Renoir Gardens, Musée de Montmartre, Paris

Paris and Montmartre: the beating heart of the Impressionist scene

Be it in the cobbled streets of Montmartre or the exhibition rooms of Paris’s greatest museums, take a trip through time and discover the Impressionists’ depictions of the buzzing Paris scene.
  1. Inspiration
  2. Itineraries
  3. Impressionist journeys in Paris Region
  4. Paris and Montmartre: the beating heart of the Impressionist scene

Under Napoleon III, Baron Haussmann transformed Paris, thrusting the city into the modern age.

Chroniclers of modern life such as Monet, Degas, Manet, Renoir, Pissarro and Caillebotte were regular attenders at the new hotspots of Paris life: cabarets, brasseries, dances and operas, as well as parks, gardens and racetracks.

Montmartre: fiefdom of the Impressionist painters

The village of Montmartre has perpetuated that effervescence, teeming with cafés and nightspots steeped in history.

The Maison Bel Air is home to the Musée de Montmartre and the Jardins Renoir, a tribute to the iconic local painter who lived there.

Musée de Montmartre - Jardins Renoir
Musée de Montmartre & Renoir gardens

The best Impressionist collections in Paris museums

Paris and its museums offer spectacular settings for the finest collections of Impressionist art.

The Musée d’Orsay boasts the largest collection of Impressionist paintings anywhere in the world.

Famile%252C Nymphéas de Monet
Musée d’Orsay

The Musée de l’Orangerie], situated at the end of the Jardin des Tuileries, is home to a spectacular set of Monet’s Water Lilies.

Musée de l&%2523039;Orangerie
Musée de l'Orangerie

His greatest masterpiece, Impression, Sunrise takes pride of place at the Musée Marmottan Monet, home to the world’s largest collection of Monet’s works.

The museum also houses the most extensive collection of works by Berthe Morisot, who managed to impose her style and beliefs in what was a very closed and very male world.

Musée Marmottan Monet
Musée Marmottan Monet

Explore the Impressionnist scenes in Paris Region

Sur les pas de Sisley, visite guidee a Moret-sur-Loing
Barbizon, Moret-sur-Loing and Yerres: Impressionism and its forerunners to the south of Paris
Art & culture
Escape from the hustle and bustle of Paris to savour the pleasures of nature on the outskirts of the city.
Instant de bonheur, Chatou, Paris Region
Seine-side delights
Strolls
Though the new Paris provided abundant inspiration for the Impressionists, the development of the railways, improvements in painting equipment and the advent of leisure activities were to offer them fresh motifs a few miles outside the city.
Vue sur l'église devant laquelle est exposé le tableau impressionniste de Vincent Van Gogh la représentant, Auvers-sur-Oise 2005
Auvers and the Oise Valley: an invigorating hotbed of art
Art & culture
Retrace the steps of great artists from Van Gogh to Pissarro in Auvers and the Oise Valley.

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  • Copyright image: J.P. Delagarde