Off-the-Beaten-Path Paris Museums: Delacroix, Rodin, Barbie, Paris, France

I had lofty expectations for how many museums I would patronize during my 3 1/2 weeks in Paris. I ended up at three museums that are not normally on the museum tour of Paris, but maybe you will want to include one of them on your next visit to the City of Light.

Two of the museums were actually the homes and studios of the artists, and, while not quite as impressive as Monet's gardens in Giverny, it was interesting to observe where Delacroix and Rodin found the most inspiration for their creativity.

This home-turned-museum is right in the heart of the Left Bank, but nestled into a corner of a square down a narrow lane. I was really hoping that at least a copy of his Liberty Leading the People would be displayed somewhere, but I wasn't so lucky. Instead, several of Delacroix's original sketches and smaller paintings were on the walls. The coolest thing about this museum - besides the adorably hidden location - was the painting class going on in the garden.

Meudon is so far off the beaten path, it is necessary to take a suburban train or go to the end of a metro line, then still get on a bus to reach this museum. Meudon is close to the Clamart suburb with a bird's eye view of the Eiffel Tower, and I highly recommend a good wander through the beautiful homes (and a peek into the Saint-Philippe school grounds). ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).