Well, another first of the month. Here in Paris that means free museum day. This month, I decided to make up for lost time and mapped out 5 different museums that I could check out for free. Up early and out the door before 0900. The streets were empty and the metro was all but abandoned. I took the correct connector rail and in the right direction and got off within a few blocks of The Musee de Moyan Age. The museum wasn’t that great, but the grounds and the basement house the roman baths and that alone was worth the walk.

Then a short stroll across the seine and onto one of the islands, to visit the Conciergerie, that once housed the jail that kept prisoners prior to their execution, including Marie Antoinette. I must say I was a bit disappointed, and would probably skip it next time. Third on the list was Musee Picasso. Yes, I had a list and it was numbered. Pretty impressive, housed in an old hotel, it matches the artist work perfectly with confusing levels, nooks, crannies and several doorways that bring you back to where you started. The art work was displayed nicely and the selection was diverse.

I was getting a little tired by then and headed towards the metro station thinking that I would stop at the next café and have lunch. Well I ran across the Center Pompidou, the home of the Musee National D’Art Modern, and I couldn’t resist adding a sixth one to the list. So I went in and up the multiple layers to the entrance of the Museum and lost myself for the next hour and a half in all sorts of displays and artwork.

Not being able to ignore my hunger any longer, I left the museum and found a nice little sidewalk café to sit, rest my legs, and enjoy lunch and the view of people passing. I imagined that everyone of them envied me, sitting in the warm sun sipping my wine, enjoying the luxury of time. Little did they know that I was on a race with the closing time of two more museums.

Off I went in search of Musee Gustave Moreau. Tucked away on a twist of streets and halfway up a cobble stoned street was an unassuming façade that didn’t hold much promise, but for that it was all the more intriguing. The lobby was small and quickly led to a staircase, too narrow for a museum. Circling around to the second floor then to the third, I was first caught by the size of the room, then the size of some of the paintings, then captured by the circular staircase that dominated one end of the room and led up to the fourth and final floor. The paintings were oils. Some had religious themes and some were of mythology. An interesting mix of faith from two very different ages. This is one that anyone coming to France should see.

It was getting late and time for museum visits was winding down. One last stop on the outskirts of Paris on the edge of the Park between the Arch de Truimphe and the Arch La Defense. “The Musee des Arts et Traditions Popular has definitely closed since September” The sign on the door read. I interpreted it to mean indefinitely closed since September, after walking through the open door and wandering around what was once the grand entrance. I turned and walked home, exhausted, but meeting my goal. A great day in Paris.