Musée d'Orsay

Musée d'Orsay clock in the main hall.

Since we're not big museum-goers, the Musée d'Orsay - even though it's one of the most popular museums in Paris after the Louvre - was not on our list of sites to visit.  However, we had in our possession the very practical Paris Museum Pass, allowing us to skip long lines and get in free to many attractions, so when we walked by the Orsay and all of us needed to use the restroom, we stepped in for free.  The siren call of the gorgeous main hall interior lured us in for a peek, and before we knew it we'd spent several hours touring the collections.  The kids recognized a couple of the Renoirs and Van Goghs from art class, and my daughter loved the Degas sculpture of the 14 year old ballet dancer, because, at the time, my daughter was a 14 year old ballet dancer!

Degas's sculpture of the 14 year old ballet dancer.

The museum was originally a railway station, which is why the interior sort of looks like one.  Outside the museum is a square displaying six bronze sculptures in a row.