As the name suggests, this museum occupies a former orangerie, originally constructed in the southwest corner of the Jardin des Tuileries to house the park's orange trees. Designed by architect Firmin Bourgeois and built in 1852, the orangery has seen a multitude of uses ranging from army barracks to sports venue. Cultivation of fruit was stopped during the late 1800s. The orangery was later handed over to the city's fine arts administation who developed it as an annex to the Musee du Luxembourg (predecessor to the National Museum of Modern Art). Opened to the public in 1921, Musee de l'Orangerie is now known for its important collection of impressionist and post-impressionist paintings, the foremost of which being Claude Monet's great wall of water lilies (Nympheas).
Transport to Musee de l'Orangerie
