You guys, I’m SO excited because I FINALLY got an external hard drive (I know, took me long enough!). In case you couldn’t tell, I take a lot of pictures, especially when I’m traveling. In fact, I have so many photos and different memory cards from different trips that I’ve run out of storage space on my Macbook Air so I’ve been having to upload all my photos to my iMac and its been one big crazy mess (first world problems I know!). Luckily with the external hard drive I finally have one place to store all my photos and organize all of my photos from past trips that I’ve yet to blog out. Speaking of past trips, I know I’ve blogged a little bit about my two trips to Paris last spring and winter (like my visit(s) to Disneyland Paris, exploring the Louvre and Catacombs of Paris, one of my favorite spots to view the Eiffel Tower from and my stay at the Dream Castle Hotel) but I still have a few more Paris posts to share with you all. Today I wanted to share some of my favorite photos from my afternoon at the Musée d’Orsay! In case you couldn’t tell from my various art museums and art exhibits posts, I LOVE a good art museum so obviously visiting the Musée d’Orsay was high on my Paris bucket list!
Just a bit of advice, make sure to arrive at the Musée d’Orsay at least two before you plan on visiting. Meaning, if you wanted to visit the Musée d’Orsay at noon, arrive at 10 am because the line to enter the museum takes almost two hours (and keep in mind I visited in December so I had to stand outside in the cold the whole time but trust me, it’s so worth it!). In fact, on one of the days I was in Paris I planned on visiting the Musée d’Orsay about four hours before closing time and I ultimately decided to leave because by the time I would have made it through the line to get in, I would have only had two hours to explore the museum. So if you’re planning on visiting the Musée d’Orsay, get there EARLY (even before it opens!).

Like I said earlier, I LOVE taking photos so I apologize in advance for the photo overload! I probably took over 1,000 photos during my visit to the Musée d’Orsay so I only chose my absolute favorites for this post. I think one of the main reasons I took so many photos while I was at the Musée d’Orsay was because until recently, taking photos were prohibited within the museum (I’m so happy they lifted the ban on photography! Although, a word of advice, when taking photos in museums, art museums especially, don’t use flash and always be respectful of the artwork and your fellow art goers).

I’ve always been a huge art lover. Growing up in Chicago I’ve loved having The Art Institute of Chicago and the Museum of Contemporary Art right here in my backyard (so to speak). It’s funny because as a kid I was always more drawn to paintings but as I’ve gotten older I’ve found myself becoming more interested in sculptures, conceptual art, photography and architecture!

Speaking of architecture, one of my favorite things about the Musée d’Orsay was the building itself. For those of you that don’t know, the museum was installed in the former Orsay railway station, built for the Universal Exhibition of 1900. So the actual building is often seen as a “work of art” in itself! I absolutely loved the clock inside the Musée d’Orsay (how gorgeous is that?).
I don’t know what it is but I feel so at peace whenever I’m exploring a new (or old) museum. I could honestly spend HOURS at museums and never get bored. It’s so fun getting up close and personal with the artwork. In fact, I spent a good five hours exploring the Musée d’Orsay (which is only an hour less than I spent at the Louvre!).
I don’t know about you but I love to people watch while I’m exploring art museums (or just any museum in general!). It’s so fun when I see people, little kids especially, getting so excited about seeing different pieces of art. If you’re ever in Paris I HIGHLY recommend paying a visit to the Musée d’Orsay!