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Take an art tour of Paris to discover the city’s masterpieces

Paris is a haven for culture vultures and those with a keen appreciation for art have plenty of options when they’re in the city to indulge their creative passions. There are many Paris art museums and galleries to explore so we thought of a way to explore Paris by art trail to make sure you see the best art works dotted around the city. Louvre Museum Possibly the most important – if not the most popular Paris art museum – the Louvre contains eight departments of must-see art and sculpture from pre-history to the 21st century. With over 35,000 works of art to be appreciated, we’ll help you make a beeline for the best. The Mona Lisa, one of the world’s most famous works of art, is on display at the Louvre so make sure you catch da Vinci’s masterpiece and marvel at it for yourself. Eugene Delacroix’s Liberty Leading the People is another famous piece symbolising the French Revolution in 1830 and seeking liberty from the shackles of the monarchy. Other works include Venus de Milo, the ancient Greek statue of pure female form, and The Seated Scribe from Ancient Egypt – part of a huge body of work dating back to 2650-2500 BC. Orsay The Orsay Museum, like the Louvre, is an important cultural landmark in Paris and contains some of the most impressive Impressionist and Post-Impressionist works of art. Curated with works of art by Monet, Cézanne, Manet and Renoir you can see Eduard Manet’s Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe, which caused scandal and controversy back in 1863, as well as van Gogh’s L'Eglise d'Auvers-sur-Oise, vue du chevet which is believed to be one of the precursors to the moody expressionism movement to follow. You can’t miss the esteemed photography gallery at the Orsay, too, which was famed for being one of the first photography galleries in a fine arts museum in France. Admire photos by Mauris Denis and Henri le Saq through the ‘primitive period’ and the golden age of French and English photography. Centre Pompidou From the moment you set eyes upon the Centre Pompidou you’ll appreciate it for a work of art in itself. Well, some do anyway. As the most influential museum of modern art in Europe, and in the world - after the MOMA in New York - the museum starts on the outside with its in-your-face façade and multicolour Stravinsky Fountain by sculptors Niki de Saint Phalle and Jean Tinguely. Inside, you can admire masterpieces from the Dadaism, Fauvism and Cubism including Otto Dix’s Bildnis der Journalistin Sylvia von Harden, a portrait of inter-war Berlin, Marcel Duchamp’s Fontaine – the controversial urinal – and other works by Picasso, Kandinsky and Chagall. Orangerie Museum Visit the Orangerie Museum for some impressionist and post-impressionist works of art by somes of France’s most influential artists, including Monet, Rousseau and Sisley to name a few. The museum, which is nestled in the Tuileries Gardens, just down from the Louvre, came about when Monet donated some of his works to celebrate the end of WWII. The museum’s masterpiece, the large water lily painting, Nymphéas in the oval room is one of Monet’s best and a testament to his style and success as an artist. Rodin Museum One of France’s most esteemed sculptors, Rodin once lived in Hotel Biron, now the Rodin Museum, which contains most of his most significant works. The museum and garden contains his important sculptures The Kiss, The Thinker and Gates of Hell which he had donated to the state on condition they were displayed in a museum. Visitors can also appreciate some of Rodin’s collected works by van Gogh, Claudel and Renoir as well as the stunning grounds in which the museum is set. Get free entry into all of the above with The Paris Pass. No need for queuing at the Louvre or Centre Pompidou either as the pass gives your Fast Track Entry to skip the lines in the busy periods.

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