Paris Museums and Galleries

Museums in Paris

Paris is very rich for its Museums and Galleries. There are more than 100 museums in the City. You can find museums and galleries of all type, however if you are visiting Paris for several days, you couldn’t see all of them. Here is the basic information about my favorite 5 museums.

The Louvre

The Louvre arguably is the world's most famous art museum. It was established in 1793, and is one of the oldest museums in Europe. Its collections spans from the birth of great civilizations up to the 19th century. The Louvre's most popular piece is Leonardo da Vinci's "Mona Lisa." Around 6 million tourists visit the museum each year. 

The Louvre was built by Philippe Auguste in 1204 and was originally the royal castle and later transformed by Charles V between 1364 and 1380 and was entirely rebuilt from the time of François I to the 19th century. Once upon a time a palace of French kings and princes, the Louvre is today the Palace of Arts and holds one of the richest museums in the world. Its collection, which ranges from Egyptian art of 5000 BC to nineteenth-century work, is divided into seven departments: Oriental and Islamic Antiquities; Egyptian Antiques; Greek, Roman and Etruscan Antiques; Painting; Sculpture; Decorative Arts; as well as Graphic Arts.

In 1981 President of the French Republic François Mitterrand initiated a rehabilitation project called Le Grand Louvre. The visible part of this iceberg like building-site, being the Glass Pyramid designed by famous architect Ieoh Ming Pei, opens the outstanding perspective toward the Grande Arche de la Défense with the Arc de Triomphe in the middle. The Pyramid gives now access to the main entrance, letting a delightful golden light filter through the glass surface illuminating the floor below.

This is one of the greatest art collections in the world. The core collection was formed by François Ist, and added to by Henri II and Catherine de Medicis. The Old Master collection was developed by Louis XIV and important Spanish and Dutch works acquired by Louis XVI. Most painting lovers come to view the exceptional collection of European paintings, which range from I400 to I900. The Grand Gallery running along the south of the building is a stupendous piece of design, which showed the world, what a picture gallery should look like. Pierced by large windows, its walls are hung with some of the finest works of the Italian Renaissance. On this level is also the Spanish collection and the large scale nineteenth-century French paintings. On the upper level artists from northern Europe are well represented, along with earlier paintings from the French school.

After spending around 2 hours, you can become acquainted with some of the most famous paintings in the world. For example, try to interpret the enigmatic smile of Leonardo Da Vinci's Mona Lisa, or admire the perfect proportions of the Venus of Milo (Sully wing). Michelangelo, Bellin, Donatello and Maillol are some of the great sculptors also represented here.

Fees

Permanent collections and temporary exhibitions (Richelieu, Sully and Denon) cost 7,50 euros from 9am to 3pm.; 5 euros after 3pm and all Sunday long. The ticket of entry to the museum also gives access to all the temporary exhibitions, except for the exhibitions of the Napoleon hall.

Temporary exhibitions of the hall Napoleon cost 7 euros; Ticket twinned 11,50 euros of 9pm to 3pm; 9,50 euros after 3pm and all Sunday long the twinned ticket gives access to the permanent collections and all the temporary exposures of the museum.

The ticket remains valid all the day, even if the visitor leaves the museum temporarily.

The Orsay Museum

The Orsay museum may not be the massive size of Louvre, but its Impressionist collection is among the best in the world. The museum is housed in a former rail station, and has the atmosphere and personality to match. The Musee d'Orsay attracts more than 2 million visitors annually. 

Built in the year 1900 by Victor Laloux, this train station was meant to service the Orleans line. Unfortunately, the line ceased because the platforms were not long enough. After being used for a variety of purposes, the whole building was entirely refitted inside and transformed into an art museum covering the period from 1850 to 1914, with an area of 50 000 m2.

The collection is made up mostly from the late works of the Louvre and the Impressionist paintings from the nearby museum Jeu de Paume. You can also find works from the mid-nineteenth century to the early twentieth, chronologically bridging the Louvre and the Pompidou Center.

Displayed on the ground floor, are earlier works devoted to sculpture with Dance. The hall has two rows of smaller rooms, which are filled with works, by Daumier, Millet, Rousseau, Corot and peasant paintings.

In the last room, you can find such works by Courbet. And if you like Monet, there is a room dedicated to him. Other artists are present such as Bazille, Delacroix, Puvis de Chavanne, Degas and Gustave Moreau.

And if you are a fan of Oriental Art, you will enjoy the ingeniously designed gallery.

On the second floor you can see such popular art of the nineteenth century and rooms with furniture and decoration by well-respected "fin-de-siecle painters" (Monet, Pissaro, Renoir, Degas, Sisley and Van Gogh, Cezanne, Gauguin and Toulouse-Lautrec). The building is extremely large and much works have been taken out of reserve stock to fill out the displays. It is advised to start on the ground level with the Impressionist painters and then take the escalators to the upper floor to see the Impressionists and their successors.

Fees

Full fare: 7 euros. Sundays: 5 euros.

Free the first Sunday of each month; free below 18 years old.

Center Pompidou

Not far from Les Halles, the funky and hip Centre Pompidou or better known as the Pompidou Center features a wonderful collection of modern art within its creatively designed building. It also features a cinema, concerts and children's activities. The Pompidou Center attracts 5.5 million visitors annually.

The Pompidou Center is divided into five floors: temporary exhibitions in the Grande Galerie on the fifth floor; museum of Modern Art from 1905 to present time on third and fourth floors. The huge public library covers three floors with books, videodiscs, microfilms, and videos... A movie-theater celebrating the 7th art with festivals according to special themes on 1st floor.

Don't leave before taking a ride on the escalators. As you go up, you will discover Paris as a horizontal skyline appears: the Sacré-Coeur, St-Eustache, the Eiffel Tower, Notre-Dame, the Panthéon, the Tour St-Jacques, and La Défense. From the platform at the top you can look down on the château-style chimneys of the Hôtel de Ville, with their flowerpot offspring sprouting over the lower rooftops. Designed for 6000 visitors a day, it has had more like 25,000 - proof of its outstanding success as an enduringly popular building. 

Fees

One day in Center: 10 euros; Reduced tariff: 8 euros.

Valid Ticket the very same day for all the exposures in progress.

The Museum and the Workshop Brancusi Exhibitions: 8,50 euros or 6,50 euros; 

Reduced tariff: 6,50 euros or 4,50 euros.

Picasso Museum 

The Picasso museum is housed in one of the nicest mansions of the Marais district in Paris built in the XVIIth century for Pierre Aubert Lord of Fontenay. Devoted solely to the artist, the museum provides a unique opportunity to follow Picasso's development throughout his career, from 1894 to 1972.

The collection was started by works the French State received in payment of death duties after Picasso passed away in 1973, then in 1990, after the death of his widow.

However, you will find that there is few paintings for the French state which did not invest as did the Swiss, American and Soviet avant-garde collectors. It comprises more than 250 paintings, 160 sculptures, 1500 drawings, his entire engraving works, ceramics etc. Contrary to the painting collection, the sculptures are unique, and contain everything of note made by Picasso including The Goal and the Bull 's Head - a cast bronze piece combining a bicycle saddle beneath a handle bar. And most interesting is Picasso's own art collection, which includes primitive Nimba masks from New Guinea, Grebo masks, Iberian bronzes, sketches by Giorgio de Chirico and Degas, and paintings by Corot, Cezanne, Chardin, Renoir, Matisse, and others. Not to miss the paintings of his family and wives which are very touching and most endearing. Throughout the chronological sequence, the photographs are vital in showing this charismatic man seen at work and at play by friends and family.

During the 1930's, during the Spanish Civil War, when Picasso was going through his worst personal and political crises, you will discover such portraits like Dora Maar and that of Marie-Therese. These events played an important role in Picasso's style. A decade later, Picasso was a member of the Communist Party - his cards are on show along with a drawing entitied Staline à la Santé (Here's to Stalin), and his delegate credentials for the 1948 World Bongress of Peace. The Massacre en Coree (1951) demonstrates the lasting pacifist commitment in his work.

Fees

Adults : 5,50 euros; 18-25: 4 euros; free below 18 years old.

Museum of Modern Art

The Museum of Modern Art is well worth visiting for its selection of the major art movements of the twentieth century. Built for the World Fair in 1937, this building has two parts that are linked by a white stone portico. The Musée d'Art Moderne was also named the Palais de Tokyo.

The museum is well worth visiting for its selection of the major art movements of the twentieth century. You can find well-known artists such as Vlaminck, Zadkine, Picasso, Braque, Juan Gris, Valadon, Matisse, Dufy, Utrillo, Delaunays, Chagall, Modigliani, Léger and many others, as well as by sculpture and painting by contemporary artists. Among the most spectacular works on permanent show are Roben and Sonia Delaunay's huge whirling wheels and cogs of rainbow color the pale leaping figures of Matisse's La Danse and Dufy's enormous mural, La Fée Electricité, illustrating the story of electricity from Aristotle to the then modern power station, in 250 lyrical, colorful panels filling three entire walls is considered like one of the biggest interior paintings. The upper floors of the gallery are reserved for all sorts of contemporary and experimental work, including music and photography.

In the bookshop are a number of artists' designs, among them a set of Sonia Delaunay's playing cards, guaranteed to rejuvenate the most jaded cardsharp.

Fees

Adults: 9 euros; Reduced tariff: from 4.5 euros to 7 euros; free below 14 years old.