A magnificent converted railway station near the banks of the Seine, the Musée d'Orsay bridges the gap, in artistic terms, between the Louvre and the Pompidou Centre as it houses painting and sculpture from the pre-modern period (1840's until the First World War). The collection documents every major artistic movement from that period, starting on the ground floor with Ingres and Delocroix, and moving into Symbolism and Realism with pieces by Degas, Millet and Manet. The upper floor is concerned with Impressionism, and has a wealth of work by Renoir, Pissarro and Monet - including his famous water lilies. Also well represented is Gaugin, whose work is drawn from both before and after his near fatal trip to Tahiti, and there are some pointilliste paintings by Seurat, and a wonderful selection of Cezanne. No trip to Paris is complete without a visit to this magnificent museum.