Walking Paris, day 3 still walking...heading to Place des Vosges.

We left the Tuileries Garden on to one of favourite streets rue de Rivoli as it crosses over Place des Pyramides where there is the delightful Joan in all her golden glory! At 3km it is a long street and we pretty much walked the length of it on day three.

It is difficult to know exactly where rue de Rivoli stops and when it becomes rue Saint-Antoine but the church of Saint-Paul Saint-Louis is a good marker.

We turned down Rue de Birague to access Place des Vosges, one of our favourite spots in the city.

It was good to see it busy, with all the benches and there are a lot, being utilised.

We chose to sit inside at the 'Serpent à Plume' where we had lunch with 'the sisters' on our previous visit last May.

Walking Paris, day 3 still walking...heading to Tuileries Garden.

After our visit to the Petit Palais we slipped into the nearby, small 'Charles Aznavour Garden', part of the Jardins des Champs-Élysées where Jeff Koons' tulip bouquet now stands.

Then we crossed over the Place de la Concorde and passed its ornate pillars and fountains.

Then it was into Tulleries gardens and all the delights it has to offer.

 

Walking Paris, day 3 continues...stopping to check out the Petit Palais - Musée des Beaux-Arts de Paris

Our disappointment at not having lunch in the Petit Palais garden was more than made up for by taking in the exhibitions within the site. It had been a few years since we had been there but it all still felt so fresh.

We were lucky enough to visit on the first day of an exhibition of 20 paintings by artist Bilal Hamdad including two new ones created for the occasion. We liked the way his work was placed between the classic canvases of the museum's permanent collections. It is said he draws his inspiration from great masters such as Rubens, Manet and Courbet...we loved his work.

One of his works really interested us as it was of a cafe just around the corner from our accommodation where we had been sitting in the night before!

Walking Paris, day 3 continued...Marcel Duchamp Prize 2025 artists to discover at the Museum of Modern Art in Paris.

Located in the elegant Palais de Tokyo near the Seine, the museum opened in 1961 and today houses over 15,000 works. From the bold colors of Matisse to the dreamy worlds of Miró and the experimental visions of Yves Klein, the collection traces the story of modern art in all its forms.The museum has just hosted the 'Marcel Duchamp Prize 2025' * This 25th edition introduces a major new feature with the works of the nominated artists integrated into the very heart of the MAM's permanent collections. The exhibition is free and will run until February 22, 2026.

Henri Matisse, 'The Dance',

What makes the museum different is its atmosphere, spacious, airy, and less crowded than other Parisian institutions. Maybe just a wee bit too spacious.

Bianca Bondi, Xie Lei, Eva Nielsen, and Lionel Sabatté were the four artists nominated for the prize with the competition offering one of the most prestigious prizes in contemporary art, worth 90,000 euros.

Lionel Sabatté

Otto Freundlich - Composition - 1933 

Boris Lovet-Lorski, Vénus

Annette Messager 1943 Les Interdictions (The Interdictions)

Robert Delaunay 

Robert Delaunay Tour Eiffel

Robert Delaunay L'Équipe de Cardiff, 1912-1913.

Robert Delaunay 'Rythme n°1#, 1938

Lionel Sabatté - 'Dodo from dust'.

Lionel Sabatté

Lionel Sabatté

Bianca Bondi - 'Silent room'

*Xie Lei was the prize winner,what do you think?.

There are views of the Eiffel Tower from the outside terrace of the museum.

Whether you’re a lifelong art enthusiast or just curious to see something beyond the usual tourist trail, the Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris is a good visit...oh and did I say it's free!