Hi friends, welcome back to my Paris and London Anniversary series 🙂 After wandering the streets of Montmartre, Jon and I briskly walked back towards Saint Germain for our second excursion of the day, The Musee d’Orsay. We were very glad that the walk was downhill this time. We walked through the elegant Place Vendôme. This area was originally designed by Louis XIV and called “Place Louis le Grand”, but Napoleon removed the statue of Louis and replaced it with this large column to commemorate the victory at Austerlitz. The Place Vendôme is now filled with high end luxury stores and the Ritz Paris, one of the fanciest hotels in the world. The hotel is also where Princess Diana had her final meal before her fatal car crash.
If you look closely, you can find one of the original meter signs around the city in the Place Vendôme.
Jon and I were a bit tired from our trek by the time we got to the museum, but we were determined to make the most of it. The Orsay Museum is located inside the old Gare de O’rsay train station that was almost demolished before becoming a museum in 1986. It showcases art from 1848-1914, beginning right where the Louvre’s collection ended. This museum is most known for its expansive collection of Impressionist art, including works from Monet, Renoir, and Van Gogh.
The Birth of Venus by Alexandre Cabanel
Some work by Monet. Unfortunately we didn’t make it to see his famous Water Lillies at Musee de l’Orangerie.
I liked this polar bear called Ours Blanc by François Pompon.
The highlight of this museum is the Vincent Van Gogh collection on the top level.
His last self portrait.
You can see all the way to Sacre Coeur where we were that morning! We definitely got our steps in.
After our busy morning we were a little tired to truly enjoy the museum. We thought the Musee d’Orsay was cool, but we personally liked the Louvre a lot better. The more modern style art isn’t our cup of tea, but the museum is definitely worth visiting. We spent about two hours in here but you could easily spend more time than that. I also think we also had a bit of museum fatigue after seeing Versailles and the Louvre the days before. I felt like this lady below by the end of our excursion 🙂
For dinner we had our first and only crepes of the trip at Café Breziah. I can’t find the English menu to say what we ordered, but the crepes and gallettes were delicious! Galettes differ from crepes because they are made of buckwheat and typically are more savory filled with ham and/or eggs. This wasn’t the most filling dinner, but we thoroughly enjoyed the gourmet crepes and galettes.
We had the best first wedding anniversary and fourth day in Paris! Being able to spend our anniversary exploring Paris together was so special. We walked over 24,000 steps this day and were very exhausted by the end of the day. We were supposed to have our anniversary photoshoot the following morning, but we rescheduled due to a rainstorm, so we were looking forward to sleeping in a bit the following morning and a slower day. Stay tuned for day 5 🙂
Posts in my Paris and London Anniversary series:
- Day 1 – Saint Chapelle, the Concierge, and Notre Dame
- Day 2 – Palace of Versailles
- Day 2 – Versailles Garden
- Day 2 – Touring the Versailles Summer Homes
- Day 3 – Louvre Museum
- Day 3 – Champs Elysees & Arc de Triomphe
- Day 4 – Montmartre & Sacre Coeur
So firstly any blog post with ‘crepe’ in the title has me instantly reading .They look delicious, and you had Galette as well, yum! I’m so pleased you had such a wonderful way of spending your anniversary. We hit 10 years this year and we’ll both be at work so that’s depressing haha! 🙂
The crepes were so delicious! I could’ve eaten ten of them right there haha. Wow 10 years is a big anniversary! That is sad to be at work but I’m hoping you have some fabulous adventure to celebrate it belatedly!
I bet! I knoww, it makes me realise I got married so young 🤣 we are off to Costa Rica a week afterwards so yes, super excited for that 😁😁
That sounds amazing!! Can’t wait to see all the pics/videos/posts 🙂
I just love Impressionism and the artists of that era so I would probably have loved that museum. When we went in high school we actually didn’t spend much time in Paris so this is one museum we skipped. We spent a lot of time in the French countryside and I’m 90% sure we went to Monet’s house and saw the gardens/ water that inspired his waterlilies paintings (did you know that there are more than 200 of them in that series?! We’ve seen the one hanging in Boston). I can only imagine how exhausted you must have been by the end of the day with all that walking!
You would love this museum and it isn’t overwhelming in size! The French countryside sounds amazing and is next on my list. I would love to see Monet’s house one day. Wow 200 is a lot!! We were very tired, but determined to see as much as we could while we were there 🙂
I agree with travelling_han; put “crepe” in the title and I’m reading. The crepe photos did not disappoint, and of course, they were the perfect addition to a “Lyssy” post. The Van Gogh was an easy guess; looks a lot like Starry Starry Night. And the mention of the statue compared to how you felt at the time – perfect. I’m surprised Jon didn’t get a photo of you looking exactly the same way.
It would be worrying if I had a lot of posts with no drool-inducing food pictures 🙂 You can also tell I was getting tired by the relative lack of pictures here. Although seeing a picture of a work of art online isn’t quite the same as seeing it in person. We did sit on a lot of benches to take a break in the museum 🙂 not sure if just because of tiredness or it’s a sign we’re getting older.
You can claim jet lag or being tired but not getting older LOL. Save that excuse for a few decades from now 😉
Haha I am about to turn 29 soon, so that upcoming new decade is making me feel older 😂
You guys are real troopers! You’ve packed a lot into the first days. While I can generally relate to the art in Musee d’Orsay more so than the Louvre, I agree the Louvre seems like a better place to display art. Musse d’Orsay reminds me a bit of your post about the New York Library. Maybe it was the Statue of Liberty replica.😊 If/when I get back to Paris, your marvelous posts will make excellent travel guides. Those crepes — mmm!
I actually had more things on my list at first, but when I was mapping out my itinerary I figured we would be busy. I over plannned so we wouldn’t miss anything, but went in knowing we could skip things if we didn’t feel up to it. I do like the older works in the Louvre, the Ancient Greek sculptures always impress me. It does seem similar to the New York Library. I hope you make it back to Paris and have a crepe for me!
Lyssy, you’re making me tired just reading your post! I love seeing your photos and hearing about your adventures. The food looks absolutely fabulous.
Thank you so much, our dinner was so fabulous! I definitely jam packed our itinerary, but I was afraid of missing anything. Our next trip will be more relaxed and nature focused 🙂
I jam pack our itineraries too – almost down to bathroom breaks. Only because we will probably never go back, so we’ve got to see it all while we’re there.
Musée d’Orsay is our favourite museum in Paris. It is much less intimidating Le Louvre and the stone bust sculptures are amazing. Glad you got your galette and crepe meal. I would not do well with the sunny side up egg, but they look delicious. Did you have cider with the meal? That is the Breton drink of choice with galette/crepes. Thanks for sharing Lyssy. Allan
I think a lot of people prefer the Musee d’Orsay to the Louvre because it’s not so overwhelming in size. I spread the yolk around so it absorbed into the galette. We had rose I believe, but cider sounds like the perfect combo with galette/crepes. I didn’t know that was the drink of choice. Next time!
The Musee d’Orsay is one of my favourite Paris museums and who could resist a crepe when in France!
A crepe and museum make for the perfect day in Paris!
That is really cool that you saw Van Gogh paintings in person. They look very beautiful! Also the crepes and galettes look really delicious.
They were so beautiful and neat to see! They were definitely the most popular paintings in the museum. It was a yummy dinner!
I understand you were tired of museums! It’s a lot though! You guys are brave to walk that much lol
For some reason, I like better the Musée d’Orsay than the Louvres, I guess it’s because I found the Louvres too touristy, but again we didn’t have the same experience!
Hope you could relax a bit! Paris can be overwhelmed if you have too much plans 😊
We definitely got our exercise in Paris! I think a lot of people like the Musee d’Orsay better because it isn’t so overwhelming and touristy. I’m looking forward to going back to Paris one day with a slower itinerary now that I’ve seen all the big sights 🙂
I am glad you two had such a wonderful anniversary! I would have probably loved The Musee d’Orsay as I love impressionists. However, I fully understand the words: museum fatigue. Temple fatigue was a thing for me after years in Asia living and traveling. Crepes, the best dinner ever 😉
Thank you! Oh yes we watch these YouTubers and they had Temple fatigue – if you need something cool to watch their channel is Kara & Nate – they’ve been to 100 countries. We probably should’ve eaten more crepes in Paris!
We loved visiting there. Those crepes are so yummy…makes want make those.Such a great vacation.
Anita
It is such a great museum! Crepes are pretty easy to make at home too. We had such a wonderful trip!
Anything with crepes in the title is a total winner – YUM!
I agree!!
Montmartre, Orsay and galette in one day, is this a record attempt? Although the impressionists and neo-impressionists bring a refreshing painting after the classics in the Louvre, it still takes some physical strength to free the mind and enjoy it well. Using the metro is certainly a solution for busy days.