I love the Marmottan and have visited nearly every time I have been in Paris. The museum is wonderful if you like Monet and I enjoy visiting the lovely neighborhood in the 16th. However, with 3 days, you have to make some choices and the D'Orsay and the Louvre are musts for a museum lover. After that, if you have time for another museum, I would first visit the Cluny and then the Marmottan. Since it is winter, I would skip the Rodin since its best feature is the gardens. I love the Picasso and the Jacquemart Andre but don't imagine you can get to them in only 3 days.

"Impression/Sunrise" was lent to the Turner/Whistler/Monet exhibition, so I saw it there (and I've never seen it before or been to the Marmottan).

Presumably the painting travels to Tate Britain, so if you've plans to see it over the next couple of months, you should see if it's been returned to the Marmottan. The exhibition closes at the Tate in May, if I recall.

I have been to Paris 3 times and finally visited the Marmottan last time. While not on the scale as the Orsay, it was certainly "worth" a visit. As Patrick and others have mentioned, it is in a lovely neighborhood, and we enjoyed a nice lunch afterwards in a cafe not too far away. The museum will not require more than an hour or so, and if you are especially fond of Monet, it would be a worthwhile stop. One note--it is not on the list of museums that accept the museum pass. I think admission was 7 or 8 euro.
I would definitely go to the Louvre and the Orsay, and if you love sculpture, the Rodin. I have been to the Rodin in winter, spring, and summer, and it is glorious when the roses are in bloom, but still incredibly powerful to see the sculpture garden in the stark winter.

Everyone's comments have been very helpful; we have been to Orsay several times before and though I will squeeze in at least a quick trip there, my husband probably will skip it this time.
So, if we do go to Marmottan, are there nice cafes in the neighborhood where we could have lunch?

A quick question; it's my understanding that 75 paintings in the Marmottan are currently in Washington DC until May. 40 Morisot's and a collection of others. For those who have been to the Marmottan, would this really decimate the collection? I'm going to be in Paris in April and would love to go, but I'm not sure if it is worth it now.

Thanks.

Out of curiosity, I went to the museum's website. Apparently Monet's "Sunrise" did not travel to the Tate and was supposedly returned on Jan. 19 (T/W/M closed the night of Jan. 17).

I don't see a note about paintings being loaned to D.C. It's probably true though.

I was curious enough to click on "Chefs d'Oeuvre." The Caillebotte painting looks awfully familiar (is there a similar one in the Art Institute of Chicago?). Actually there's a famous Caillebotte at Orsay which I missed that features some workers redoing the floors. I forget what that painting is called. I saw a reproduction of it in a book and it's a beautiful painting.

JMK38, there are a number of cafes in the area of the Marmottan. If you plan to take the Metro, the cafes are convenient to the La Muette Metro station, about a 10-minute walk to the Marmottan.
JoTro, the Morisot collection from the Marmottan is indeed in Washington. I love the collection and it would add to the pleasure of a trip to the Marmottan but the Monets are really the draw for me and I would visit despite the absence of the Morisots.

The most famous Caillebotte in Chicago is the large 'Paris Street Rainy Day'.
for a view: http://www.mystudios.com/art/impress...tte-paris.html

I'm a member of the relatively small Caillebotte fan club; several years the Art Institute in Chicago had a marvelous
Caillebotte retrospective.

Oh, I forgot:
Marmottan, Nearby places for lunch or a snack:
La Rotonde de la Muette, 12 Chaussee de la Muette, they have outdoor seating.

Pastry shop--Yamakazi, 6 Chaussee de la Muette. Said to have great hot chocolate, open Sundays.
On the same street is La Gare, an old train station converted to a café.

Restaurant des Chauffeurs, 8 Chaussee de la Muette, From an article I read--
"trucker-sized portions of French comfort food…$25 or so will see you out the door.” Open daily, continous service 5:30 am to 10pm, lunch reservations advised. Credit cards.

Hi elaine, would you mind going to the Marmottan website and looking at the Caillebotte listed in the "Masterpieces" section? Doesn't this look very much like the Art Institute of Chicago painting? I've not looked at it closely and done an A/B comparison, but it looks very similar.

http://www.marmottan.com/fr/chefs_oeuvres/

I'd be interested in knowing if there's a story behind this. Caillebotte was regarded as a somewhat obscure and reclusive painter, if I remember right, until the 1960s (?). And he had an independent career and was quite wealthy, if I recall.

111op, Caillebotte is one of my faves! The museum site says that it is a preparatory sketch for the one in Chicago. I think the English title for the Orsay one is The Floor Scrapers.

Yes, LVSue -- right on both counts. I went back to the website and clicked on the link to the painting because I was so curious.

I've to remember to find the Caillebotte painting at the Orsay when I'm in that museum. The interesting thing is that I've seen a reproduction once. It doesn't seem to be a well-known painting, but Orsay thinks it's a masterpiece.

Hi
There are differences (Marmottan version has indistinct facial features, the final painting (Chicago) has a carriage with a large wheel, over on the left side, etc)As the Marmottan website info says, their painting is an 'exquisite' study for the later larger painting.

The Marmottan text also says that a critic of the time pointed out that some well-known painters tried to reproduce varous aspects of Paris:
M. Caillebotte, its streets; M Renoir, the dance; M Degas, theatre and music halls; Melle Morisot, the boudoir.

Thanks, elaine. This forum is never dull. :-)

Well, I return the thread to the regularly broadcast programming -- like whether you should visit Marmottan, where to eat around Marmottan, etc. :-)

By the way, if I remember right, there're some buildings by Le Corbusier in that area (I've not been, as I said).

for someone who wants to see the
Floor Scrapers
http://www.mystudios.com/art/impress...-scrapers.html

If you go to the Orsay, you can't miss that one. On the top floor where all the Impressionists are, it's on a wall facing you as you enter one of the rooms
(as of last week)

It makes me wonder if I've ever been to Orsay, elaine. :-)

I guess that's what happens when you attempt to cover Paris in 24 or 48 or 72 hours. I guess, strictly speaking, I've not really been (the few times I've been it's always been very quick). The last time I was there I saw a special exhibition on the Origins of Abstraction. I guess I'll have to plan to stop by on a future trip.

You've been there, you've been there, there's just never enough time ( on a trip that's less than a week, anyway) to see the old favorites and to see new things. This last time I was only in the Orsay an hour myself, close to closing---very frustrating, but it was that or not at all as it turns out.
The painting I HAD to revisit was
Van Gogh's Church at Auvers, and my TC wanted to see Whistler's Mom. So we got those in, but not much more. And I missed seeing the objets d'art on the first floor--like those too.

I know. I guess that's why I'm always flipping through museum guide books. Fortunately we've those and the web to do a virtual visit. But the real thing is always incomparable.

With only 3 days in Paris, I'd chose to bypass it and hit some of the other spots. Versailles and the Louvre could each take a day not counting Notre Dame, etc.

My reaction to the Marmottan was just like Patricks - I was enthralled. My girlfriend and I went one afternoon after walking around Versailles all morning. We were a bit tired and sat down to rest in the lower floor of the Marmottan. I just kept switching my view - the large canvases have the most amazing colors. It was the absolutely most perfect place to sit and rest a while, and take in all the beauty.

This is my opinion, but I think the Monet's in Marmottan are better than the collection at the Orsay.