On Vacation Guide Book Paris | Page 32

1 . M U S É E D ' O R S A Y 1 RUE DE LA LÉGION D'HONNEUR In the centre of Paris on the banks of the Seine , in front of the Tuileries garden , on the site of the former station Orsay , which was built for the Universal Exhibition of 1900 . Thus , the building itself could be regarded as the first " work of art of the XX century ", where art collections from 1848 to 1914 are presented . " The station is excellent and looks like the Palace of Arts ", - wrote the artist Edward Decret in 1900 . Eighty - six years later , his prophecy was fulfilled . The transformation of the station into a museum was carried out by a group of architects ACT , consisting of M . Bardon , M . Kolbok and M . Filippone . Their project was selected in 1979 from six others . The architects allocated a large hall , using it as the main hall , and turned a magnificent glass awning into the museum entrance . The museum was organized on three levels : on the first floor of the gallery are located on both sides of the central nave , overlooking the medium - level terraces , on which , in turn , there are additional exhibition galleries . The upper floor is located above the lobby , built along the entire length of the promenade and continuing to the ceiling of the former hotel on the street de la Leonon - Honneur ( the former Rue de Bellehasse ). The separate exhibition areas of the museum and various objects are divided into three levels : the Amon pavilion , the glass track of the western gear of the former station , the museum - restaurant ( installed in the dining hall of the former hotel ), the Hauteurs cafe , the bookstore and the concert hall . The interior design of the museum was first conceived by a team of stage designers and architects led by Gea Aulenty . With Italo Rota ,