Musee d'Orsay

The Musee d'Orsay used to be a steam train station but it had to close when it's platforms became too short for modern trains. The giant station clocks are still here and it is home to some of the most famous Impressionist paintings in the world including Renoir, Cezanne, Manet, Monet and Degas. There were also galleries devoted to Van Gogh and another to Henri Toulouse-Lautrec. The collection is truly breathtaking, in a forgotten corner on the 'Art Nouveau' level (which was empty as the hoards were in the Impressionist gallery) was a fabulous Edvard Munch painting.

When official art dealers saw the paintings of Cezanne and Monet they burst out laughing . 'R' for refuse - rejected - was stamped on the back and the canvases were returned. So, the artists decided to exhibit their paintings in their own show, the Salon des Refuses or ' Room of the Rejected.'

The kids loved the gallery, Alex was delighted to see Van Gogh's 'Starry Night' which he'd learned about at school and Charlie loved Degas' paintings and sculptures of dancers.

Paris is very 'kid friendly'; there are lots of playgrounds with many close to the main tourist attractions which makes 'letting off steam' easy.

View of the Louvre from the roof top terrace

The Sacre-Coeur through the station clock

The main gallery with station clock reminiscent of the movie 'Hugo' at the end

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Alex and Charlie are in Melbourne at the playground outside