Visits to the M's O...

During our long visit to Paris 8 years ago, we somehow did not visit the Musee d'Orsay (was it closed?), but we were able to rectify that omission on this trip. The Orsay, as it is represented, is located in the previous Gare d'Orsay building which was thanfully saved from demolition by a proposal to rebirth it as a museum. It now holds houses the world's biggest collection of impressionist and post-impressionist masterpieces, with substantial representation of the work of painters such as Monet, Manet, Degas, Renoir, Cézanne, Gauguin and Van Gogh.

The Orsay is a fabulous 1986 reinvention of the 1898 Gare d'Orsay.

We had enjoyed some of the Orsay's classical collection in Canberra when it toured a few years ago while the museum was being renovated. The National Art Gallery's special exhibition was stunning, but to see it in this incredibly beautiful installation "where the art belongs" was an awesome experience.

Statue with earrings.

Very popular classical art at the Musee.

Reflecting on a goblin with frog.

It's important to study the guide maps at the Orsay.

The Orsay cleverly integrates statues and paintings.

This restaurant at Orsay sits behind one the original station clocks.

Stunning interior clock at the Musee d'Orsay.

On the same day, and under the same tickets, we visited the Musee de l'Orangerie (another Orsay), more or less directly opposite across the River Seine. The day was blisteringly hot, and we were impressed that the queue facilitator managed things so that the people waiting to be admitted (about 10 minutes) could stand in the shade. He did a good job!

Both main galleries of the Musee de l'Orangerie are devoted to Monet's massive Water Lillies.

The Orangerie is no less spectacular than the Orsay, but in different ways. The two main galleries of the Orangerie are totally devoted to Claude Monet's giant Water Lillies series. It is impossible to appreciate this artwork without seeing it in the flesh, and the museum is designed (with carefully moderated natural light) to show it off to perfection.

For Monet, Water Lillies was a post-WWI project designd to bring peace to harried Parisians.

We spent the day in these two museums, and afterwards, on a very hot afternoon, we took pleasure in crepes, ice-cream and mojitos in a shady open air cafe in les Jardins Tuleries.