After the Louvre, we walked through the Jardin des Tuilertes Park where a carnival of sorts was taking place. Compared to the Louvre, or anywhere else for that matter, this place was deserted. There were about 20 rides for the 10 or so people there. At several Euro a ride, no one was biting. We didn’t either.
We crossed a very cool bridge, called the Passerelle Solferino, to check out another first-Sunday-of-the-month, free museum, the Orsay. The queue was as bad as it was for the Louvre, but this line moved very slowly. It probably took us almost an hour to get in.
The Orsay previously was a train station and you could certainly tell from the interior. For a museum that has only been around for a little over twenty years the collection is amazing.
This sculpture, although not famous as far as I know, was my favorite. For a piece of rock, it sure can make the viewer curious as to what is being said.
The Orsay is loaded with works by Monet, Cezanne, Van Gogh, Degas, Pissarro, Sisley, and other Impressionist artists. My daughter enjoyed the audio guide while learning about Monet.
Van Gogh is my favorite Impressionist painter, but it was difficult getting very close to many of his works with the crowds.
On the top of the museum you can exit to wonderful views of the city. The green-roofed building on the left is the Opera Garnier, and the white church is Sacre Coeur which we visited on the following night. Stay tuned for more on that experience.
The restaurant and cafeteria on the upper level of the Orsay were absolute madhouses. For the restaurant you had to wait in an hour-long line. For the cafeteria you had to wait in a half-hour long line (and then eat standing up). The only good thing was that you had the above view through the mostly translucent clock. The clock may look as if it is backwards. It is from the interior. The clock is meant for those on the outside of the building.
After the Orsay, my daughter and I were spent. We collapsed in front of this statue in front of the exterior of the Orsay to plot our next moves. Can you see how tired we are in our faces?
Posted on August 16th, 2008 under Paris. Tags: d'Orsay, museums, Paris, pictures, Sacre-Coeur, Vincent van Gogh. Comments Off on Musée d’Orsay
