Top 5 Museums and Galleries in Paris

Paris is known for its exquisite galleries and unparalleled museums. Here are the top five:

1. The Louvre Museum is world famous for its superb art galleries. Under its roof lie thousands of priceless classics as well as masterpieces of modern art. It is revered by all art lovers and is one place everyone must visit at least once in their lifetime. It only costs €10 to gain access and appreciate work from all the ages. There are antiquities from the Near East, Rome, Egypt, and Greece. There is a department completely dedicated to stunning Islamic art and sculpture, as well as masterpieces by infamous artists like Delacroix, Leonardo da Vinci, and Rembrandt. It is not an understatement to say that those on Paris flights will not have completed their trip without vising the Louvre.

2. The National Museum of Modern Art at the Centre Pomidou is the most well-known and important modern art museum in all of Europe. For just €12, visitors can learn about movements such as Fauvism, Surrealism, Cubism, and Abstract Expressionism. There are, of course, a huge number of works by the masters who created or sparked these important movements. Visitors can stroll through the pieces by Kandinsky, Miro, Picasso, Matisse, and other modern art pioneers.

3. The Palace of Versailles is actually visible to passengers on Paris flights that have begun their descent in preparation to land. Once the residence of King Louis XIV and his descendants, the Palace of Versailles is a gorgeous 18th century building that has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site for more than 30 years. It is quite possible the most extravagant palace in the world and has been a silent witness to centuries of world-changing events. Also called the “cradle of liberty” for its huge significance in the uprisings against King Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, and the rest of the French aristocracy, the palace is truly unparalleled.

4. The Musee d'Orsay is located just across the way from the Louvre, but it is worlds away in terms of its collections. The museum has the largest collection of paintings, decorative objects, and sculptures that were created from 1848-1914. The works of masters such as Monet, Degas, Ingres, Manet, Toulouse-Lautrec, Van Gogh, and Gaugin fill room after room. The Musee d'Orsay showcases work from important art periods and movements, some of which are romanticism, expressionism, neoclassicism, impressionism, and art nouveau. The museum has recently acquired some new pieces, one of which is The Circle of the Rue Royale by James Tissot, a painting that has been named a “national treasure”.

5. The Grevin Wax Museum is a wonderful place to go for those who want to see what Paris really looked like at different times throughout history. Not only can visitors walk among life-size scenes of Joan of Arc burning at the stake, King Louis XIV holding court in Versailles, and the assassination of Henri IV. Other famous personalities include historical figures such as Napoleon and Mahatma Gandhi, and movie stars including Marilyn Monroe, Nicholas Cage, Shah Rukh Khan, and Charlie Chaplin. There are also wax figures of famous sports figures, politicians, entertainers, cartoon characters, and more. During their tour of Grevin, visitors can even learn about how wax statues are made.