When a friend and I traveled to Paris years ago, she told me that the Musée d'Orsay was a must-see. Upon arriving, it quickly became my favorite art museum. Located on the banks of the Seine, it was originally a Beaux-Arts train station, built in the late 19th century for the Universal Exhibition of 1900. However, its short platforms rendered it inefficient for the newer, lengthier trains that soon became common. The building then housed many different purposes (including a mail center during World War II), but finally was added to the list of Historic Monuments in 1978. The transformation from train station to museum was complete in 1986 when the doors opened to the public. The museum houses works of art from the time period between 1848 and 1914 - largely impressionist and post-impressionist pieces. Its architectural grandeur is in the great hall, captured in the photos seen here.