We only had a few days in Paris, and I'm realizing now with looking back on how many museums that I missed, that it wasn't enough. We were torn because of all the differing opinions and time constraints, so we narrowed down our museum intake to the Louvre and the Orsay museums.
So the Louvre, naturally, was a sweet museum. It was insanely huge, so we planned our visit very carefully to make sure we saw what we wanted to. If you only like paintings before the year 1850 (rough guess) and nothing that can be termed "modern," then the Louvre is your museum.
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| Cold and rainy. Just the way we like it! |
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| Greeting us at the top of the steps. My favorite. |
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| From the other side of the Mona Lisa |
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| If you wait long enough in the museum, the rain will be gone when you get out. |
Then, there's the Orsay Museum. The location itself is awesome--in an old train station that reminded me so much of
Hugo Cabret.
It also had plenty of gems in there. All "modern"---like Monet, Manet, Renoir, VanGogh, Degas, etc.
So the winner in my book was the Orsay. I don't regret going to the Louvre, but personally, the Orsay is full of more of my favorites, and in my opinion won't leave you feeling slightly disappointed (Mona Lisa, I'm looking at you)
I did a 1 hour version of the Louvre, saw Winged Victory, Mona Lisa, and a few other "must sees"... people watched for about ten minutes (it reminded me of a mall on a Saturday, much too busy for my liking), looked at some GIANT paintings for balance, then left.
ReplyDeleteI missed the Orsay and that is my number one regret about my Paris trip. I've heard it's the best.
Winged Victory is my favorite too! Although, I swear we learned it by another name in Art History. I CANNOT wait to go, however, I think I would enjoy the Orsay more.
ReplyDeleteCamille, it was the Nike of Samothrace, or something like that. I think when we go to Paris, we'll have to do both. I like more modern art and Andrew likes the "Classics."
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