Here is our (kid’s) opinion on visiting the Paris museum of Impressionist art. This is our second ‘art’ museum in Paris. Overall we dislike going to museums whilst on vacation considering we could be in a pool or eating ice-cream. However for a museum experience, this one is better than most.
We love finding paintings with dogs or cats such as the girl holding the cat in the Renoir.
Headsets are a pain- too big and therefor uncomfortable and hard to hear. However we had fun with them. The audio set came with a handheld device that had an image of the painting which you could zoom in on. We played a game, we gave the other person the handheld device, with the headphones on our own head. The other chose a painting by its number and by listening to the recording, we had to name the painting, or describe it, the artist. Something we could remember. This was a fun way to get through the museum.
Monet’s Poppies painting: sensations on a hot summers day – this is an alright painting, we appreciate this art work so much more than 16th century painting themes and dark styles.
Le Chevalier aux fleurs by Rochegrosse: I had to ask my mum what it means to seduce. It would be a nice panting if they excluded the knight and had the women in the field of flowers alone! – Chelsea. Audrey gave this painting s complete thumbs down.
At the entrance is a smaller statue of liberty. It represents a model of the actual statue in New York. The Clutching Declaration of Independence- it represents the friendship shared between two nations- 1886 delivered, 10 yrs later. Liberty enlightening the world.
This museum is smaller than other major museums and we like that. We also like the escalators, and that most f the art work is not about misery and death. Not as much violence in the paintings.
The music to the audio guide was liked by Chelsea.
The cafe afternoon tea was good- richly thick milk chocolate, Viennese hot chocolate!! The lemon tart was quite tangy- it was delicious.
We rated this a four and half star out of five when taking into consideration other museum experiences only, not comparing it to getting ice-screams or going to Disneyland.
Other family outings in Paris: The Louvre museum, Seine River Cruise, Eiffel Tower, Tuileries park
Some other educational/ museum experiences: The NG London, Picasso Museum Spain, Cathedral in Valetta Malta, Malta’s war museum, La Segrada famiglia cathedral Barcelona, Battle house Barcelona, The Tower of London, Barcelona’s Chocolate museum
Our parent’s made us put this in:
Taking the girls to this museum was a lovely experience. Both of them were fortunate to attend a school district that had parents volunteer and teach art literacy. This is a magnificent museum with so many of the great historical artists that resonate with children. The museum displays works of art from 1848 to 1914 therefor showcasing impressionism to realism. The building itself is stunning – its not too big but still an entire day is required to appreciate the art.
The girls have learnt so much history through wondering the halls of the museum and stopping, pondering their interpretation of what was happening and then learning about the artists perspective and what the artist was portraying during that period of time.
We only wished the headsets here were smaller, not a one size fits all and the children’s recorded art lessons for the paintings were geared towards 4th-6th graders not five year olds.
The cafe was a delightfully delectable and offered a lovely afternoon tea for great value. This museum offers a lighter life history lesson than the Louvrè, has different styles of art to the Louvre that are also fun to discuss with kids, the colors are whimsical, the landscapes dreamy and make for lovely discussions on feelings, story telling and the artists style. Our girl’s did enjoy this museum, were inspired by a Renoir and motivated to try sketching at home. The museum itself has a lovely rich history, fantastic discussion piece on government ideals to that of the people’s views.
A truly favorite family outing. NB: book ahead of time and make sure you reserve a time slot for Van Gogh viewing. This is new; it was not an adopted system when we visited but was necessary. It felt like the viewing of the Mona Lisa at the Louvre, it’s so popular.
Click and scroll below:
