Paris II
Another “must do” while you are in Paris is exploring all of the famous and historical art in the many different museums they have there. A great and affordable way to do this is by purchasing the Paris Museum Pass. We purchased ours ahead of time at the airport which is also where you can exchange your currency for euro.
The first one we went to while we there is probably the one the city is most well known for, The Louvre.
The Louvre is so enormous it would probably take at least a week to cover the entire thing. I am not a big art buff and neither is Brandon so we only stopped by a few of the more popular things to see while we were there.
Yep, we look like tourists.
The large pyramid-shaped window in the front serves as the main entrance and exit.
Once you are inside, you can see intricate artistic expanding all the way to the ceilings.
The walls are filled with classical art that has been collected from all over the world.
Including the well-known Mona Lisa.
It is strikingly small in person and is roped off so that you can only get within about 5 feet of it.
They also had a section on Egyptian Antiquities which Brandon was very interested in since he is dying to visit Egypt. He took a ton of pictures here but don’t worry, I narrowed it down to a few. ;)
The best part is that when you are finished you can relax across the street at one of the bistros and enjoy a glass of refreshing white wine.
Another notable museum worth seeing while in Paris is Musée d’ Orsay.
This museum is not quite as large as the Louvre but it still houses some incredible art.
There is a large collection of sculptures here which I personally love to look at.
This one in particular blew me away. (Excuse the ta-tas)
I couldn’t get over the dress and the veil that were made from marble. How amazing is the detail in the draping? (Listen to me, I sound like a judge on Project Runway…)
It was beautiful.
They also had a few paintings from the one and only, Vincent van Gough.
Brandon tried to imitate him by posing but was facing the wrong way.
I forgot to tell him to look the other way. Whoops…
They also had the original Starry Night which was painted in 1888. It’s still in pretty good shape for its age!
Time is of the essence since there is so much to see and do.
On to the next museum!
Musée Pompidou is where you can find some of the modern art in Paris and was named after a former French president.
On the outside, it kind of looked like a hamster cage to me.
We were there in the summer of 2009, not too long after President Obama was elected, and we saw a good deal of Obama supporters including this artist in front of Pompidou.
The week we were in Paris was also when Michael Jackson had passed away so his music was playing all over the city. It was amazing to see how widespread the love was for him. I’ll never forget people dancing in front of the Eiffel Tower to his music on the day he died.
I don’t have any pictures of the art inside Pompidou because photography was prohibited but I can tell you there was some seriously disturbing art in this museum. Some of it was pretty cool, but most of it just left me with a weird feeling.
To get back in a romantic mood, let’s go to my favorite museum of them all, Musée Rodin. This was the final museum we went to but it was, in my opinion, the best. I personally love sculptures and Rodin created some of the most enchanting pieces I have ever seen.
Most of the art is kept inside a house that was once Rodin’s home which he had later donated to the city.
Inside, there are many of his lovely sculptures to see.
And outside is a gorgeous garden full of even more of his famous work.
Including the well-known “Thinking Man”.
The garden here is so pretty and peaceful, it is definitely worth the stop while you are in Paris!
Do you like art and if so, what is your favorite kind?
I loved seeing these pictures. It brought back wonderful memories for me. The Lovre Museum was the home of Louis XIV until he got sick of the city and wanted a country house instead and so built Versailles palace where the last king of France Louis XVI and Marie Antionette lived
Also the Musee D’Orsay was a railroad station before they converted it into museum.
The French do not like to destroy antiquity.
It is obvious they like to preserve things there with all the history in everything you see throughout the city. I did not know that about King Louis XIV, thanks for sharing! :)
Great you have fun on your vacation. Thanks for sharing all the pictures and memories from your trip to Paris. I haven’t been there yet so your post is sort of a warm up before I will have an opportunity to see that place in person. My husband visited Paris during his Europe trip with his friends but that was before we met. I told him once that it does not count because he was there without me :)
I will certainly visit Parisian museums because I am an art enthusiast, especially paintings (I used to paint in the past and recently I promised myself to start again).
He will have to take you back, for sure! You will especially love it being that you were once an artist. You should start again!