paris museum choice

Old Apr 10th, 2002, 05:29 AM
  #1  
pam
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paris museum choice

Will be in Paris in June for 3 days. A friend recommended that we bypass the Louvre and instead visit Musee D'Orsay. Any comments on this?

Also need hotel reccs. for Dijon and Chamonix.
Thanks,
Pam
 
Old Apr 10th, 2002, 05:37 AM
  #2  
Amy
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I don't know that I would bypass the Louvre entirely, but I would not miss the Orsay. If you get to the Louvre, I would map out a route to see the "hits" like Winged Victory, Dying Slave, Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, etc. I'm more partial to the art in the Orsay, and have been back to it 3 times whereas I've never made a return to the Louvre after my initial spin through it on my first trip to Paris.
 
Old Apr 10th, 2002, 06:00 AM
  #3  
Davidx
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The last reply is spot on but if, like us, you can only take in a certain amount at one visit, go straight to the third floor of the Musée d'Orsay and spend all the time you want there.
Then if I were you I should call that a day and go somewhere else.
 
Old Apr 10th, 2002, 06:14 AM
  #4  
elaine
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Hi
the Musee D'Orsay,features paintings, sculptures, and objects from 1848-1914.
www.musee-orsay.fr Closed Mon.
From June to Sept it opens on other days at 9 I believe. It is especially crowded on Tuesdays because the Louvre is closed.
My strategy for the Orsay is to get there 1/2 hour before opening time if I don’t have the museum pass. The information desk near the entrance has museum floor plans in English. As David suggested, I start on the top floor of the museum where most of the impressionist paintings are--early in the day you can see them in relative peace. Open until 9:45 on Thursday nights I believe. Guided tours in English at 11am Tues-Sat and 7pm Thurs. There are also audioguides for rent.
 
Old Apr 10th, 2002, 06:19 AM
  #5  
elaine
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The Louvre has older art, prior to mid-19th century, which means many of the subjects are religious and mythological figures. A good article to give you an orientation to the Louvre: www.canoe.ca/TravelEurope/louvre.html
Free maps of the Louvre in all languages are available at the information counter after you get inside. It is laid out sort of as a center area under the Pyramid, think of it as a wheel with three spokes: the Denon, Richlieu, and Sully wings. From the main entrance where you buy your tickets, you have to choose which wing you will enter first--consult your Louvre map for what interests you. In order to visit one of the other wings, you will have to return to the main entrance area, and enter one of the other wings. There are some alleged and well-hidden cross-over points that may allow you to transfer directly from one wing to another, but I've never been able to figure that out, so I just head back to the main entrance area, and choose another wing.
The longest entrance line for the Louvre is the main one starting in the courtyard at the Pyramid. The line is long there because everyone's bags have to be run through an x-ray machine. There is another entrance at Porte des Lions, between the Arc du Carrousel and the Tuileries Gardens. A highly-recommended entrance is the underground entrance from the metro stop “Palais Royal-Musee du Louvre”. Either splurge and use a ticket to enter the metro or, if you are already coming off a metro train, exit at the far end of the platform where the sign says “direct access to the Louvre” and you will walk through a security check, then the Carrousel shops, and into the central ticket and information area.

If you enter off the rue de Rivoli across from the Palais Royal, you can also take the entrance via the Louvre Carrousel shops. If instead you walk under the archway, you will find a guard who will let you enter through an express escalator if you have an advance-purchase ticket. If you don’t have an advance ticket I recommend that you get in line at the Pyramid at least 30 minutes before opening time, or else go near the end of the day. The first Sunday of every month offers free admission to the Louvre and many other cultural sites, but the lines are even longer.
 
Old Apr 10th, 2002, 06:25 AM
  #6  
elaine
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I forgot to add that the Louvre normally closes around 6pm but two nights each week, Monday and Wednesday, it is open until 9:45, although the entire museum may not stay open during the evening hours. The Louvre website will tell you which galleries and sections are closed on which days and evenings and it is very helpful. The Louvre is closed on Tuesdays.
 
Old Apr 10th, 2002, 08:50 AM
  #7  
Pam
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Thanks for the help. We will have our 12-year-old and 14-year-old with us. (2-12/weeks in France, Italy and three days in London!). Will definitely do Musee D'Orsay and perhaps an hour or so at Louvre on the Tuesday evening when it's open late.
Pam
 
Old Apr 10th, 2002, 08:50 AM
  #8  
Betsy
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My favorit museum in the world is the Orsay, but I don't know why anyone would suggest bypassing the Louvre. It houses some of the most incredible art in the world! Perhaps the suggestion is due to your limited time. My rcommendation would be to go both but on seperate days. Rick Steves guidebook of Paris and his "Mona Winks" have selfguided tours of both museums. I want to see everthing at the Orsay, but for the Louvre this suggested tour was effecient and I saw some exactly what I wanted to see in 21/2 hours. A key is to be at both museums at opening, before the crowds. The Louvre has so much more to see the just the Mona Lisa. My guess is that there are poanting there you know, that you don't realize are housed at the Louvre. As for the Orsay, I'd also be there at opening and head straight for the 3rd floor and work your way down rather than the reverse. This way you'll have those wonderful galleries to yourself passing the crowds on your way down.
 
Old Apr 10th, 2002, 09:12 AM
  #9  
elaine
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pam
re your last posting
please note that the Louvre is closed on Tuesday, so its late evenings, last time I looked, are Mon and Wed
 
Old Apr 10th, 2002, 10:18 AM
  #10  
Susan
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Pam,
We were in Paris in February with our two kids, ages 11 and 14. This was our kids first trip to Paris, we had been there before. Both kids loved the Louvre. In fact I had to quickly amend our itinerary and plan a second trip to the Lourvre! They were not as impressed with Orsay! We loved it, but I think that the art is well known to them and therefore not as interesting. The kids loved 'things', statutes, artifacts and such and so the Louvre was a major hit. My son (the 14 year old) was most impressed by the the architecture of the Lourve. Just the immensity of it was exciting to them. I would not miss it if I were you. In London my kids loved the British Museum, but the Victoria and Albert was the hit, hands down!
 
Old Apr 10th, 2002, 10:52 AM
  #11  
elaine
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My nephews, last year ages 13 and 10 had the same reactions as Susan's kids.
They loved the large scale historical paintings in the Louvre and actually sat on the floor engrossed in listening to the audio guide descriptions.
In the Orsay they thought of the paintings and objects as "mostly flowers" and they were generally not impressed, except they liked seeing
"Whistler's Mother" because it is famous.
 
Old Apr 10th, 2002, 11:39 AM
  #12  
BTilke
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Caution: Only parts of the Louvre can be viewed when it's open evenings. We've tried that twice and were very limited in what we could see. There was an article a while back in the International Herald Tribune blaming a lack of funding and security guards for the problem. Fortunately, the whole Musee d'Orsay is available during its evening hours.

Remember that if you only have time to view part of the Louvre or d'Orsay museums, you can buy interactive CD-Roms to "tour" the museums at your leisure at home. They're quite good and a fun souvenir.
 
Old Apr 10th, 2002, 11:50 AM
  #13  
pam
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Thanks again, especially the comments from those with kids. We are definitely going to the British Museum in London (I visited there as a teenager and loved it), and since we'll be dragging them to Uffizi in Florence and Sistine Chapel in Rome, etc., don't want to overdo the museum thing. My daughter the artist wants to visit Monet's home and garden, so that is on our itinerary (we're renting a car on our way out of Paris). That's why I was leaning toward Orsay because of the Impressionist works. Also, the friend of mine who recommended skipping the Louvre is older (60s), so she probably wasn't thinking about the teen-friendly aspects.
Pam
 

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