by jipp05 on January 5, 2011
The Louvre is an amazing museum but it is so large it can be intimidating and it's for that reason that my favourite museum in Paris is the musée d'Orsay.The museum is housed in a beautiful railway station dating from 1900 and is grand and impossing on the outside but on the inside is incredibly light and airy. As I am a bit of an archectecture buff I spent quite a bit of time admiring the building. The collection in the Orsay is nowhere near as extensive as some other museums but you can still spend a good few hours looking round the collection and what is on display is pretty spectacular.The museum specialises in 19th and 20th century art and houses work from some of the worlds great artists such as Monet, Van Gough and Renoir. The interior really is impressive and is so light and airy and none of the works feel like they have been crowded together and it is a pleasure to look round. When we visited there was plenty of visitors but nowhere near the crowds at the Louvre and it never felt claustophobic. The high ached glass ceiling really helps in opening up the space and on the upper floors none of the rooms are walled in which also helps with the feeling of space and light. The smaller collection of paintings meant that I could really take time to appeciate the beauty of them without feeling the need to rush so I could see everything and getting museum fatigue. The real highlight for me personally was the sculpture collection which was wonderful and displayed lovely. You could get close enough to actually see the detailing and again none of them were crowded together. Although nowhere near as busy as the Louvre it can get busy so it can be helpful to purchase a museum pass as this will allow you to bypass the queues to the museum. It is open every day from 9:30am to 6:00pm with the exception of mondays when the museum is closed. Located in the 7th arrondissement the museum is quite close to the Eiffel tower and is really easy to find. The musee d'orsay is a must see in Paris and one of the most enjoyable museums I have ever visited.
http://www.igougo.com/review-r1382321-Stunning_museum.html
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