The Marmottan Monet Museumdates back to 1882, when Jules Marmottan purchased the historic hunting lodge and filled it with his private art collection. The collection was expanded by his son Paul before being bequeathed to the Académie des Beaux-Arts. It grew significantly with several high-profile donations, including one by Claude Monet’s son in 1966.
Today, the museum’s collection features masterworks by Monet, Berthe Morisot, Paul Gauguin, Édouard Manet, Edgar Degas, and other Impressionist and post-Impressionist luminaries. It also owns the Wildenstein Collection of illuminated manuscripts. Small-group tours offer an intimate way to discover the museum’s highlights, while skip-the-line itineraries are suited for time-pressed visitors. Some itineraries even pair a museum visit with a trip to Monet’s home in Giverny.
The ground floor and lower level of the museum are accessible to those in wheelchairs, though the upper level is not.
The museum’s basement galleries were designed to resemble those at the Musée de l’Orangerie, and also showcase Monet’s Water Lilies series.
Audio guides are available in French and English for a small additional fee.
The Marmottan Monet Museum, located on Paris’ western edge, can be accessed by multiple forms of transportation. Take Métro line 9 to La Muette station, the RER C to Boulainvilliers station, or bus lines 22, 32, 52, 63. The museum can also be reached by rental bike, car, or foot.
The museum is open Tuesday through Sunday with later hours on Thursdays. It is closed each year on Dec. 25, Jan. 1, and May 1. The museum hosts several temporary exhibitions each year; as such it is worth planning repeat visits.
One of the museum’s highlight works isImpression, Sunrise, a dreamy canvas painted by Claude Monet in 1872, which gave the Impressionist movement its name. Though the painting was stolen during a high-profile heist in 1985, it was later recovered and is on display today.
