149 Paintings You Really Should See in Europe — France

The lineups at the Pyramid in the centre can be extremely long. If you have time to approach the Louvre by going across the Île de la Cité, you will discover a pearl of beauty. Otherwise, go off the Seine through the entrance at Porte des Lions, far to the left when you are facing the Louvre with the Seine at your back. No lineups! You can gain entry here every day (except Tuesday and Friday) from 9:00 a.m. onward.

Pissarro, Monet, Renoir, Manet, and Degas caused havoc with unfinished canvases and everyday scenes — no moral, no reference to the ancients.