Paris rivals London or any other world class city in its vast array of museums. Visiting Paris isn't complete without taking the time (hopefully not all standing in line) to drop in on a few of them. The only problem becomes how much time to give to this part of your trip and where to go. We tried not to spend too much time wandering the hallways of endless exhibits but there are too many 'can't miss' places that call for your attention to not hit at least some of them.
The Louvre, of course, is in a league of its own with over seven million people a year charging through this former palace to see the approximately 38,000 art objects. Actually most people just do the 'greatest hits' like the Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo because it is all just too overwhelming. And that's where the conundrum lies about art museums. You go to see the artwork and feel like you have to take a picture. But most of the time there are a few dozen people elbowing you to get their own best shot. So you push your way to the front of the pack by the Mona Lisa (a fifteen minute effort at least), snap your picture which isn't clear or focused because of the glass covering, and then slowly squeeze your way back out. Why? I guess it's a bucket list thing and so now I have numerous blurry pictures from all my visits to see the lady with the mysterious smile.
The Musee d'Orsay (a former railway station) with its Impressionism displays (and gorgeous architecture) is slightly less crowded and the small Musee de l'Orangerie with the impressive Claude Monet Le Nympheas paintings is downright peaceful. The Pantheon is a former cathedral which has been turned into a mausoleum for famous French citizens like Voltaire, Victor Hugo, Alexander Dumas, Louis Braille, and Marie Curie along with many others.
Musee Rodin has the Thinker along with many other masterpieces. The Musee Picasso has some of his more popular artwork as well as some of his more obscure and bizarre (which is saying a lot) creations.
And these are just the art museums (I left out the Pompideau since we didn't bother with it this time). There are literally hundreds of historical museums and we were more selective when it came to them. The Musee de l'Armée has endless displays of armour and is the final resting place of Napoleon. (By the way the whole city is a museum to Napoleon with his image everywhere from statues to murals to whatever else you can think of.) The Concierge is most famous as the final 'home' for Marie Antoinette before she met her untimely death in 1793. The Paris Opera House is like a museum and a palace with its incredibly grandiose interior. All the cathedrals could be considered museums as well since they are historical themselves and have countless stories to tell. There are also reminders of Paris's dark past throughout the city in the form of plaques that commemorate those who fought for the resistance and those who were sent to Nazi concentration camps during WWII.
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