Visiting Paris brings many delights.  It is a city with fascinating architecture and culture and museums in Paris are immensely popular. The Louvre Museum receives more visitors than any other museum in the world. The Louvre Pyramid, finished in 1989, is now an iconic entranceway to the museum. Made of glass, it sits in the Central Courtyard and contrasts well with the older structures. There are many famous art works within the museum's walls, most notably the Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci. Other featured artists include Rubens, Titian and Van Dyck.

The collection at the Louvre is varied and there are departments for Egyptian Antiquities, Greek and Roman Antiquities and Islamic Art. This is in addition to paintings, sculptures, prints and drawings from different sources. The success of the novel by Dan Brown, The Da Vinci Code, is proving to be another attraction for visitors as scenes from the book take place at the museum.

The Musee d'Orsay is worth a visit, just to see the building, apart from the splendid art collection. It is one of the more unusual settings for a museum in Paris, having been converted from the railway station, the Gare d'Orsay. It opened as a museum in 1986 and exhibits art from 1848 to 1914, chiefly by French artists. In addition to paintings and sculptures, there are displays of furniture and photography. The museum is mainly known for its extensive collection of Impressionist works. Artists featured include Monet, Renoir, Cezanne, Van Gogh, Degas, and Rodin.

For people interested in the scientific world, there are several fine museums in Paris with that theme. The Musee des Arts et Metiers contains the collection of scientific instruments and various inventions, brought together by the Conservatoire National des Arts et Metiers since 1794. It's a treasure trove of fascinating objects and the museum underwent a major renovation in 1990. One of the highlights of the exhibition is the original Foucault Pendulum, built to demonstrate the rotation of the Earth.

The Cite des Sciences et de L'Industrie is the largest scientific museum in Europe. It is housed in a contemporary glass and steel building and opened in 1986. It's a fun place for a day out and there are lots of interactive exhibits for children and young people to enjoy. This is one of the most family friendly museums in Paris. It contains a planetarium and an IMAX Theatre and there are displays on the subject of physics, biology and chemistry.

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