By Naomi Dalton

As many visitors to France are only in Paris for a few days, they arrive with a ‘bucket-list’ of attractions they want to see. The most popular include the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, The Musée D’Orsay, Notre Dame Cathedral and one or two places that are more specialized, relating to their interests, such as the Centre Pompidou Modern Art museum, or the Paris Botanical Gardens. 

One museum that is really worth a visit is the Musée de l’Orangerie. It’s only a 15-minute walk through the Tuilerie Gardens from the Louvre, so it’s convenient to visit both on the same day. 

'The Sistine Chapel of Impressionism'

The Orangerie Museum is famous for hosting eight gigantic murals of Claude Monet’s famous water lilies, painted in his garden at Giverny in Normandy. This permanent exhibition at the museum is quite a sight. To quote French artist André Masson, the display is like ‘the Sistine Chapel of Impressionism’. 

 

Musee de l'orangerie monet

 

When I first visited the museum a few years ago, I hadn’t any idea of the scale of the paintings. I remembered seeing one of Monet’s water lily paintings at the Museum of Modern Art in New York when I visited some years earlier, and although it was large, it was nothing compared to the magnitude of the murals at the Musée de l’Orangerie. Here, Monet’s water lily paintings stretch across entire walls of the oval-shaped galleries on the ground floor of the museum. 

I later learned that this honors Monet’s vision for the paintings. He wanted them to be installed next to each other forming an oval shape. The idea, in his words, was to create "the illusion of an endless whole, of water without horizon or bank." The Musée de l’Orangerie, with its oval-shaped rooms, was therefore the ideal home for the paintings. 

For me, the magic of these paintings is that each piece depicts the same scene, but at different times of day, during different seasons, and different weather. The portrayal of light in each painting is therefore unique, as you’ll see from the varying color palette Monet has used in each mural. 

 

Water lily painting by Claude Monet at the Orangerie Museum

Water lilies by Claude Monet at the Orangerie Museum. Photo: Naomi Dalton

 

 

The magical light of Impressionism

This fascination with the effects of changing light on ordinary subject matter (such as a garden scene, water, and flowers) was the very essence of the Impressionist art movement.

Impressionist artists attempted to imitate the movement of the scene in front of them in their paintings. They considered this to be a crucial aspect of human perception and experience. Monet's paintings are therefore a textbook example of Impressionism. 

 

Monet in Paris and at Giverny in Normandy

A visit to the Orangerie Museum is the ideal complement to a trip to Monet’s Garden in Giverny, if you plan to go. Many of our travelers who visit Normandy ask to include a visit to Giverny, which is only an hour and a half drive away from Central Paris.

 

Monet's Garden Giverny

Monet's Garden at Giverny. Photo © Ben and Jane Lintott

France Just For You

Experts in self-drive tours in France

Travelers Reviews

5.0
Marlene & Terry
Emilie, You are the best! Everything you selected for us was perfect in every way. All the tickets, tours and reservations were handled well and we thank you for arranging such a beautiful vacation. We are recommending you to everyone we talk to. If you are ever in Toronto, we would be happy to host you and Guillaume!
Kate
Dealing with Emilie is like having a personal concierge. The 10 day trip was perfect. She allowed time to relax and we were able to experience France like locals. This is our 8 th trip to France but after this tour, it will not be our last. Thank you Emilie!
Maroun
I cannot say enough good things about Emilie and "France Just for You". We spent 15 days in France in June to celebrate our special anniversary and it was more than perfect. I found this superlative agency while browsing online, looking for a custom made trip to France that does not involve hopping on a tour bus with a large group of people, being …
Bonnie
A wonderful trip through Provence and the Riviera planned and organized by Emilie. Stayed in lovely B&Bs and had enough scheduled activities and free time. Emilie provided lots of options of things to do and a complete package for the traveler. Would highly recommend!
Naomi
My boyfriend and I spent a week in Paris last month and we decided that we would do a couple of day-tours outside of the city during our trip. We really wanted to avoid the typical tour-bus day-tour and the crowds that come along with these kinds of tours – we wanted something more personalized that would allow us to go at our own pace. I found the …
Daisy
We had an amazing experience visiting Bordeaux, Burgundy and Champagne in June 2018. We were a group of eight wine freaks and Emile & Laura organized an amazing itinerary with awesome attention to details. We definitely recommend FJFY!!