The history of the Orsay Museum, and its building is quite unusual. The Museum d'Orsay of Paris is located in the centre of Paris on the left bank of the Seine. It is housed in the former Gare d'Orsay, a Beaux-Arts railway station built between 1898 and 1900. It's amazing to think that this museum was once a railway station and started life as an architectural marvel built for the Universal Exhibition of 1900. The museum holds mainly French art dating from 1848 to 1915, including paintings, sculptures, furniture, and photography. It houses the largest collection of impressionist and post-impressionist masterpieces in the world, by painters including Monet, Manet, Degas, Renoir, Cezanne, Seurat, Sisley, Gauguin and Van Gogh.
Highly recommended for its Van Gogh collection, the Musee d'Orsay showcases collections from 1848 to 1914 with a strong focus on Impressionism and Post Impressionism. The Musee d'Orsay features domed ceilings, a wonderfully large vintage clock (see the photo below), and huge windows that allows the sunlight to stream in and bathe the museum guests in other-wordly light. The Musee d'Orsay collection includes work from world-renown impressionists like Monet, Manet, Seurat Renoir, and Degas. The museum's website is at http://www.musee-orsay.fr/en/home.html.
Musee d'Orsay Photos
Musee D'Orsay Lights
(Photo from Black Stove)
Musee D'Orsay Plaza
(Photo from Black Stove)
Musee D'Orsay Clock #2
(Photo from Black Stove) Admission to Musee d'Orsay is free on the first Sunday of each month. Other days it's free for the following groups:
- Those 18 years old or younger
- 18 to 25 year old Europeans
- Paris Museum pass holders
- Members of the Societe des Amis du Musee d'Orsay
- Members of the American Friends of the Musee d'Orsay
- Disabled visitors and their caretakers
- Unemployed visitors
- Carte blanche and Musee cardholders.
Musee d'Orsay Links
http://www.paris.com/paris_landmarks/museums/musee_orsay_paris Paris.com: Visit the Orsay Museum in Paris, France - Musée d'Orsay Paris - The Orsay Museum in Paris - Musée d'Orsay Paris.http://www.google.com/culturalinstitute/collection/musee-dorsay-paris?projectId=art-project&hl=en - The Google link showcases some of the Musee d'Orsay's painting collection.
http://travel.nytimes.com/travel/guides/europe/france/paris/25286/musee-dorsay/attraction-detail.htmlhttp://raileurope.com/activities/paris-museum-pass/index.html
Map of Musée d'Orsay
View Larger Map Address: 62, Rue de Lille, 75343 Paris Cedex 07 France
