Say the words “the Louvre”, and many would immediately picture the most popular museum in all of France, The Mona Lisa, and the famous glass pyramid. And that’s why more than 10 million people visit the Louvre each year to see it firsthand! But what about the other museums in France? Whether you’re looking to see contemporary art, fashion, architecture, or galleries dedicated to artists, there’s a museum to satisfy anyone’s search for cultural immersion.
On International Museum Day 2021, we are highlighting some of the best museums across all of France!
The Centre Pompidou
The Centre Pompidou houses the largest modern art museum in all of Europe (The National Museum of Modern Art), the Public Information Library, the Institute for Acoustic and Musical Research, a bookshop, and a restaurant with a panoramic terrace. Built for President Georges Pompidou (term 1962-1968), he envisioned an institute that brought together visual arts, cinema, literature, music, and design in one collective gallery.
The current gallery includes works from many famous artists including Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Pierre Bonnard, Georges Braque, Andy Warhol, Jackson Pollock, Joseph Beuys, and Yves Klein, to name a few. It’s industrial looking exterior features exposed pipes and services, boasting a unique design to any museum of its time.
To take a virtual tour of some of the galleries, visit their website here.
*Note: The Centre Pompidou is scheduled to close for approximately 4 years at the end of 2023 for extensive renovations, reopening for their 50th anniversary in 2027
Musée d’Orsay
Once a train station (Gare d’Orsay), this art museum features the largest collection of Impressionist and post-Impressionist masterpieces in the world! Artists featured include Berthe Morisot, Monet, Manet, Degas, Renoir, Cézanne, Seurat, Sisley, Gauguin, and Van Gogh. The works on display here are from the post-revolution period of 1848 until the 20th century (approximately 1914).
Due to COVID-19, the museum has been closed (until May 19, 2021), but featured a virtual tour with a magnificent tour guide in September 2020. To view this virtual tour, click here.
