Art critics hailed news of the move, saying that the precious painting has stolen the spotlight for long enough.

French President Emmanuel Macron is expected to announce possibly hundreds of millions of euros in renovation work for the Louvre.

The Louvre, the world’s most-visited museum and home to Leonardo da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa,” has requested urgent help from the French government to restore and renovate its ageing exhibition halls and better protect its countless works of art.

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday that non-EU visitors will pay a higher entrance fee to visit the Louvre, the world's most-visited museum, which is plagued by overcrowding and outdated facilities.

Now that Leonardo da Vinci's masterpiece is moving to another room at The Louvre, other Renaissance masterpieces hanging in the same space by Titian, Tintoretto and Veronese may finally get their due.

A multi-year overhaul will see a new entrance built as well as a separate underground gallery for Leonardo da Vinci's masterpiece in what Mr Macron called a "new renaissance".

The Louvre, the world's most-visited museum and home to Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa, has requested urgent help from the French government to restore and renovate its ageing exhibition halls and better protect its countless works of art.

I remember when, as a child, I fought my way to the front of a queue of sweaty tourists in the Louvre, only to be pulled aside by a security guard who mistook my enthusiasm for malign intent. When I visited a few years later – still in the pre-internet age – I had raised my expectations so much that the reality was,

An underground tunnel network long rumored thanks to drawings by Leonardo da Vinci under Milan’s Sforza Castle are proven to exist. Ground-penetrating radar and laser scanning revealed that the historic passages made famous by a Leonardo da Vinci drawing is just one of multiple tunnel sections.

A technological investigation at Sforza Castle found that it does in fact hold underground passages once described by Leonardo da Vinci.

France`s President Macron announced a renovation plan for the Louvre, including a dedicated, independently accessible space for the Mona Lisa.