French museums... le Louvre et le Musée d’Orsay
7 May '20 by Pauline Boucherie
Despite the shelter in place orders in France and in many countries around the world, it is still possible for children, teenagers, and
adults to carry on taking part in the French and Francophone cultural life. In Paris, the Musée d’Orsay and the Louvre are closed, but
you can visit these two famous museums through the following article, thanks to virtual tours, videos, audio recordings, and more!
Le Musée du Louvre, Paris
This is the former residence of the French kings, and the world’s largest art museum.
For children and adults
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“Questions d’enfants” (“Through Children’s Eyes”)
Watch short videos where specialists from the Louvre museum answer children's questions about one of its works of art. You can choose the
video according to your French level, because they are made for Francophone children of 5, 10, and 11 years-old. They are interesting for
both children and adults, the vocabulary is technical but the French is spoken slowly.
https://www.louvre.fr/questions-enfants
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“Oeuvres à la loupe” (“A Closer Look”)
The Louvre houses some of the most famous works of art in the world. You can examine the little details of the art pieces with a zoom tool,
and read or listen to commentaries, as if you were on a guided tour of the museum. You don’t need to have a good level of French, as
you can follow the visuals.
https://www.louvre.fr/oal (French version)
https://www.louvre.fr/en/oal (English version)
Le Musée d’Orsay, Paris
This national museum features occidental art and a huge number of impressionist paintings
For children and teenagers
This website is made for children and teenagers between 5 and 18 years old, and lets them discover the Musée d’Orsay and the Musée de
l’Orangerie. Follow Pompom the bear and Lily the frog in a digital tour, where you can find more than 100 works of art, short articles
about artists, virtual exhibitions on various topics... The website is really well made and easy to navigate, and you don’t need to
have a good level of French to enjoy it. You can also find podcasts that last between 6 and 11 minutes, told by children, that are imaginary
stories inspired by the museums’ works of art.
https://www.petitsmo.fr/
Masterpieces, artists, and thematic exhibitions: https://www.petitsmo.fr/les-oeuvres
Podcasts: https://www.petitsmo.fr/au-pays-des-monstres
https://www.petitsmo.fr/promenades-imaginaires
For adults
As an adult, you can also discover the Musée d’Orsay’s collection by searching an artist, a place, character, or topic, in this
browser. You can find commentary on masterpieces in various languages.
https://www.musee-orsay.fr/fr/collections/catalogue-des-oeuvres/
(French version)
https://www.musee-orsay.fr/en/collections/index-of-works/home.html?cHash=1030a57d48
(English version)
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Commentary for blind and partially-sighted individuals
https://www.musee-orsay.fr/fr/espace-particuliers/particuliers/accessibilite/deficience-visuelle/ressources/parcours-audiodescriptif.html
We hope these selections will entertain you and keep you feeling connected to the outside world during the shelter-in-place orders.