Hi Everyone!

Everyone says to try to visit St. Chapelle (Paris) in the afternoon for the light effects through the stained glass windows. However, I am scared that the afternoon will be packed with crowds! (I'll be in Paris in early June.)

Will going in the early morning a better strategy for beating the crowds? (How early?) I do want to appreciate all the stained glass. Also, I will NOT be puchasing a MUSEUM CARD this time around.

Secondly, if I have to choose only one small museum for this trip: Should it be the Musee Nissim de Camondo or the Jacqmart Andree?

Sorry for any spelling mistakes,
Betty (NYC)

Hi
I"d worry less about morning vs afternoon, and just try to go on a sunny day. I don't recall what time Ste Chapelle opens in the morning to visitors, but I wouldn't bank on it being uncrowded in the mornings either.
I actually think very late afternoon (there would still be good daylight in June) might be just as good an idea.

I can't speak to the Camondo museum, but the Jacquemart-Andre is exquisite, both as a building and as an art collection, as long as you appreciate the art of the 'old masters.' The Camondo museum focuses on the art and artifacts of the 18th century.

Thank you, Elaine. I appreciate your advice and input.

P.S. Do they offer any guided tours (human guide or audio tour)in St. Chapelle, or are you pretty much on your own?

Thanks again!

The Nissim de Camondo is a much more personal museum, and if l8th-century furniture, objets d'art, and carpets interest you you'll love the place. The Jacquemart-André is more about the fine arts.

We saw the stained-glass windows at the Ste-Chapelle in the morning, and they were glorious.

You don't really need a guided tour in the Ste-Chapelle. It's actually fairly small and compact, and on the floor with the main windows there are large cards that you can hold that detail each window. There's also a sign that asks people not to talk; so I don't imagine guides would be allowed in that area.

Ste Chapelle is wonderful at any time of the day. One of the things I most wanted to do was attend one of the chamber music concerts there, but there weren't any scheduled during our trip.

The Musee Jacquemart-Andre is a wonderful small museum, very much along the lines of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. I think you'll really enjoy it, and the cafe is supposed to be lovely for brunch.

Underhill: When you say the Camondo museum is a much more "personal" museum, do you mean that the house itself is smaller, or that the collection of art/artifacts is smaller?

Thank you for your thoughts!!

Thanks, adlmllr!

It is best to visit Ste. Chapelle on a sunny day at a time of day when the sun is high enough shine through the windows. In June, mid morning or mid to late afternoon would probably work - it is probably better if the sun is not directly overhead. One of the exquisite experiences I have had in Paris was attending a concert at Ste. Chapelle in the early evening and watching the light outside change so the windows went from brilliantly colorful to very greyed tones.

Boy, would I be torn having to make the choice between the de Camondo and Jacquemart Andre!They are both particular favorites of mine. Underhill's explanation is excellent, the house has wonderful 18th cen furnishings , and family memoribilia and a sad story, we loved the kitchen! The J-A is a beautiful building but is mainly a gallery setting. So it's all in your personal taste. I don't know if the special Napoleon exhibit is still on in June but that was very impressive.

If you do decide to have lunch or sunday Brunch, stop first and make a reservation..there was a very long line when we were there a few weeks ago

And I have even heard that the windows are spectacular on a slightly cloudy day--that while jewel like on a sunny day, more detai on a cloudy day. If you have any extra room and own a small pair of binoculars, you could tuck them in.

When I went to Ste. Chapelle about 4 years ago, there happened to be an American art history grad student giving a tour in English, which I found immensely imformative. Her work there was obviously allowed, as we joined her group right next to the entrance booth. There was no fixed fee; she asked for donations (and I grossly underpaid because I badly miscalculated the franc-dollar conversion on my first day in France).

It was a bright overcast day and though the colors weren't the most vivid, the light was diffused evenly through the chapel, and it was beautiful. On a sunny day with bright light coming from one side, there may be one side you can't see very well. Either way, it is not to be missed. Just try to avoid going on a dark overcast day.

We went to Musee Nissom De Camondo,March 2005, right by Parc Monceau. Wow, this will be a musee I will be back to. It really is a timepiece. Too much to go into detail. The musee itself was a residence at one time of jewish banking family. They ended up perishing at Auschwitz. But the house is intact how they left it. It was built as a replica of Petite Trianon at Versailles.Beautiful artwork, furnishings, china, just a very stunning gem of a musee, and definitely haunting because of the story.

Hmmm...this choice about museums is getting harder and harder to make. We'll have to play it by ear...

Thank you, Everyone!

I enjoyed the Nissim de Camondo! cannot speak for the J-A as I have not been there yet.

Betty, have you looked at any websites yet? They might give you a better insight about which museum you will enjoy more. Marcy and I visited the Nissim de Camondo when we were there in January, and we both thought it was marvelous. We were touched by the tragic stories of the family who lived in the house. The house is exactly as they left it, so it's not a museum in the sense of having exhibits and display boxes. It is their <i>home</i>, left for posterity. The audio phones that visitors borrow flesh out all the details of their lives. The parc Monceau is very beautiful and well worth your strolling through, if that's the museum you choose to visit.

I think the reason that the Nissim de Camondo feels more personal is that it's still set up primarily as a home rather than a home turned into a museum. For me, the Jacquemart-Andr&eacute; feels more like a museum, even though it too was once a home. Now it's primarily an art gallery.

I visited the Ste Chapelle times (including once during the summer, around noon) and there never was a huge crowd.

Though always recommanded on this board, I'm not convinced it's very well known by the &quot;average tourists&quot; (or even average parisians, for that matter).

Nissim de Camondo has an emotional impact because we know they were all killed during WWII, and in the worst way.Very much of XVIIITH century artifacts , it's an hotel particulier , so it's a small building and a big house as well.Few visitors , so you'll feel &quot;at home&quot;!
The Jacquemart-Andre is another story , bigger (but not big!) , very rich as well , but the couple(Nelly Jacquemart and husband mr.Andr&eacutewere collectioners , they saw and bought pieces from another point of view.
If you plan your visit on a Sunday , then go to the J-A , because they have this very cute old fashioned brunch for 30euros per person , very fresh , and the ceiling is by Tiepolo , you don't have that everywhere in Paris ! (on Sundays only , opens at 10:30am , be there early , at 10:10 , brunch first then visit , or be prepared to wait in line for quite a while , as they don't take reservations!