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Orsay Main Hall

One of the best museums in Paris in our humble opinion is the Orsay Museum, devoted to French art in the near century from after the Revloution of 1830 through the first Great War (1914). We visited it for the first time in 1994, a few years after it opened and went twice more during this stay in Paris. Gerry first saw it in 1970 on his first trip to France. At that time it was a train station, and it was his starting point for his visit to Versailles. The conversion from train station to musuem is a work of art itself. In the photo you can see the wonderful arched roof and the old clock that used to hang in front of the station.

Orsay's most famous holdings are of course the Impressionists, once held in the Jeu de Paume museum. Certainly the rooms with the Impressionist paintings are much more crowded than any other. And of course paintings are only part of the collection which also includes sculpture and some furniture and other decorative arts.

Art Nouveau (Ecole de Nancy) Desk

There is almost as much space devoted to Art Nouveau as to Impressionism, with emphasis on the school of Nancy. As Jan lived in Nancy in 1971-73 and Gerry in 1972-75 (it's where we met), we have a special interest in it.

While there we grew very familiar with and appreciative of the school of Nancy. An item from the museum's collection that we both liked, and that well illustrates the style, was a large wooden desk shown in the photo.

The Orsay building lies on the south or left bank of the Seine. There is a balcony overlooking the city where one can eat snacks; it has a great view of the river, central Paris, and Sacré Coeur. If you haven't already visited this lovely museum you should put it on your list of must-sees.