Art in Paris

Bought the 2-day Museum pass for 35 Euros. That means in 2 days you can visit approximately 40 sites. Or you can buy a 4-day or 6-day pass and visit the same 40 or so sites in as many days. We decided to see as many as possible and picked the top eight or so.

Here are a few details about the pass that might help you.

1. Some museums are closed on Monday and others on Tuesday. Plan accordingly if you are there on Monday and Tuesday like we were.

2. Buying the pass lets you skip the lines or at least be in a shorter line for entry into all sites, except Saint Chappelle and Notre Dame Tower. This is a really good thing and worth the price of the pass.

3. Kids under 16 get in for free. All European students get in free too, the catch is that they have to stand in the line to show their ID and get a free ticket. I decided to buy Jackson a museum pass, despite the fact that he had an ID and could have gotten in for free, so we could all just skip the line. I spent an extra $50, but it was worth our time.

Our first stop was The Lourve. Using Rick Steve’s guide, we found out to NOT stand in the super long line that not only wraped around the main entrance, but continued out past the farthest plaza entrance. Crazy to wait in that line because there are other entrances. The line is so long because they only have one metal detector machine. Once you are inside, you have to go downstairs into the underground mall to buy your ticket anyway!

Instead, go to 99 rue de Tivoli, one of the streets that boarders the plaza, to Le Carrousel du Louvre entrance. This is the underground mall. Down the escalator to about the center of the mall there is a Tabac that sells the Museum Pass. Have cash and buy it from the friendly English-speaking girl behind the counter. Viola. After that we were in. Then you have to figure out how to navigate one of the world’s biggest museums.

We spent about two hours running around and looking for the Mona Lisa, of course, Vermeer’s The Lacemaker. Durer’s Self-Portrait, the Venus de Milo and so much more. I took over 300 pictures that day and got some great ideas for student art projects.

Next, we walked the length of the park to the other side to the Musee de L’Orangerie that houses, on Level -1, a wonderful, extensive collection of impressionist art once owned by two wealthy collectors, known as the Walter-Guillaume Collection. On the upper two levels, Monet’s massive water lily and weeping willow paintings are displayed in two separate oval shaped galleries. A smaller museum with an impressive collection that was really thrilling to see.

But, onward down the Champs Elysees toward the Arche de Triomphe. And yes, there was a line to enter the all new Abercrombie and Fitch store that has recently opened on this famed street. Kinda pathetic.

At the arch, we climbed the 284 stairs to the top for a spectacular view of the city. Notable was “new” Paris with its modern skyscrapers, looking like any US city that I have seen.

So now it is about 5:00, but we are not done yet! Oh no no. Down to the metro and off to the Pompidou Center, which houses the National Museum of Modern Art, all 60,000 pieces of it. I gotta tell you, by this time, my feet are pretty tired. We rest outside a bit, listening to one of the many bands that perform on the plaza around the center and eat a crepe. Violet’s is stuffed with chocolate and bananas, certainly the most delicious of the three.

Inside we wander through hallways and galleries of many large-scale paintings and installations until the museum closes at 9:00. Only then are we ready to go back to our apartment, my camera battery dead, the SD card full and my feet definitely aching and ready to rest.

Tomorrow…day 2 on the Museum Pass.