Paris's hilltop artists' quarter
This small museum sits at the western end of the Tuileries Garden in Paris, tucked into a corner where many rush past on their way to the Louvre or Place de la Concorde. That's their mistake, as this compact yet perfectly formed museum deserves attention.
The building was constructed in 1852 as a greenhouse for the Tuileries' orange trees. In 1927, it was converted to display eight of Monet's Water Lilies panels – vast curved canvases installed in two oval rooms designed specifically to hold them.
The paintings wrap around the walls in continuous panoramas, each panel two metres high and up to 17 metres long. Monet painted them in his Giverny garden during World War I, creating meditative spaces while Europe tore itself apart.
The lower level holds the Walter-Guillaume collection: Cézanne, Renoir, Matisse, Picasso, Modigliani, and Soutine. You’re never too far from the greats in Paris.
The museum is compact. An hour covers it thoroughly, though the oval rooms reward longer contemplation.
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