What are the best museums to visit in Paris?

Paris is home to quite a few museums and history buffs are likely to have at least a few museums in Paris on their cultural wish list. Any trip to Paris will surely be incomplete without a trip to some of these institutions:

If you do not have time to visit them all, the best place to start is probably with the biggest and oldest:  The Louvre. The unanimous choice for the best museum in Paris, it was built in the early 12th century as a fortress but was transformed and used periodically as a royal residence over the subsequent few centuries. During the French Revolution in the late 1700s, the residence was converted into its present day use: a museum, home to 35,000 objects and some of the world’s most sacrosanct artistic treasures. Tickets are valid for the entire day, so if you find yourself tired from the notorious Louvre fatigue, take a break, grab a baguette and come back for another round. If your France tour package does not include The Louvre, consider asking for a refund!

Along with the all famous Mona Lisa, the Louvre stores 34,999 more art works on display, including Egyptian antiques, Islamic Art, loads of sculptures from Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire, along with a huge jewelry collection of the French nobility.

Another permanent fixture in France packages¸ the Galeries Nationales du Grand Palais was built for the 1900 Exposition Universelle and was the work of three different architects, each of whom designed a façade. During World War II it accommodated Nazi tanks. In 1994 the magnificent glass-roofed central hall was closed and reopened in 2005, after major restoration.

The Musée d’Orsay is located in the beautiful Gare d’Orsay, a former railway station, and is home to France’s national collection of art produced between 1848 and 1914. It has the largest collection of impressionist and post-impressionist art in the world, and is one of the best places to visit in France for fans of Degas, Cézanne, Gauguin, Manet, Monet, Renoir and Van Gogh.

Currently under renovation, all permanent exhibits & works within the mansion’s walls and also throughout the peaceful rose garden that surrounds the property at Musée Rodin are still open to visitors. Some of the highlights include “The Thinker,” as well as “The Gates of Hell” and “The Kiss.”. The museum has a rich history: In 1908, French artist Auguste Rodin donated his entire collection to the nation, under the condition that it maintains and displays the works in his former workshop and showroom, the Hôtel Biron, a grand mansion built in Paris’ 7th arrondissement during the 1700s.

Visiting the museums in Paris is something you should include in your France holiday package as it is a fun activity with your partner, family or even if you are backpacking alone.