What is your favourite museum in Paris, and Why?
 

Just wanting to hear some opinions before making choices of a limited amount of museum-going I can do while in Paris. <BR>Thanks

What a difficult choice! I personally wouldn't miss the Louvre, Musee d'Orsay, <BR>and the Rodin Museum. You will see a diverse amount of art and sculpture among the three. <BR>There are so many choices, it is difficult to narrow your list. I always enjoy a museum of decorative arts, and search out the smaller regional museums as well. It depends on what your experiences have been and interests are. <BR>Perhaps you may wish to share with us how many days you plan for museums and you might get more responses. <BR>Best wishes for a wonderful trip! <BR>Gloria <BR>

I loved all the museums I saw in Paris, but my favourite was Musee de Cluny. Set in a lovely building that was formerly Roman baths then a mediaeval monastery, it has room after room of glorious mediaeval objects. I particularly love the tapestries, Lady of the Unicorns and the stone heads from the early Notre Dame.

Gloria : <BR> <BR>Just wondering...If you like decorative art, did you visit the museum of decorative arts in Paris? There's some wonderful furnitures, tapestries, chinas, enamels, etc... there. <BR> <BR>It's situated in the same building than the Louvre, but it's a separate museum with a separate entrance, rue de Rivoli(there's also the museum of fashion at the same place, but I'm really not impressed by this one).

Amanda : <BR> <BR>It really depends on your tastes. I'd prefer to visit the museum of music than Orsay, for instance, but I'm sure very few people would agree. <BR> <BR>Anyway, here are my favourites : <BR> <BR>Louvre <BR>Cluny (medieval and renaissance art) <BR>Institut du monde arabe (middle east and north africa) <BR>Musee des arts decoratifs (decorative arts) <BR>Musee de la musique (old instruments and samples of their music) <BR>Musee des arts africains et oceaniens (Africa and pacific) <BR>Musee Guimet (Asia, just reopened) <BR>Musee des arts et traditions populaires <BR>(popular arts and customs : old tools, costumes and furnitures,displays of house interiors from different regions etc...) <BR> <BR>It's not a museum, but I can't help : the Sainte Chapelle. <BR> <BR>Sorry..I couldn't make a shorter list. <BR> <BR> <BR>

The biggies, d'Orsay and Louvre, can't be missed. For artists: Rodin, Marmottan, Picasso (Delacroix, too, if you're into all that gore). For absolute peace: Balzac house. For cool stuff: Jacquemart and Cognac-Jay. <BR> <BR>The fashion museum (part of the Louvre) if you're into clothes, or are a stitcher.

This is a tough choice, there are so many wonderful museums in Paris! I guess my first choice would be the Jacquemart Andre for it's fine paintings and furniture and for the mansion itself. I love museums that once were someone's home - it gives a glimpse into what Parisian life was like for the well heeled collector. They are not as exhausting or intimidating to visit as the Louvre. Others that fit this category are the Marmottan for some stunning Monets and incredibly beautiful medieval illuminated manuscripts. The Nissim de Camondo has beautiful furnishings and the Rodin has wonderful gardens. I always leave these museums feeling refreshed instead of wrung out. I never have to wait for other viewers to move away before I can study a painting. And I have an easier time bringing the Paris of the past back to life.

In order of preference: <BR> <BR>D'Orsay <BR>Carnavalet <BR>Marmottan <BR>Louvre <BR>Pomdidou

If I have to pick place that says <BR>"Museum" on the sign, then I would say the Musee d'Orsay, particularly if you like art of the impressionist era. <BR>If I had to pick one place of rare beauty, one that can be at times transcendent, I would pick Ste. Chapelle. <BR> <BR>We went there during the day for the first visit, and then returned for a concert. It was twilight, but enough of the sun was striking those incredible stained glass walls to cause them to take on a surreal glow. Combined with the acoustics and the music itself, it was a very moving experience. <BR>Intellectually, I marvelled at the fact that the structure itself was so well designed and built that the glass has been damaged only from storms. It has not been cracked by the shifting of the building itself, <BR> <BR>I would add the Louvre to the list, but it is really many museums behind one entrance. Given the huge size of the place, one limited visit would not do it justice. Unless you know of a specific section of the museum you want to visit, I would leave it until my next trip. <BR>

I also agree that you should save the Louvre for a subsequent visit to Paris. <BR> <BR>For my money, it's the Musee d'Orsay and the Rodin Museum. Both are smaller more manageable sized museums. The d'Orsay has many of those wonderful impressionistic painters that we associate with Paris. And architecturally, the building itself is quite interesting. <BR> <BR>The Rodin Museum besides having an excellent collection of his sculptures & other works used to be Rodin's home and consequently is also an interesting architectural work as well --- lovely gardens out back, and of course the well known "Thinker" in the front garden area.

1. Musee Rodin - I love Rodin's work, it is small and manageable, and it is very pleasant to visit because part is situated in gardens outdoors. <BR> <BR>2. Musee d'Orsay - The art is spectacular, and it is much smaller than the Louvre. <BR> <BR>I think the Louvre is the best art museum period, unless you are particularly a modern or impressionist afficionado, but it is not the most pleasant to visit.

Tough choice. I like the Louvre b/c I hear it is a good place for sprinting and skateboarding. Seriously, though, the Rodin in the spring is a nice visit. However, it probably ranks below Louvre and the d'Orsay

If, like me, you're a major fan of European art from the first half of the twentieth century, you must not miss the Musee d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris at the Palais de Tokyo (the City Museum of Modern Art). The museum is directly across the Seine from the Eiffel Tower in a building built for the world's fair in the 1930s. It houses Raul Dufy's "La Fee Electricitee" (The Good Fairy Electricity), which was painted for that expo and takes up a whole room, and the permanent collection is absolutely dynamite--almost beats out New York MoMA's in my mind. I also love the Musee Rodin for reasons already mentioned above, and though I'm not really a fan of impressionism, I think the Musee d'Orsay is well worth your time; the setting is spectacular, the sculpture is great, and there's some really nice painting even for non-impressionist fans.

The city is a feast, period. My vote goes to the Orsay, though, because I'm a big fan of what's called "adaptive re-use," i.e., changing a building's use through renovation. The Orsay is IMO the best example of this in the world. While the art collection is of course superb (the floor of impressionist paintings simply takes your breath away,) I think the building itself is one of the best things on display. <BR> <BR>Americans can see great train station adaptations in several cities, like St. Louis, and recently Tacoma. But the Orsay sets the standard.

L'Orangerie

<BR>Halas, sam, l'Orangerie is still closed,I believe...

Claire, hello, <BR> <BR>Yes, I have been fortunate to visit the museum of decorative arts in Paris. It was lovely. Thanks for the reminder. <BR> <BR>I had not thought about the Musee de Cluny in some time as well. That was a special museum, also. <BR> <BR>I think it is time for a return visit to one of my favorite cities! <BR> <BR>Thanks! <BR>Gloria

I was in Paris 2 weeks ago and heard that: <BR> <BR>- The D'Orsey was closed <BR>- The ? of Oriental Art (forgive me, can't remember the name, has been closed for 2 years and would be of interest to most - anyone remember the name?)

<BR>1)Orsay is open <BR> <BR>2)It's the musee Guimet <BR>

I love the Orsay and the Louvre; did not get a chance to get to the Rodin Museum on my previous trip but intend to go this time. <BR> <BR>But my favorite was also the Cluny (also known these days as the Musee du Moyen Age). It just felt like such a special little jewel, quiet, uncrowded, with the beautiful Lady and the Unicorn tapestries and amazing altars, jewels, and other treasures from the Middle Ages. I think it was my traveling companion's favorite, too, and our tastes were wildly divergent, so it says a lot that we both loved the Cluny!