MUSEUMS 2016 THE GUIDE


Clockwise from top left: The Musée de l’Oise in Beauvais; the Metz Pompidou, apparently inspired by a Chinese hat; Cézanne’s Atelier; the Marseille soap museum


Picasso, Chagall, Mondrian, Klee, Kandinsky, Magritte, Miró, Giacometti, Pollock, Rothko, Bacon and Warhol. The building was controversial when it first opened but has since been accepted as an integral part of the city. www.centrepompidou.fr


Musée d’Orsay 75007 Paris


An old train station on Paris’s left bank is where the French store their enormous collection of art dating from the mid-1800s to the start of World War I, including the Impressionists, Post-Impressionists and Art Nouveau. This is no ordinary railway station, however. Built during the final years of the 19th century in the Beaux-Arts style, its huge glass windows and roof panels allow daylight to partially


illuminate the works inside. Monet, Pissarro, Renoir, Degas and Manet are here, as are Gaugin, Cézanne, Van Gogh, Seurat and Matisse. There’s sculpture, furniture and photography, too. www.musee-orsay.fr


Musée Rodin 75007 Paris


After a major restoration, Paris’s Musée Rodin reopened in November last year on what would have been the French sculptor’s 175th birthday. Spread across 18 rooms of the beautiful Hôtel Biron, the exhibits have been reorganised, and some new ones added. The interiors have been completely redecorated, with new furniture now supporting the priceless sculptures. Among the more than 6,700 on display you’ll find


all the usual suspects such as The Thinker, The Kiss, The Hand of God, The Burghers of Calais, and The Gates of Hell. Some of the most famous ones are outside in the ever-tranquil sculpture garden. www.musee-rodin.fr


wonderful foodstuff is made, followed by the inevitable tasting session. The Musée Gourmand du Chocolat (or Choco-Story, as the owners nickname it) first opened in Bruges in 2004. The Paris branch followed in 2010. www.museeduchocolat.fr


“IT WOULD TAKE YOU NINE MONTHS JUST TO GLANCE AT ALL THE 35,000 OBJECTS IN THE LOUVRE”


Musée Gourmand du Chocolat 75010 Paris


Once you’ve swotted up on 4,000 years of the history of cocoa and chocolate – from the Mayans and the Aztecs to its introduction to the Europeans and North Americans – you’ll be ready for the demonstration of how this


Musée de l’Hospice Comtesse 59800 Lille


As poorhouses go, this was a pretty one. Situated in Lille’s old town, it contains various artworks, furniture and ceramics, as well as a section on the history of Lille. There’s also a chapel, dispensary and medicinal herb garden, all originally ❯❯


Aug/Sept 2016 FRANCE TODAY ❘ 141


IMAGES © MUSÉES GRÉVIN, DE L’OISE, POMPIDOU METZ, CÉZANNE, MARIUS FABRE, RODIN


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