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.

In a letter to Culture Minister Rachida Dati, revealed by Paris daily Le Parisien and confirmed to Reuters by the Louvre, Louvre President Laurence des Cars warned that the centuries-old building is in a dire state, and pointed at problems with water leaks and "worrying temperature swings which endanger the conservation of works of art".

Built in Paris in the late 12th century, the Louvre Palace for centuries was the official residence of the kings of France, until Louis XIV - weary of rebellious crowds in Paris - abandoned it for Versailles, after which it became a museum for the royal art collection in 1793.

Last year, the Louvre welcomed 8.7 million visitors, who all entered via the pyramid-shaped western entrance, designed by architect I.M. Pei, which itself has become problematic as its greenhouse effect makes the Louvre's subterranean reception uncomfortably hot on summer days.

A visit to the Louvre, the museum's head wrote, has become "a physical ordeal", with artworks being hard to find due to inadequate signage, lack of space for visitors to take a break, and insufficient food and sanitary facilities.

Designed to receive four million visitors a year, the Louvre saw record attendance of 10.2 million visitors in 2018, but des Cars - who was appointed in 2021 - has imposed a limit of 30,000 visitors per day in order to avoid overcrowding.

Des Cars' letter did not mention financing, but French TV news channel BFM said renovation costs could amount to 500 million euros ($520 million), which would be a challenge for President Emmanuel Macron's government which has struggled to gets its 2025 budget approved by parliament.

Le Parisien reported that talks are under way between Macron's office, the culture ministry and the Louvre. A source close to Macron's office confirmed that "the president has followed this issue with attention for several months".

The culture ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

After his first election in 2017, Macron gave his victory speech in front of the Louvre, while the Tuileries gardens around the former palace also played a prominent role during the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Besides a top-to-bottom renovation, the museum is also considering building a new wing for the Mona Lisa, as well as a new entrance on the eastern end of the museum, to relieve congestion at the Pyramid entrance.