I was very impressed walking through this building. The display is in the information told me…read morethings that I never knew about something that I thought I knew quite a bit of bad. The presentation was well conceived and comfortable. There were plenty of places to stop and listen with the language interpretation headsets that were presented before going on the tour. It's self guided and at your own pace. It worked out wonderfully period it is attached to the Basilica which are able to wander around on the inside which is an amazing structure that was rebuilt after World War II you can imagine the massive size of this name out of work that went into restoring it to its former glory. Be sure to see this little storyboard showing the rebuild.

While I would say that it can be a little difficult to find, being located in a small alleyway…read morebeside the Rouen Cathedral, it is about Jeanne d'arc, and anything about Jeanne is pretty clearly advertised in and around Rouen (in fact they clearly mark all of the significant Jeanne related spots in the city). This isn't actually your ordinary museum, and it definitely isn't her house (you are going to have to go out into the French countryside to actually find her birthplace), but it is a museum that is dedicated to her (I believe that it is the former Archbishop's residence). The museum is more like a guided documentary that follows the second trial of Jeanne, the one that acquitted here (after she had been burnt at the stake mind you) and goes through all aspects of her life, her time in the military, the Battle of Orleans, and of course here capture, trial, and eventual execution. As it is set up as a video where you move from room to room for a different part, they only let people in every fifteen minutes, and the entire tour takes around an hour and a half (depending on how long you spend in the final rooms that look at her legacy). Certainly a different way to set up a museum, and definitely a place to visit if you happen to be in Rouen.

Ahh, another great art gallery, and it is a little bigger than the one that I visited in Arras. The…read moregallery is actually a mix between an archeological museum and a art gallery, and is divided into various rooms. One of the rooms is decated to paintings, another to sculptures, and another room dedicated to religious art, and in the basement you have the archeological museum which explores all of the stuff dug up in the area as well as the evolution of Amiens from Roman times. There is also an upstairs area, but that was still being retrofitted so there wasn't a huge amount of stuff here. Still, it was definitely a pretty awesome museum, and while the collection wasn't as large compared to some museums, there is still enough here to keep you engaged.

From the owner: Une belle collection régionale Construit de 1855 a 1867 par ordre de Napoléon III, le musée de…read morePicardie figure parmi les dix plus grands musées Français de province pour la richesse de ses collections en archéologie, peinture, et sculpture. La plupart des collections proviennent de fouilles régionales. Parmi les oeuvres, on trouve des pièces datant du Moyen-Age et provenant de la cathédrale d'Amiens. L'art contemporain est également représenté avec une des oeuvres de Sol Le Witt.

Lovely little museum of Monet's art. We stopped by after visiting Monet's house & gardens. We…read moreenjoyed reading about his life and works and seeing his paintings. We spent around 30min-45min.

Free entry to the museum was all we needed to hear! After a wonderful few hours at Monet's…read moregardens, we saw the sign welcoming visitors so we went inside 3 rooms of widely spaced artworks & this exhibition was covering comparisons of Monet and Rothko. Never would have thought to compare the two but it worked! Lots of benches to sit & gaze at the masters & contemplate their works We were fans!

Two fortunate things happened when I came here. Firstly the computers were down so we got in for…read morefree, and secondly they had an exhibition on a group of impressionists. In fact a lot of paintings that I didn't see in the Mussee d'Orsay weren't there because they happened to be here. While the exhibition (or exposition as they say it in French) was impressive, the rest of the museum was doubly so. In fact the museum is not only quite large, but also has a pretty decent collection of paintings, and other works of art, as well. In fact it can be easy to get lost. Unfortunately, not all of the halls were open, which was a bit of a shame, but we did get to see quite a lot.

I enjoyed visiting this museum, and it's impressive temporary impressionist art exhibit that was…read morepart of the Normany Impressionist Festival in August of 2013. (And as we walked through the exhibit, my husband whispered "Monet, Monet, Monet, Monet - Mo-ne!" to the tune of the song "Money".) There are 2 floors to the museum, and my husband & I explored the beautiful permanent art exhibits as well. It takes an hour or so to get through everything.

Going to Monet's garden at Giverny had been a "bucket list" item for me, and I was able to make the…read moretrip recently while visiting Paris! It was such a beautiful place and did not disappoint. The flowers in mid-April were beautiful to see, with huge peonies, lots of tulips, crocuses, wisteria on the Japanese bridge, and other spring blooms. This also seemed to be a good time to visit as it gets more packed during the summer. Tip: Rather than doing a bus tour, it was fairly easy to simply take the SCNF train to Vernon. From Vernon, there are regular shuttle buses directly to Monet's garden for 5 Euros each way (10 Euros round trip), so it is very straightforward. The train from Paris to Vernon leaves from Gare St. Lazare. Also, if you do go via train to Vernon to get to Giverny, there was an adorable cat cafe there for lunch: Cookie's Cat Cafe!

We visited in early June and the most wonderful flowers were blooming!…read moreWe had a guided tour through Viator, which you don't need. We only had to do it for the transportation from Paris to Versailles. We went through the house first, because later in the day, the line for the house can get long. The house had interesting decor and colors, and a TON of Japanese artwork, which he fancied. I enjoyed checking out the old school kitchen. There are some paintings of his in the first room, of both of his wives. The garden was magnificent. They have a path that has directions. You can't just go anywhere you want. Some areas are blocked off. Workers were busy pulling weeds etc. There is a Japanese garden that isn't too far to walk. That was very peaceful. It surrounds a lake with lily pads. Very picturesque. Summer is a great time to visit because lots of things are in bloom. Later, the sunflowers will bloom. So each season has its own stars. I have heard winter time isn't fantastic for flowers, which makes sense. So I would say spring summer and fall are best for the gardens.

One of those surprising things you weren't expecting! A steampunk like museum dedicated to turn if…read morethe century motors and engines. The friendly owner often has one fired up for visitors to see. All the engines are in one big room. Placards explain their history in French and English. It won't take long to just take a look since the building is halfway between Monet's gardens and the church where he is buried. Tip jar for donations.

From the owner: Souvenirs aéronautiques Warluis, à trois kilomètres de Beauvais, vous ouvre son Musée de…read morel'Aviation. Photographies et documents inédits, maquettes, équipements de pilote composent la collection de cet établissement dédié aux machines de l'air. Les avions présentés comme le Messerschmitt 208 et les scènes reconstituées, rappellent les combats de la Seconde Guerre mondiale.

From the owner: Tous au musée Le musée est situé à quelques mètres de la Seine et du centre ville. Il programme…read moreplusieurs expositions par an sur des thèmes différents. Il est très appréciable de pouvoir profiter de la gratuité pour tous le mercredi ainsi que tous les jours pour les enfants et scolaires. Tout le monde a la possibilité de s'instruire.

The Arras Art Museum is actually located in a former monestary, and while it isn't as large as some…read moreof the places that I have visited, it still takes up a little over three floors of one of the wings (though parts of the gallery extend into other wings). Since Arras isn't that huge, the gallery contains a mixture of art from across the ages, though a lot of it does tend to be medieval and early modern with a smattering of paintings and objets d'art. Mind you, I'm not actually that particularly interested in decorative art, however there were quite a number of pretty awesome paintings, including some incredibly large ones at that. The tickets aren't all that pricey either, so if for some reason you find yourself in Arras then it is certainly worth checking out.

From the owner: Une collection riche et diversifiée Installé dans une partie de l'Abbaye Saint-Vaast, le musée…read moremunicipal est riche d'une collection assez bien étoffée puisque au rez-de-chaussée on peut découvrir des oeuvres d'arts funéraire et sacrées dont quelques-unes ayant trait à l'histoire du diocèse d'Arras. Il renferme ainsi le Trésor de la Cathédrale de l'ancien musée diocésien. Au premier étage, sont exposées les toiles des écoles françaises et flamandes des XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles tandis que le second est occupé par des toiles du XIXe dont certaines de l'école d'Arras. Un échantillon assez large de l'histoire de l'art tout à l'honneur de la ville d'Arras qui consacre à la culture une attention certaine.

It was so cool to visit the little town of Auvers-sur-Oise where Vincent Van Gogh spent the final,…read moreyet very productive, 70 days of his life before his suicide death at age 37. We stood at the very spots where he painted some wheat fields, where he painted the town city hall, and where he painted the local church. We saw the inn where he rented a room for those final days. Visiting here definitely gives you a sense of connection with one of the world's greatest painters. He painted what he felt from the scene in front of him and the style of his 2100 paintings was ahead of his time as he never achieved any fame until well after his death. It's well worth a visit!

So I realize that some of the things I do only appeal to a certain demo…read more..... Some people are going to appreciate this more than other and some are going to ask why I would drive an hour plus through Paris traffic to get to Auvers-sur-Oise? The answer is that I'm a damn Van Gogh nerd..... The Van Gogh traveling experience is great but nothing.....nothing compares to standing in front of the real thing. I didn't think it could get much better than being at Orsay and admiring Starry Night over the Rhône. Or being at MOM and seeing The Starry Night (Arles) Yea, I was wrong. Being at Auvers-sur-Oise and walking in his footsteps is an experience all it's own. Visiting the house he rented the room he would eventually die in is a somber experience. The true highlight though is the Van Gogh walk..... Walk the same roads and fields, stop and look at the inspiration from some of his last and most recognizable paintings. The city has done a great job of marking the trail and setting up informational stations along the route. I cannot recommend this trip enough. I'll be back one day.....