The world’s most-visited museum shuts down, sounding the alarm on mass tourism

The Louvre, the world’s most-visited museum and a global symbol of art, beauty and endurance, has withstood war, terror, and pandemic — but on Monday, it was brought to a halt by its own staff, who say the institution is crumbling under the weight of mass tourism. It was an almost unthinkable sight: the home to works by Leonardo da Vinci and millennia of civilization’s greatest treasures — paralyzed in a strike by the very people tasked with welcoming the world to its galleries. The Louvre has become a symbol of tourism pushed to its limits.