The first two places I look for in a new city are always an art gallery and a library. As well as loving these institutions, they both reveal much about a place and its sense of self. Here are seven of my favourite galleries from my travels:
The French capital is a dream for art lovers with so many wonderful galleries and museums. And while the Louvre and the Musée D’Orsay are at the top of everyone’s list of places to go, there are many more to see. Conveniently located between the Seine and the Champs-Élysée, Petit Palais Musée des Beaux Arts de la Ville de Paris is a real highlight. It’s worth a visit just to see the magnificent building – this really is a palace to behold! And, like all the other municipal galleries in Paris, it’s free to enter and view the permanent collection of some 43,000 works. This was an initiative of the then Socialist Mayor Bertrand Delanoë and has been hugely popular. The “fantastical” portrait of Jérôme de La Lande by Jean-Honoré Fragonard, painted in 1769, is one of the most memorable pieces.
