Paris Art Museums
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One of the best tourist attractions in Paris is the museums. As an old city with rich culture, tradition, and history to date, Paris is home to numerous best art museums in the world.
The most famous one is the Louvre whose popularity has been even rocketing more since the booming of The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. The iconic museum has been featured in many novels, short stories, and movies which soar its name throughout the world.
However, we can assure you that there are still plenty no less extraordinary museums to visit in Paris. From a museum dedicated to the cubism master Pablo Picasso to the most notable French impressionist Claude Monet, Paris is ready to give you one of your best traveling experiences.
Musée du Louvre
The world knows Paris Art Museums, Musée du Louvre better as “The Louvre.” Marked by its famous pyramid entrance, the Louvre is recorded as the most visited museum in the world. It is so famous that two satellite museums are built to relieve its visitor burden. One is in Lens, France and the other is miles away in Abu Dhabi.
Louvre museum is house to more than 380,000 art objects and 35,000 art works. Its collection spans from Egyptian antiquities to Islamic arts of new era. There are more than 6,000 painting works that not all displayed due to paper fragility. However, you won’t definitely miss the chance to see several world’s most famous paintings such as Mona Lisa, Madonna of the Rocks, and Caravaggio’s Death of the Virgin.
Address : Musée du Louvre, 75058 Paris - France
Métro : Palais-Royal Musée du Louvre (lines 1 and 7)
Tel. : +33 (0)1 40 20 53 17
Open : Every day (except Tuesday) from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m
Night opening until 9:45 p.m. on Wednesdays and Fridays
Closed on January 1, May 1, and December 25
Musée d’Orsay
One interesting thing about Paris Art Museums, Musée d’Orsay is that it uses an old station building, Gare d’Orsay, which was built as a part of the Exposition Universelle celebration in 1900. Designed by Émile Bénar, Lucien Magne, and Victor Laloux, the old station serves as a perfect building to house vast collection of impressionist and post-impressionist paintings.
Famous paintings exhibited in Musée d’Orsay including Alexandre Cabanel’s The Birth of Venus, Monet’s The Saint-Lazare Station, and Degas’ The Parade. There are also some sculpture works by Paul Gauguin, Auguste Rodin, and Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux.
Address : 62, rue de Lille
75343 Paris Cedex 07, France
Telephone : +33 (0)1 40 49 48 14
Metro 12 Solférino
RER : C Musée d’Orsay
Buses : 24, 63, 68, 69, 73, 83, 84, 94
Musée Picasso
Paris Art Museums, Musée Picasso houses around 3000 works of Picasso’s works and Picasso’s personal collection of other artists such as Degas, Cezanne, Matisse, Seurat, and de Chirico. The museum’s presentation is interesting as each room is dedicated for one theme differs from the other.
Musée Picasso is now under renovation until 2013. So, unfortunately if you plan to visit Paris in near future, you won’t be able to get into the museum. During the renovation, its collection is going in a world tour from Madrid to Toronto.
Address : 5 rue de Thorigny, 75003 Paris, France
Telephone : +33 01 42 71 25 21
Fax : 01 48 04 75 46
Bus : 29, 69, 75, 96
RER : Châtelet - Les Halles
Metro : Saint-Paul
Musée Marmottan-Claude Monet
Taking place in a former hunting lodge, Musée Marmottan is currently the museum that has the biggest Monet collection, all thanks to Michael Monet, the painter’s second son who donated all of his collection to the museum. This is also the reason why Claude Monet’s name is attached behind the museum that was initially formed by Jules and Paul Marmottan’s collection.
Address : 2 Rue Louis Boilly 750-16 Paris, France
Telephone : +33 01 44 96 50 33
Opening hours: Daily, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. Tuesdays until 8 p.m. Closed on Mondays, January 1st, May 1st, and December 25th
Musée de l’Orangerie
Paris Art Museums, Musée de l’Orangerie The former orangery is now famous with Monet’s Water Lilies series. Although small and only houses 144 paintings from the 19th century, the museum is a good example of how good things come in small packages.
The museum was originally built by Firmin Bourgeois in 1852. However, he failed to see through the construction until finish and succeeded by Ludovico Visconti, who continued building the orange trees’ shelters in the garden of Tuileries.
Address : Jardin des Tuileries, 75001 Paris, France
Telephone : +33 01 44 77 80 07
Musée Jacquemart-André
Paris Art Museums, Musée Jacquemart-André was established by Edouard André and Nélie Jacquemart. Edouard André was the heir of a wealthy family which allowed him to acquire a great collection of artworks. In 1912, his wife, Jacquemart bequeathed his mansion with all the works of art inside to Institute de France which turned the mansion into Musée Jacquemart-André.
Address : 158, bd Haussmann
75008 Paris
Tél. : 01 45 62 11 59
Fax : 01 45 62 16 36
Open : From 10.00 am to 6.00 pm.
Late night opening on Mondays and Saturdays until 9 pm during exhibitions.
Full rate : 11 €
Reduced rate : 9,5 €
Audio guide : exhibition: € 3 / permanent collections: free
