You musn't visit Paris without going to Musée d'Orsay.
The Orsay is on the left bank of the Seine, opposite the Jardin de Tuileries, and is housed in the former Gare d'Orsay, an impressive Beaux-Arts railway station built in 1898 for the Universal Exhibition of 1900.
Universal Exhibitions were huge affairs in the later part of the 19thC, but the 1900 Universal Exhibition was outstanding because it introduced to the world, for the first time, a number of things that we now take for granted; escalators, the Eiffel Tower, ferris wheels, Russian nesting dolls, the diesel engine, talking films and the telegraphone.
And the Gare d'Orsay, the beautiful station of the line Paris - Orleans.
Looking at the Orsay from the other side of the river.
The beautiful facade facing the side.
This area is now the entry to the museum but mimics the original glass, cantilevered verandah over the entrance on this side.
On our last visit in 2011, the roof was off limits because of renovations, so this tme we made sure we went out on the new roof deck.
Looking directly across the Seine, with the white spires of Sacre Couer at Montmartre in the centre distance. The greenery is Le Jardin Tuileries.
Looking across the river, and slightly to the right, we see the Tuileries leading up to the matching towers on either side of the Louvre.
The new cafe fitted into the Mansard roofline of the old railway station with a window that is one of the two, huge railway clocks that are still working.
The view through the clock. Sacre Couer in the distance.
Looking at the main gallery you can reconstruct the old railway station in your mind. The huge curved roof. Two lines at ground level and two below. Wide platforms.
Much of the original roof has been preserved.
The Staute of Liberty, which was gifted to America by the people of France in 1886 was modelled on similar traditional French sculptures that represent the Republic. This is one of them.
We arrive at the new Impressionism gallery, but alas, no photos. If we had been able to take photos they'd be like this Degas.
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