Paris Muse

On the first Sunday of every month, year-round, there are great museums throughout the city of Paris that open their doors free to the public. Here is a list of all of them. Hope to see you at one of them tomorrow!

Musée Rodin
Musée Rodin is a mansion that houses some of the finest collections of Auguste Rodin, the famous French sculptor. In it you will find some of Rodin’s most famous works, like The Gates of Hell, The Kiss and The Thinker. Just behind the museum there is a small lake and a restaurant too. Don’t forget to visit the garden, because this is where you will find a few of the best sculptures on the property.
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Musée Gustave Moreau
Here’s an ode to Gustave Moreau, the famous Symbolist painter. What was once his residence has today been transformed into a museum and studio that showcases his sculptures, watercolors, paintings and drawings.
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Musée national d’art moderne – Centre Pompidou
The Centre Pompidou — also known as the Beaubourg — is one of the premier cultural centers in Paris, and there is no other museum in the world where you can immerse yourself in so much 20th and 21st century art. It contains exhibits from Picasso, Duchamp, Matisse, Ernst, Warhol and many other founding fathers of modern art. The museum, housed in a building which itself is a controversial work of art, also showcases the work of many of today’s cutting-edge artists.
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Musée du Louvre
The Musée du Louvre is perhaps the most famous museum in the world. In fact, many visit Paris just to see it and the Eiffel Tower, the two not-to-be missed sites on every tourists’ radar. This reputation is not without merit; the Musée du Louvre is so huge that it can take you several days to see all the displays. The most popular attraction is of course Mona Lisa, but there’s plenty more you could see such as the Egyptian antiquities; near eastern antiquities; displays from the Etruscan, Greek and Roman periods; decorative arts; and paintings among others.
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Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature
The Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature (Museum of Hunting and Nature) houses collections which show the relationship between man and his natural environment, especially through the practice of hunting. Amongst the collection you will find instruments of hunting through the ages; trophies and stuffed animals from Africa, Europe, Asia and America; and works of art including paintings, prints, sculptures, tapestries, ceramics and furniture.
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Musée du Quai Branly
The Musée du quai Branly is a museum in Paris where you will find indigenous art from almost everywhere in the world except Europe. It showcases some of the best art and culture from Asia, Africa, America and Oceania. The permanent collection contains 267,000 items, but a mere 3,500 of them are on display at time due to the sheer size of the collection. Also on the premises is an extensive library for your perusal.
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Cité nationale de l’histoire de l’immigration
One can’t help but notice the multicultural roots of the city of Paris, and the rich tapestry of art, architecture and cuisine brought by immigrants to this city. The Cité nationale de l’histoire de l’immigration traces the history of immigration to Paris since the 19th century, in homage to the many newcomers who have come to call the city on the Seine their home. The museum, housed in the Palais de la Porte Dorée, contains multimedia and interactive exhibits which present immigrants’ stories. Collected here are photographs by Eugene Atget, Gérald Bloncourt, Robert Capa, Yves Jackson, Jean Jacques Pottier and others, as well as posters, cartoons, quotidian objects and other memorabilia which tell the story of immigration in France.
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Musée d’Orsay
What was formerly a railway station has today become one of the most visited museums in the world, the Musée d’Orsay. Besides being an ever-changing venue for some of the city’s hottest exhibitions, it also has a fine permanent collection of sculptures, furniture, photography and French paintings between 1848 and 1915. It houses some of the finest displays of impressionist as well as post-impressionist works from Degas, Renoir, Monet, Manet, Van Gogh, Gauguin, Cézanne and Seurat.
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Musée national des Arts asiatiques Guimet
The Musée national des Arts asiatiques – Guimet showcases the rich diversity of Asian art. This is the biggest Buddhist art museum in all of Europe, and ranks among the 12 most important museums in France. It features archeology and art from 17 Asian countries. You will find rare porcelain items from China, and rare displays from Cambodia, Tibet and even Afghanistan. The Buddhist Pantheon galleries on China and Japan are a must see.
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Musée de l’Assistance Publique – Hôpitaux de Paris
Where else but Paris will you find a museum that traces the history of hospitals? Head to the Musée de l’Assistance Publique – Hôpitaux de Paris, located on the left bank of the Seine. This museum showcases the hospitals in this city from the Middle Ages to the start of the 20th century and includes the history of medicines and the treatment of various ailments.
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Musée national Jean-Jacques Henner
Formerly a private mansion and studio built in the 19th century, the Museum is dedicated to the work of Jean-Jacques Henner (1829-1905) considered at the beginning of the 20th century to be one of the most important painters of his time. (source: musee-henner.fr)
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Musée national Eugène Delacroix
Visit the final home of Eugène Delacroix, the famous painter. You can see works from every phase of his life; see his notes, souvenirs and sketches including ceramics, slippers and boots, jewelry, cushions, sabers and more. View pictures from the last days of his life, and, of course, you could see many of his paintings.
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Musée national Ernest Hebert
Head to the Musée Hebert in Paris to view some of the finest works by Ernest Hébert, the famous 19th century painter. On display in a room that retains its authentic 18th century decor, are photographs, decorative items, furniture, paintings and souvenirs. At the time of publication the museum was closed for renovation. Please check in advance following the details below.
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Musée national Picasso
Located in one of the finest historic buildings in the Marais, the Musée National Picasso is where you can find 191 sculptures, 203 paintings and 85 ceramic works from the personal collection of Pablo Picasso. The museum is located in the heart of Paris’ most vibrant neighborhoods.
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Cité de l’Architecture et du Patrimoine
This unique museum showcases the history of architecture from the Middle Ages to the present day. The gallery of casts stores religious and civil architecture from the 12th to the 18th century. The modern architecture gallery features developments during the Industrial Revolution. And the gallery of murals stores stained glass. There are movies, books, models and drawings you could go through.
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Musée national du Moyen Âge – Thermes de Cluny
This hidden gem is located in the heart of the Latin quarter of the city. If you want to view Europe in the Middle Ages, this is where you should go. There are two important sites here. The first is the Gothic mansion from the 15th century that stores medieval art and tapestries. Next to this are the Gallic-Roman baths from the 3rd century. Plan on spending a few hours here.
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Musée national de l’Orangerie
Located on the scenic banks of the Seine, the Musée de l’Orangerie has some of the finest impressionist and post-impressionist paintings anywhere. Its most famous exhibit is the painting of water-lillies that is popularly referred to as the Nympheas. The museum also exhibits paintings of Pablo Picasso, Amedeo Modigliani, Cézanne, Renoir, Claude Monet, Henri Rousseau, Alfred Sisley, Soutine and Utrillo. The Musée de l’Orangerie has been wonderfully renovated recently.
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© America, 1969, 9'

This Friday June 24, at 20:00,  reserve your places at this special screening at Le Bal, in conjunction with the Magnum Foundation.

LE BAL and the Magnum Foundation USA present 4 films to rediscover :

Company for Lunch, 1965, 26′
A commercial project produced for Xerox documenting the company’s annual meeting by six Magnum photographers.

America, 1969, 9′
Born out of Charlie Harbutt’s group project and book titled ‘America in Crisis’, the film was made in response to the social state of the United States in late 60′s.

The two faces of China, 1965, 30′
René Burri explores the lives of the Chinese under Communism prior to the Cultural Revolution. A joint production by Magnum and BBC.

Beauty Knows No Pain, 1971, 26′
Elliott Erwitt documents the Rangerettes, the first dancing trill team in the United States through the experiences of young women attending the summer camp to join the team.

The evening’s screenings will be followed by a discussion between former producer of the Magnum Films department Phil Gittelman, former staff member Inge Bondi and Magnum photographers Costa Manos, Elliott Erwitt, and Rene Burri.

On a proposition of Susan Meiselas and Marco Bischof for the Magnum Foundation.

Free
Reservations required: contact@le-bal.fr

Le Bal is a nice hidden gem in the 18th arrondisement, well worth your visit. Stop in the cafe and get some great coffee too.

Claude Monet, Les Nymphéas (flickr @profzucker)

Just off the Place de la Concorde is the Musée national de l’Orangerie, which houses the eight of the Nymphéas, the renowned series by Claude Monet. These paintings were given to the French nation by the artist after World War I as a celebration of peace. Indeed, the large sweeping paintings, bathed in the soft overhead light, bring about a certain meditative calm in the visitor. In the halls of the Orangerie below the the Nymphéas, one can see an extensive collection of impressionist and post-impressionist paintings by Paul Cézanne, Henri Matisse, Amedeo Modigliani, Pablo Picasso, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Henri Rousseau and others.

Continue reading “Musée national de l’Orangerie (& Severini until July 25)” »

The Sacre Coeur in the 18eme arrondisement

Check out our guest post on the super informative travel blog Wild Junket.

In it we cover some of the main attractions you can’t miss in each of the first eight arrondisements. It is by no means an exhaustive list, and we hope it will serve as a springboard for your Paris adventures. The key word is serendipity. Find a district with a few things you like and get lost in it! As we suggest in the post, you can download our free Paris app which utilizes the native GPS technology of your iPhone to find the nearest attractions, wherever you are. And it works even if you have roaming turned off.

Anyway, hop on over to Wild Junket and read our post, Top Attractions in Paris, by District!

From the permanent collection of the Quai Branly Museum

Near the Pont de l’Alma, between the unofficial memorial to Princess Diana and the Eiffel Tower, lies a truly extraordinary place, le Musée du Quai Branly. This museum houses an enormous collection of art and decorative items from across the globe, tastefully curated in four main sections including the Americas, Oceania, Asia and Africa. The collection is so big that only a portion of it is viewable at any one time.

Continue reading “The Marvelous Musée du Quai Branly” »

Though nothing quite tops visiting the real thing, Google’s new Art Project has democratized the art world in its own way, making the work of the masters accessible in jaw-dropping detail to anybody with a computer. In this TED talk, the man behind the project Amit Sood describes how he conceived the project and its scope:

Using the Street View technology Google implements on its city maps, one can navigate the likes the Alte Nationalgalerie in Berlin, the MoMa in New York, the Tate in London, and 14 others including the Versailles palace. You can even curate your own collection by signing into your Google account.