Musee d'Orsay

An eye-catching homepage in bright oranges, reds and purples serves as an introduction to one of the triumvirate of world-class museums in Paris. The speed and image quality is high throughout the site and navigation is good. The histories of the building and the collection are described fulsomely. In particular, the rather tortuous collecting policy of the museum and its rivals receives much analysis. Specific areas within the collections are then discussed by type.

The text is full of 'in this gallery we see'; this would be a perfectly sensible way of proceeding if it were accompanied by a plan of the museum on the same page. That way, potential visitors could plan a trip around what is a large space, based on the works and styles that they want to see. One slight disappointment is the lack of any views of the building's interior; it really is the most marvellous, cavernous space and, although the history of the site and the building is outlined, more could be made of a building that rivals the Pyramide and the Pompidou centre as one of the finest display spaces in Paris.

The Programmes section is very full and useful. Selecting any of the options on the left-hand side or at the bottom of the screen produces reams of information on future tours, film programmes, conferences and the like. Some of this information is only available on the French version of the site, but browsers will be redirected automatically. If you have trouble reading the details in French then chances are you wouldn't get much out of the event anyway.

SPECIAL FEATURES

The Musée d'Orsay enjoys a most splendid online shop; the catalogue includes the usual selection of museum shop books, sculpture, jewelry, clothing and, in that awful word, collectables. The book covers are all illustrated and, although the titles are given in French (even where available in translation), the books have good descriptions in English. Prices are quoted in euros.