Museums in Paris: Fondation Louis Vuitton (Part 1 of 4)

Paris is home to many museums.  Some, like the Louvre, are very old.  Others are a more recent vintage.

One of the newest museums is the Fondation Louis Vuitton, founded by French luxury goods billionaire Bernard Arnault.  The museum, opened in 2014 after 8 years of construction, is located in the Bois de Boulogne. 

The museum exhibits art from the last 150 years and is also a cultural center for music, theater and dance. 

We recently visited the museum and were amazed by the building and the art collection.

The building was designed by Canadian-American architect Frank Gehry.  The story goes something like this.  In 2000, Arnault visited the Gehry-designed Guggenheim Museum Bilbao in northern Spain .  Amazed by the building (pictured below), Arnault decided he wanted Gehry to design an art museum for him in Paris.

One thing led to another and 14 years and 800 million Euro later, the Fondation Louis Vuitton was opened. 

Below are some photos showing Gehry's concept for the building and the finished product.  

Here are some models depicting the final design of the building.  To us, the building resembles a vessel with sails.  

The actual building is pictured below, with some random hottie mirroring the building's extraordinary shape.  Some of the building's design reminded us of the Sydney Opera House.  

Navigating the building is no easy feat, given the extraordinary shape and multiple levels.  The top of the building has several different outdoor terraces with walkways and stairs going here and there, plus some nice views of Paris. 

One of the interior staircases (pictured below) reminded us of climbing the inside of the Statue of Liberty.

In the building are many exhibition spaces, plus a restaurant named for the architect, Le Frank.

The roof of the building is partially covered by glass sails.  Below is a rooftop exhibition area with flowering trees.  

Moving from the top to the bottom, below the building is a sort of grotto with a tranquil waterfall.

You can enjoy the peaceful scene by clicking on the video below.

Next Up:  An amazing art collection.

P.S.  If case you want some fun facts about the building, here you go.