Originally built in 1852 at the request of Napoleon III to shelter orange trees of the Tuileries Gardens during the winter months, the Orangerie is the result of a quick and careful work. The beautiful decoartions designed by Louis Visconti predisposed the building to become the prestigious museum it is today.
A must for any lover of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist painting, the Orangerie houses many masterpieces, including the series of Waterlilies by Claude Monet, offered to the French government in 1922. Following renovations to the building in 2006, the orangerie is now lighted by natural light: you can now enjoy these paintings in all their splendor. In the basement, there is the collection of Jean Walter and Paul Guillaume: it gives homage to the great painters of the twentieth century, such as Cézanne, Matisse, and Picasso and Soutine. For visitors seeking to deepen their artistic culture, the museum offers guided tours and also has an auditorium, educational room and a bookstore . L’Orangerie is a great, historical place to discover and rediscover the masterpieces of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries!
