This museum has just reopened and it was stunning. A modern decor and a very small hallway led to an oval room with Monet's water lilies on all walls. The effect was spectacular! There are other works downstairs, but this is a relatively small museum. With your handy Museum Pass you wait in a separate, and much quicker, line. Don't miss this museum!

The Musee de l'Orangerie is a small museum located on the west end of the Tullerie Gardens. The setting of lush greenery and fountains is ideal for this type of museum since it is a very intimate place. The museum is tucked into a corner of the gardens and would be missed by those looking for a museum of the Louvre's size and magnitude. We actually enjoyed it much more than the Louvre because it is just the right size to appreciate the artwork within.

Our absolute favorite part was located downstairs in small rooms with curved walls. Monet's work was displayed here. This venue seemed to suit his pieces very well. When we walked into each room, we got a sense of the scale and beauty in nature depicted in his art. The paintings themselves were so large that they took up most of each room and gave the illusion of walking through gardens with flowers, ponds, and trees. We felt as if we were seeing the artist's own gardens through his eyes. Of all the art museums we visited in Paris, we enjoyed this one the most because we were able to experience each piece of artwork in an appropriate setting.

This is a small museum, but it is probably my favorite of all we visited in Paris. We had a little trouble finding it, and it didn’t help when one of my fellow travelers tried out his French by asking a woman on the street if she could show him the location of her underwear. It houses a great collection of impressionism including Claude Monet’s Grands Nympheas. There is a nice gift shop that is handicapped accessible. It, like most all others museums in the area, is closed on Mondays

The Orangerie is a very small museum of Impressionist paintings, including wonderful Renoirs & two huge, circular rooms completely covered w/ Monet's Nympheas (ie; Water Lilies). No flash photography is allowed, but the rooms are rather brightly lit. A must see for Monet & Renoir lovers.

This museum is not so popular with the American tourists, who are usually overwhelmed and sated with visits to the Louvre and the Musee d'Orsay. But fans of Monet will want to check out this smaller Impressionism museum that features many of the famous Nympeas paintings. You'll also find notable works by Manet, Renoir, Matisse and Cezanne at the Musee de l'Orangerie. The unusual building entrance makes you feel as if you are descending into the bowels of the Earth, much like entering a subway station.