The Monet gallery after hours at the Marmottan

Why it is on the list

The Marmottan holds the largest collection of Monet's paintings in the world.¹ About a hundred of them, bequeathed by his family, hang in one 400 m² gallery around Impression, Sunrise: Argenteuil, Rouen Cathedral, the Water Lilies and the garden at Giverny.¹ Impression, Sunrise, painted in 1872, gave Impressionism its name; the Monet collection came to the museum in 1966 from Michel Monet, the painter's second son and only heir.² The house was Paul Marmottan's own, with its Empire rooms kept as he left them, and it also holds the largest public collection of Berthe Morisot.¹²

For the late Water Lilies murals rather than the easel paintings, take the Orangerie after hours instead. For a gala of several hundred, the Louvre takes private events from 50 to 3,000 guests.³

How to get it

Write to Véronique Pelloie in the museum's events office, v.pelloie@marmottan.com, with your date and numbers; Marianne Mathieu, m.mathieu@marmottan.com, is the second contact.¹ In the Monet gallery ask for a dinner (up to 120) or a cocktail-buffet (up to 180).⁴ For a smaller table, ask for the Paul Marmottan dining room: a seated dinner for up to 20, or 40 on request, under a crystal chandelier among paintings by Gauguin, Renoir and Caillebotte.⁴ Breakfast for up to 120, or champagne on the main landing followed by a private tour for up to 80, are the other formats.⁴

Discretion

The museum is a private house at the edge of the Bois de Boulogne, in the 16th arrondissement.² It closes to the public at 6 pm (9 pm on Thursdays) and all day on Mondays.⁵ Disabled parking and space for minibuses are outside the door, and the Monet gallery and ground floor are wheelchair accessible; the first-floor rooms are reached by lift.⁵