Sights & Sounds of Paris Musee d'Orsay On the left bank of the Seine, the museum is housed in the former Gare d'Orsay, an impressive Beaux-Arts railway station built between 1898 and 1900. The museum holds mainly French art dating from 1848 to 1915, including paintings, sculptures, furniture, and photography. It is probably best known for its extensive collection of impressionist and post-impressionist masterpieces (the largest in the world) by such painters such as Monet, Manet, Degas, Renoir, Cézanne, Seurat, Sisley, Gauguin and Van Gogh. Many of these works were held at the Galerie nationale du Jeu de Paume prior to the museum's opening in 1986.
This museum is a jewel and is linked artistically to the Orangerie Museum which is located across the Seine in the Tuileries Gardens, a shortish walk from the Orsay. It is home to the Monet's giant murals of Water Lilies. Definitely take the time to visit both. Also, the restaurant in the Orsay is spectacular.
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