How to Visit the Jacquemart-Andre Museum in Paris

The Jacquemart-André Museum is an art museum located in the 8th arrondissement of Paris. Once the private home to French financier Édouard André and his wife, the artist Nélie Jacquemart, the museum reflects the owners tastes and styles creating a personal atmosphere unlike other museums.The home and its contents bequeathed to the French Institute opened to the public in 1913. The collection, noted for its beauty more then its erudition, holds art from the Italian Renaissance, the 18th century French School and the Dutch Masters.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Getting There

1. The museum address, 158 Boulevard Haussmann, is in the Paris neighborhood of Parc Monceau. It’s a five-minute walk from the famous street, the Champs-Élysées and near the famous department stores Galleries Lafayette and Printemps.

2. Located in a nondescript 19th century style town house, the building is deceiving on the outside compared to the grandeur of the museum inside.

3. When you arrive, purchase a ticket at the entry or purchase a Paris Museum Pass that covers the cost of your entry fee to most museums in and around the city.

Visiting the Museum

4. Pick up a free audio guide available in six languages including English. The audio guide will help you navigate through the rooms and galleries while pointing out key works of art.

5. Start on the first floor at the Grand Salon, at the center of the museum that was used to entertain guests. Here, you can see 18th century French paintings by Francois Boucher and Jean-Marc Nattier in an adjacent room, the Salon of Painters as well as busts of famous French politicians.

6. Next door, in the study where the couple conducted business, you can see Louis the XV furniture and Neo-classical paintings and sculptures.

7. 

   The marble Winter Garden is a magnificent room filled with exotic plants and foliage that also showcases a marvelous double staircase that leads you to the private quarters on the second floor.

8. Climb the stairs to the Italian Museum, once the couple’s private residence to view the collection of Italian treasures. Along with the Botticellis and a Tiepolo fresco, one of the museum’s most famous paintings, St. George and the Dragon by Paolo Uccello, hangs telling the story of a young maiden saved by a knight slaying the dragon.

9. Finish your tour of the home in the private bed chambers that attest to the luxurious lifestyle of the collectors. Ornate gild furnishings, sumptuous fabrics and wall hangings adorn these opulent rooms.

10. After your visit of the rooms and galleries, you can dine at the café and tea room. Make reservations in advance to ensure seating. Enjoy lunch or an afternoon tea in this equally impressive restaurant that also has on display, paintings from the collection.

Tips & Warnings

• It's best to make reservations in advance of your visit

[LishA]

on 6/20/2008 A terrific museum to visit if you want to avoid crowds.