We arrived at Musée d'Orsay without a pre bought ticket…read more The line wasn't that long so we decided to stay. We were inching along, and then suddenly the line moved really fast, they were letting people enter faster. We spent over 10 minutes and we were in. This museum is smaller than the Louvre, and has many floors and seems harder to navigate, so I just let my son take the lead and I followed. We took our time admiring the paintings: Monet, Lautrec, Van Gogh, Degas....some people are going with the flow, but some took too much time posing with the paintings, maybe thinking it's their personal studio .... We really like this museum. The time we went, there is a special exhibit dedicated to Renoir.

Stunning. One of the most beautiful museums I've been to in the world. It is an absolutely must see…read moreif you're in Paris. The space itself pulls you in, and it's easy to spend hours here without realizing it. I got lost in the beauty of the paintings here many times. Although the Louvre Museum is #1 and the most iconic, Musée d'Orsay is absolutely worth seeing and holds its own. It's in my opinion the #2 must see museum in Paris. Le Restaurant du Musée d'Orsay inside is also worth a stop on it's own, beautiful setting with high quality desserts and coffee.

Surprised this doesn't get more tourists! We went on weekday and it was quiet and seemed to be more…read morelocal visitors. Though to be fair, it's out of the way so hard to get to and we had to get an Uber which had little trouble making way to entrance. However, lots of interesting displays, history and planes that you can actually explore. Great place for kids to run around and push buttons, which if on holiday and you've done loads of art museums, and kids are itching for some interactive exhibits, this is the place.

This place... is great. Well, if you like planes. Otherwise you might be a bit bored…read more.. It's a bit hard to get to, for a foreigner. It's at an airport, but not one you'd fly into. So there's a train and then a bus, and hope you get off at the right stop (the bus driver and passengers were helpful.) The museum is huge, with many indoor and some outdoor exhibits. A small side area has hundreds of scale models. Admission is free unless you're interested in the simulator, a kids' activity area, etc. Lots of English captions. There is an early flight gallery, focused, unsurprisingly, on French efforts. A reproduction of the Voisin factory is surrounded by many original and replica early aircraft. A catwalk provides unusual views on the collection. Moving on, there is a World War I gallery, chock-full of info and planes. The between-the-wars gallery was being renovated while I was there. The prototype gallery was perhaps the highpoint for me; not all prototypes, some planes that were in service, but definitely some unusual prototypes. There is a nice WW2 building, a helicopter gallery stuffed with blades, a multi-level space gallery, and a building holding 2 Concordes. Yes, two. Plus a Mirage IV, which isn't small itself. You can tour the Concordes (again, extra, and I'll save you the trouble: it looks like a really skinny airliner inside.) Outside there are a couple of Ariane rockets, a few maritime patrol planes, a Canadair water bomber, some Jaguars and Etendards, assorted Mirage prototypes, a Rafale, and a surprise: several Saabs. There's a 747 you can tour (extra, again,) and a few other airliners. I wandered around with, I'm sure, a huge grin on my face. I'd go back in a heartbeat.

Wow, what a museum. There's is so much to see. I would love to return one day because I didn't have…read moreall the time to take everything in. I was there for a good 3+hours. There are sections where the painting takes up the entire wall. Not a mural, but a full painting with an entire scene and details for days. Look up, and you'll see more art. Some art pieces are so large, you can only properly view it from afar. The ceilings are also beautiful. It's all so impressive. I opted for a timed ticket entry booking for 9am and didn't wait in line for very long. I'd say about 30minutes before it got moving. I was in the earlier crowd, close to the pyramid and can see the security area. Security was swift, but I packed lightly. Of course after using the bathroom and grabbing my audio guide I bee-lined right for the Mona Lisa, knowing it was the most popular painting there. I was able to get right up to the barrier pretty peacefully within 5 minutes of waiting. I heard someone say "well this is quite pleasant" lol. I was surprised too! So definitely get there early because when I returned to this spot later, closer to noon, boy was it packed with tourists groups and people rushing in to try for a good view. I definitely noticed that keeping calm also keeps everyone else around you calm, so don't go running because that might trigger everyone else to run and that's how chaos ensues. Don't push. You've got time, just wait your turn. My friends opted to go on a third party tour and I don't think they were able to get up to the barrier, but they prioritized the in-person guided experience more than anything, so just keep this in mind if you're deciding whether to opt to go on your own or with a group. Everything had English captions which was helpful. Underground, where the exit is, there are tons of shops. The museum's souvenir shop is quite nice, with cute collaborations. We passed by tons of other cute shops like Pop Mart and Le Petit Souk where I grabbed some cute postcards, and my friend grabbed some flats from VIVAIA. It's a whole mall down there called Carrousel du Louvre. Keep this in mind if you somehow still have energy for it after walking a million steps at the museum lol.

Ok. I am going to be a little negative here. I know The Louvre is the most popular museum in the…read moreworld. So why am I giving a 3? I visited it last week and purchased my advance reservation ticket weeks before for last Thursday at 9 am. Taking the Metro there was easy and I arrived in the center by the glass pyramid at about 8:40 am. By then there were several hundred people already standing in the 9 am line. By 9 am there were several hundred more people behind me. I estimated about 1500 people were in my 9 am line. As we started to move towards security there were people already in the 9:30 am line and even some in the 10 am line. The crowds here are for real. It was almost 9:30 am by the time I got past security and inside ready to start, First problem. There are just too many people admitted every day. I found it distracting to look and admire all of the works of art in there. It's like going to a college football game. The Louvre reminded me of the second most popular museum which is The Vatican Museums in Rome. I've been there too. Second problem. Even some if the docents agreed with me that their map is confusing, I know that because I got lost a few times and asked them for directions, One of them told me that it's better to ask a docent for directions than try to figure where you are using the map! By the way you get your map in your language right after you pass security. This place is big. It's very easy to miss things you might want to see if you aren't careful. Now, I have a tip for improvement. When I visited The Vatican Museums a couple of years ago, I took a guided tour which made the visit pleasurable and less stressful, I failed to do that here. My mistake. If I had I might have a better perspective of this place. The guides don't get lost and also point out things that I might have missed. This is a great museum with high quality art and history inside. It's silly that hundreds of people will jostle to get Mona Lisa's picture but you will too like I did. Ditto on the Venus de Milo and Winged Victory. Don't forget afterward to visit the exterior of the Louvre including the nearby Gardens.

Went to visit the Calder retrospective. It's always a nice place to escape to from the hoards of…read moretourist in Paris, but then you get the hoards of tourist at the park. The Calder show was nice, but some pieces were hard to appreciate due to the way they were being displayed. Really enjoyed Calder's painting.

When Bernard Arnault visited the Guggenheim in Bilbao he said "I want one," and when you're that…read morewealthy and influential it is generally pretty easy to get what you want - in this case a €790 million building from Frank Gehry originally budgeted at just €100. Opened in 2014 at the center of a sizeable park this is truly a masterpiece, even for Gehry, with thousands of individually sized glass plates over a metal framework meant to suggest a sailboat. Visited during an exhibit, or during off days for the building VR tour, tickets are easy to purchase online and worth the cost.

Orangerie Museum, Paris, France -- April 12…read more Our family of four with kids ages 9 and 10 visited after a morning at the Louvre, looking for a more relaxed museum experience. It ended up being one of the most enjoyable stops of the trip. Arrival and First Impressions The museum is smaller and much calmer than the Louvre, which made it an easy transition after a busy morning. The space is bright with beautiful natural light and a peaceful atmosphere. We arrived without reservations, and it took about 45 minutes to enter the museum. The Highlights Monet's water lilies are the centerpiece and absolutely worth the visit. The scale, color, and immersive layout of the rooms make it a unique experience. We also enjoyed seeing works by artists like Matisse and Renoir. The park outside was a great bonus and gave the kids space to run around afterward. The Challenges We waited about 45 minutes to get in without reservations, which could have been avoided with advance tickets. Final Thoughts This museum was my personal favorite and a place we would absolutely visit again. It is a great option for families or anyone looking for a more manageable and peaceful museum experience. It is definitely worth it, especially if you plan ahead

I'm honestly surprised I did not go to this museum when visiting Paris in the past, as it has a…read morebeautiful installation of Claude Monet's Water Lillies. Book tickets directly from the museum website, otherwise you may pay more. Times entries are available. Get there early to avoid the crowds as the galleries are small. The two oval rooms of Monet paintings are the highlight here. Designed by the painter himself, they are meant to be observed in silence, but that is not what we experienced while there. Eat before you visit. The cafe food and drink was unfortunately some of the worst I've experienced in a museum.This museum is in the Tuileries Garden with a large wall around the area. Nice views of the Eiffel Tour and seating overlooking the river is available nearby.

This was worth the visit for some quirky and amazing folk art. There is an exhibit in a dark room…read morethat had so many fabulous pieces of art, that I thought we had seen the whole museum. But wait! Up some windy stairs is a sunlit room with about the same amount of art. Some things were creepy, some were a level of obsessive detail that required long minutes of marveling, and some were inspiring. 2 hours is a sufficient visit, and you will want to reserve time to peruse the bookstore and get a snack, lunch, or beverage at the café. The museum is in the garment district, and the art may inspire you to pick up some fabric to make a collage.

A stunning cyclorama with two feature exhibits, a bright and airy bookstore, and a crazy busy cafe…read morefor an accessible 9€. We popped in for the Jeunet/Caro exhibit, because when in Paris, you Amélie. The design of the exhibit space is in a wagon wheel, with fixtures from the duos filmography segmented by "pie piece." An intriguing blend of movie props, original script notes, stills and videography paint a brilliant behind-the-scenes for The City of Lost Children, Delicatessen, MicMacs, Alien: Resurrection and more. A floor up, sunlight floods a year-long showcase residency called Turbulence in the Balkans, featuring Eastern European works but unfortunately, no brass bands. Sad dance party loss. Anyhoodle, the space open, well-designed and easy to get through in an hour or so. If the exhibits catch your fancy, pop in for an afternoon delight.

Lovely little museum of Monet's art. We stopped by after visiting Monet's house & gardens. We…read moreenjoyed reading about his life and works and seeing his paintings. We spent around 30min-45min.

Free entry to the museum was all we needed to hear! After a wonderful few hours at Monet's…read moregardens, we saw the sign welcoming visitors so we went inside 3 rooms of widely spaced artworks & this exhibition was covering comparisons of Monet and Rothko. Never would have thought to compare the two but it worked! Lots of benches to sit & gaze at the masters & contemplate their works We were fans!

It was so cool to visit the little town of Auvers-sur-Oise where Vincent Van Gogh spent the final,…read moreyet very productive, 70 days of his life before his suicide death at age 37. We stood at the very spots where he painted some wheat fields, where he painted the town city hall, and where he painted the local church. We saw the inn where he rented a room for those final days. Visiting here definitely gives you a sense of connection with one of the world's greatest painters. He painted what he felt from the scene in front of him and the style of his 2100 paintings was ahead of his time as he never achieved any fame until well after his death. It's well worth a visit!

So I realize that some of the things I do only appeal to a certain demo…read more..... Some people are going to appreciate this more than other and some are going to ask why I would drive an hour plus through Paris traffic to get to Auvers-sur-Oise? The answer is that I'm a damn Van Gogh nerd..... The Van Gogh traveling experience is great but nothing.....nothing compares to standing in front of the real thing. I didn't think it could get much better than being at Orsay and admiring Starry Night over the Rhône. Or being at MOM and seeing The Starry Night (Arles) Yea, I was wrong. Being at Auvers-sur-Oise and walking in his footsteps is an experience all it's own. Visiting the house he rented the room he would eventually die in is a somber experience. The true highlight though is the Van Gogh walk..... Walk the same roads and fields, stop and look at the inspiration from some of his last and most recognizable paintings. The city has done a great job of marking the trail and setting up informational stations along the route. I cannot recommend this trip enough. I'll be back one day.....

First, please excuse any mispronunciation. We came across the Musse De La Grande Guerre by pure…read morechance. It was a very pleasant surprise. The museum is enormous. With artifacts starting pre-First World War to the following years after the conflict. The museum is very interpretative with uniforms, weapons, and equipment being worn by mannequins representing all of the nations involved in the conflict. There is even tanks, armament, planes, and various vehicles. I have highly recommended this museum to all friends, family, and anyone interested in the Great War.

This is place is a must see. It was not busy and had a much more personal feeling while visiting…read more Stopped many times and just took in the art. Come and enjoy the art. We had a Paris Museum Pass and this Museum was included.

Ok place to kill a little time between cafes and shipping in Les Marais…read more Some nice pieces were on exhibit. The building itself is nice to look at, though only the grand staircase remains unchanged.