High Museum of Art: Welcome to Atlanta Louvre!

No need to travel to France anymore. Although the city of Paris is historic and beautiful with loads of history and culture, they have decided to loan us a private collection of paintings and items that until recently were largely unknown to the American public.

The exhibit features a large array of different examples of period art. They range from furniture used by many royals, to vanities and paining which are the main attractions for most people. The exhibit will be broken into 3 years of exhibition with each exhibit consisting of 3 parts. The first year has many collections from the kings of France including sculptures, drawings, paintings and a few personal items. Year two will consist of Greek, Roman, and Egyptian items that were acquired by Empress Josephine. This exhibit alone will feature 100+ items from France. Year 3 information is not available until next year but it is playfully titled The Louvre of today and Tomorrow.

The High Museum of Art does feature family attractions that are themed after the Louvre and the days vary so you might want the check the website for more information. They do have an audio guide tour that can be used independently or as a family. And the museum itself has a wonderful café that I had the pleasure of eating at. Admission is fair with adult tickets running at $15, children at $10, students and seniors at $12. Of course if you decide to make it a group effort it is 10 people equal $12 dollars a person.

I personally have been through the first 2 and although the walk though was short its was worth the time and money. Each floor had the most beautiful drawings and paintings that I have seen. And using the audio feature that was given out at the beginning of the tour was exciting and educational. This is place that you can bring children of any age to introduce them to the arts. The café had great food at a good price and the museum also features movies that are the independent type. Each film group has a theme such as this month is Iranian Film Today. Once a month is a nice relaxing jazz session and if you happen to catch the Art in the City at the right time they feature food, wine, and guided tours. (Adults ONLY)

At the end of the tour you get a nice walk though a reasonably priced shop. I happen to come when they had a few posters on sale and got a wonderful poster to commemorate my time there. The exhibition will run from 2006-2008