Top Museums in Paris
If you happen to be visiting Paris, there’s a thing you cannot allow yourself to miss: museums. The ‘city of light’ has to offer great museums showcasing all kind of items, from classic to modern, from furniture to sculpture, from painting to archeology, from science to religion. Trying to compile a comprehensive list of Paris museums would be almost impossible, so in this article we will try to offer you a small selection of museums that, we believe, are worth visiting.
Louvre Museum
Some say it’s the biggest museum in the world, although that fact is not proven, the Louvre museum (officially Grand Louvre) surely is the best know in the world. Within its great
halls visitors can find almost everything history and art has to offer. Some of its more famous collections are:
- Egyptian antiquities (more than 50,000 unique pieces) including relics brought by Napoleon on his expeditionary trip to Egypt on 1789.
- A great collection of Near eastern antiquities such as the ‘Code of Hammurabi’or the Stele of the Vultures.
- A Greek and Roman section with unique antiques like Borghese Gladiator or the ‘Winged Victory of Samothrace’.
- One of the finest painting collection in the world, with such marvelous examples as ‘The Mona Lisa’, ‘The Slaughtered Ox’ or ‘Tree of crows’.
Rodin Museum
Located within the premises of the Hôtel Biron (an incredible château with a rich historic past) we will find the Rodin Museum, one of the most visited in France. This Museum hoses some of the greatest items that belonged or where created by the polifacetic French artist Auguste Rodin. Sculptures, sketches, painting and his personal art collection (statues, Van Gogh, Renoir, photographs…). Definitely a must-see.
Orsay Museum
Located in the heart of Paris, in a building that was constructed for the World Exposition of 1900 and later used as a train station. The building is a work of art on itself and a must-see on itself. Inside its walls, divided in three levels, we will enjoy works of art, sculptures, painting and photographic collections, graphic art and architecture.
Musée de la Publicité
Within its permanent exhibition rooms at la rue de Rivoli, the ‘Musée de la Publicité’ (also known as ‘Musée de l’Affiche’) showcases an incredible collection of more than 50,000 contemporary posters from 1950 to the present day. It also contains more than 50,000 advertising films, press advertisements, radio commercials, promotional objects, etcetera. A great way to understand and know the way of thinking in the 20th century.
Other interesting museums that are very close-by (so you will be able to visit all of the same day are: Musée National Picasso, Musée Grévin, Musée de l’Orangerie des Tuileries, Musée National du Moyen Age-Thermes de Cluny and Snc Costes Au Centre Pompidou.
