The Musee d'Orsay used to be a grand railway station, which was built in 1900, and was not until later in 1989 as it was turned into a famous museum showcasing 19th and 20th century art. Musee d'Orsay has now become one of Paris's most popular museums. There were two major railway stations in Paris at the turn of the 19th century, and one of them is the Gare d'Orsay, which has later turned into today's Musee d'Orsay. With a prominent location along the Seine, the Gare d'Orsay railway station was planned by the Compagnie d'Orleans, who wanted to bring trains right into the centre of Paris. The Gare d'Orsay opened on the 14th of July 1900 for the Paris World Exposition and was named a masterpiece of industrial architecture. However, soon the platforms had become too short for the newer longer trains. The gare d'Orsay has to be out of use as a train station in 1939. Afterwards, over time it was used as a parking lot, as a shooting stand, as a theatre location and even as a reception center for prisoners of war. Being abandoned for many years, the French president Giscard d'Estaing finally decided in 1978 to use the gare d'Orsay as a museum for 19th and 20th century art, and the renovation began. Finally on the 29th of November 1986, the museum was opened by the French president, Francois Mitterrand. It not only contains paintings, but it would also cover different art forms, including sculptures, engravings, photos, film, architecture and urbanism. The museum contains 2300 paintings, 1500 sculptures and 1000 other objects. It covers a period from mid 19th century till mid 20th centuries and contains works from Monet, Manet, Renoir, Cezanne, Van Gogh and others. For more sightseeing attractions and other information about Paris, please visit our Paris Tourism website. Also for the convenience of your Paris travel, TravelKing provides you a selection of nearby Paris hotels. You can reserve desired accommodations through TravelKing online hotel reservation.