown, reportedly once owned by Empress Eugenie – was seemingly dropped by the thieves as they escaped and was recovered near the Louvre in a badly damaged condition. Thankfully, the headpiece can be fully restored, having kept all 56 of its emeralds and lost only a handful of its 1,353 diamonds.
It is believed that historic Parisian jewellery houses such as Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, Chaumet, and Boucheron have all offered their services to help with the delicate resoration process.
Four suspects have been arrested in connection to the raid, but the remaining eight jewels that were stolen (thought to be worth over £76 million, or $104 million) have yet to be recovered.
See the reopening of the Galerie d’Apollon at the Louvre here:
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