Fodor's Expert Review Musée Marmottan Monet

This underrated museum has the largest collection of Monet's work anywhere. More than 100 pieces, donated by his son Michel, occupy a specially built basement gallery in an elegant 19th-century mansion, which was once the hunting lodge of the duke de Valmy. You can find such works as the Cathédrale de Rouen series (1892–96) and Impression: Soleil Levant (Impression: Sunrise), 1872, the painting that helped give the Impressionist movement its name. Other exhibits include letters exchanged by Impressionist painters Berthe Morisot and Mary Cassatt. Upstairs, the mansion still feels like a graciously decorated residence. Empire furnishings fill the salons overlooking the Jardin du Ranelagh on one side and the private yard on the other. There's also a captivating room of illuminated medieval manuscripts. To best understand the collection's context, pick up an English-language audio guide (€4) on your way in.