Art o’clock. Classic and modern art. Not a visit possible in Paris without many croissants, Eiffel Tower views and at least one museum. What I learned about art and time is not a lot, but here it is – c’est ici – Traveling, reading books, never stop learning, speaking French, making time visiting museums, are all investments in myself – that help me see the bigger picture.
And there are around 130 museums in Paris, including all national museums and the 14 city of Paris Museums. I wrote down thoughts from my favorite museums from what I visited – classic Musée du Louvre, impressionist collection at Mussé d’Orsay, and contemporary Centre Pompidou with Atelier Brâncuși,
Art o’clock
First, Musée du Louvre is the largest art museum in the world and a classic. My visit included Italian Renaissance, da Vinci’s Mona Lisa and the Egyptian collection. I saw the museum inside only once during my first trip to Paris, as a student, but I almost always passed by to see Louvre Pyramid, a landmark of the city, even once together with my dad.
Louvre Museum is well located in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, on the Right bank of the Seine, and only in walking distance are Place Vendôme, Jardin du Palais Royal, Place de la Concorde and Jardin Du Tuileries.
Toujours une bonne idée.
La Seine from Pont Royal & Jardin Du Tuileries
Musée d’Orsay
Not far from Louvre, crossing one of the gorgeous bridges of Paris, peut être Pont Royal, or Pont du Carrousel, is my next stop, Musée d’Orsay, on the Left Bank of the Seine.
Musée d’Orsay has the largest number of famous paintings in the world — Monet, Manet, Cézanne, van Gogh and Renoir. If you enjoy Impressionist art, it’s definitely a must-see. But where to start? I started with the last 5th floor, where a massive clock window is facing the Seine because the museum was originally built as a train station, Gare d’Orsay.
Having time in mind, the beautiful building is a chronological journey from Impressionism and Post-Impressionism, to the ground floor with Rodin sculptures, Belgian Art Nouveau and a temporary exhibition dedicated to Gaudí architecture.
How grateful for this journey this June!
Danse à la Canpagne – Renoir,
Main Hall of the Museum
Infinity. La Colonne sans fin
Finalement, Centre national d’art et de culture Georges-Pompidou is located in one of the oldest neighborhoods of Paris, Le Marais, in the 4th arrondissement. Quick stop before at the covered street market Le marche des enfants rouges.
In contrast with the pretty traditional neighborhood, industrial postmodern looking Centre Pompidou or Musée d’Art Moderne is made of glass and steel. However, the museum is hosting modern and contemporary art, including the painting “La blouse roumaine” of Matisse, that started a movement in my home country to protect the traditional blouse.
Romanian sculptor Constantin Brâncuși lived in Paris from 1904 to 1957. The revisit last weekend to his atelier next to Centre Pompidou was perfect during a heatwave in Paris. There we can see a glimpse of his former studio that hosts many of his famous pieces – including my favorite one, smaller versions of “The Endless Column” or “La Colonne sans fin”.
To see far is one thing, going there is another
Constantin Brâncuși
Paris is one of the cities I felt a connection with when visiting. Been here many many times, I know the city so well, I feel so comfortable exploring, I know routes without checking a map and I love walking its streets. However, there is still a lot to see and explore, still so beautiful, so symmetric, indeed always a good idea.
And another very good idea is to book the tickets online well in advance for all these 3 museums, except for Atelier Brâncuși, that has free access every day except Tuesdays 🙂
Read also “From Brussels with Chocolate”
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