It’s no secret that Paris is home to some world-famous and spectacular art galleries and museums. I’d been so looking forward to the opening of the terrasses that I’d almost forgotten the cultural spots, and now that the clock is ticking I’m on a mission to fit in as many as possible. I’m no art expert, but walking round galleries is an easy way to spend a day, and it’s great to be able to pick and choose and not have to cram everything into the kind of tight schedule you’d have just visiting on a holiday.
Musée d’Orsay
Probably Paris’s second most famous art gallery after the Louvre, I enjoyed the building of Orsay just as much as what was in there. It used to be a train station, and on the top floor you can look out through the big clock onto the Seine. It’s got views all the way to the Sacré Cœur, and the main hall is spacious and airy. Not quite as overwhelming as the Louvre but still packed with famous paintings, it’s the place to go if you like Impressionism. I actually learned a lot about the movement and the whole thing is very well curated. On the ground floor there is also an amazing sculpture collection. Alongside the big names like Monet and Picasso, some of my favourite discoveries were Toulouse Lautrec, with his hauntingly honest Montmartre scenes, as well as Degas’s dancers.
Centre Pompidou
Famous for being potentially the ugliest building in Paris, Pompidou doesn’t quite have the traditional Parisian charm of Orsay and Louvre, but then it’s not supposed to be traditional. It’s home to various permanent collections of modern art, as well as super contemporary installations and exhibitions. Some of the twentieth century stuff like Picasso and Kandinsky is quite accessible, but some of the more modern pieces definitely went over my head. Either way it’s an experience, and the building itself does have a very cool feel. Ironically cool was not the word for the external lifts and passages which lead to the galleries, mostly made up of glass, which gave an incredible greenhouse effect on a scorching hot day. My best memory of the visit (apologies to the art lovers) were the views from the balcony, which show you pretty much everything of Paris, minus the Pompidou of course, but proved an unexpected panorama and was particularly glorious in the sunshine.
Musée de l’Orangerie
Hidden in plain sight, this lesser known gallery is situated at one end of the Tuileries Gardens, and is home to Monet’s world famous water lilies, as well as the collection of a certain Paul Guillaume, a contemporary of the Impressionists. With some pieces by Picasso, Renoir and Manet, the permanent collection is definitely worth seeing, but the Monet is what you go for, and it really is an experience. Displayed in two oval-shaped rooms each with four of the enormous canvases covering the walls, Monet left his work to the nation on the condition that there was a dedicated space for them, and it’s now designed as a space for meditation and reflection. The canvases really are just beautiful and the installation is quite magnificent.
Institut du Monde arabe
I haven’t managed to get to the permanent collection yet, but we did visit for an exhibition dedicated to mainly Egyptian and Algerian female singers, performers and actors from the 1940s to the 1970s. Entitled Divas, it was a powerful display of inspiring women who were successful in their field and captured audiences with their authenticity and style. They came from a huge range of backgrounds and their stories were alternately uplifting and heartbreaking, giving a unique insight into the world of performance in the Arab world in the 20th century.
Atelier des Lumières
A little off the beaten track in the 11th arrondissement, I think this old foundary now converted into a cultural centre is quite well known, but rightly so. The original site has been transformed into an exhibition space, with light shows being projected 360 degrees onto the walls, ceiling and floor of the central hall. It’s big enough that you can walk around while the show is on, or take a seat on the floor or on one of the various perches around the room. Currently showing are two spectacles: an exhibition on Gaudi, the Spanish architect, and one on Dali, the surrealist painter. Both were animated showcases of their work accompanied by music and projected in all directions, in colourful and captivating style. The Dali set was accompanied by music by Pink Floyd, with various ‘scenes’ of a painting coupled with a song, it was 40 minutes long but kept you so hooked you didn’t realise time was passing, and can only be described as epic. I’ve been absolutely raving about the whole thing ever since, and can’t recommend it enough.
Palais de la Porte Dorée + Bois de Vincennes
Once the site of the ‘great’ colonial exhibition, this imposing and slightly bizarre 1920s building has a bit of a confused history, and I’m still a little ambivalent about it’s present-day purpose. Situated just within the borders of Paris, it’s a decent metro ride away, but is in a lovely area, just by the beautiful Bois de Vincennes (more like a big park), a great spot for a summer picnic. We didn’t make it to the château, or go boating on the lake, but it was buzzing with families and people enjoying the good weather, and we even got some live music. The museum itself is a surprising combination of museum and aquarium: built supposedly in order to pay hommage to the exotic wonders of the French colonies (I say that in a critical tone), it’s been reimagined to host the Musée de l’histoire de l’immigration, but has kept its exotic spectacle aspect with a tropical aquarium. The first thing you come to when you enter the museum is the grand foyer, where people would meet and mingle before the exhibition, and which is quite uncomfortably decorated with frescoes depicting the ‘civilising’ influence of colonisation and the ‘benefits’ it brought. Evidently a product of its time, I thought these particular works could have done with a bit more critical engagement, which would problematise and contextualise their content. I was much more impressed by the exhibition itself, entitled Ce qui s’oublie et ce qui reste (What gets forgotten and what remains), which was a compilation of various contemporary works from the African continent by Francophone and international artists exploring migration And transmission, touching on themes of language, national identity and belonging, globalisation and the power of art. It was at once touching, inspiring, empowering, thought-provoking and beautiful, and all the more interesting for being placed inside a building with such a provocative history in relation to these themes.
Musée Carnevalet
Housed in a once hôtel (a kind of up-market residence for those who could afford it) in the heart of the Marais, this is another place where the building is just as much of an attraction as what’s inside it. Dedicated to documenting the history of Paris, it‘a packed full of relics, nick-nacks, paintings, information and much more, tracking the geographical, political, religious and social development of the city since its prehistory. At times like reading a history book, there is so much information that it can be quite overwhelming, and the layout gets a bit confusing, but the place itself really is gorgeous and the information is so comprehensive, and really makes you feel like you’re getting to know Paris a lot better.