Why You Should Visit the Museé d’Orsay ASAP

When visiting Paris, many know to aim for the world-famous Lourve museum for their art education. But hidden in the City of Lights, on the banks of the Seine, lives another museum well worth your time and attention that houses the largest collection of impressionist and post-impressionist work in the world. Here are some reasons why the Museé d’Orsay should be added to your top list of things to see not only in Paris but also in the world.

1. It’s in a Train Station! The land where the museum was originally the part of a garden for royalty and then transitioned into mansions, barracks, and even the house of the State council. In 1900, it opened as a train station where it served as the head of the southwestern French railroad network. As trains grew the station eventually became too small for the modern train system. Back then it was used as a drop-off for prisoners, a set for several films, and a hotel. The building was almost destroyed for a modern hotel complex but was saved by the exceptional 19th-century architecture it features. In 1977, it was officially decided to turn it into a museum and in 1978, it was classified as a historical monument. The museum is designed with terraces to overlook the central area where trains used to come through and now houses are exhibited. It also still has the giant clock inside the museum that you can look out through over the beautiful city of Paris!

2. It features impressionist paintings. The Museé d’Orsay actually has the largest collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist masterpieces in the world. Paintings, sculptures, photography, and graphic arts collections all live in the museum. Works by Monet, Manet, Degas, Renoir, and Cezanne are all on display in their exhibits. Impressionist works focus on capturing life’s fleeting moments and their colors and walking around this museum really gives you a glance at the beautiful small moments in life; giving a great appreciation for the little moments.

3. You can actually navigate it! Unlike the massive and confusing Lourve, the Museé d’Orsay is fairly simple to get around. It has 12 elevators and 10 escalators and signages that help visitors. While the Lourve is beautiful and it features a larger collection of art as a whole, it’s incredibly easy to get trapped and lost!

4. Van Gogh is spotlighted. On top of Monet and Cezanne’s works, the museum spotlights another famous painter. The museum houses over 25 of Van Gogh’s works. One of his most famous paintings, Starry Night over the Rhine is part of the museum’s permanent collections and he has an entire exhibit dedicated to his works which also educates visitors on his life.

Paris is full of many wonderful and historical works of art but the Museé d’Orsay truly brings a partnership of beautiful art, gorgeous architecture, and an appreciation of life that is unfound almost anywhere else in the world. It is well worth a trip when visiting the city of love!

Sources Used:

Cuttle, J. (2018, September 6). This Museum Has Just Been Named the Best in the World. Culture Trip. https://theculturetrip.com/europe/france/paris/articles/the-musee-dorsay-is-officially-the-best-museum-in-the-world/.