Musée National Adrien Dubouché
Place Winston Churchill
87000 Limoges
France
Telephone : 011 33 5 55 33 08 50
Fax: 011 33 5 55 33 08 55
Hours: Daily 10:00 am to 12:30 pm and 3:00 pm to 5:45 pm. Closed Tuesday.
Reputed to have an extensive collection of 19th-century Palissy ware including a six-foot ceramic mural by Victor Barbizet and rare examples of porcelain Palissy ware by Jules Lesme. We have not visited this museum.

Lyon

Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon
Palais St.-Pierre
20, place des Terreaux
69001 Lyon
France
Telephone: 011 33 4 72 10 17 40
Fax: 011 33 4 78 28 12 45
Contains five excellent examples of 16th-century French Palissy ware. Item H-475 (illustrated on Home Page) may be the finest plate ever crafted by Bernard Palissy. Located on the second floor. A must visit when in Lyon!

Paris

Musée Carnavalet
23, rue de Sevigne
75003 Paris
France
Telephone: 011 33 1 42 72 21 13
Fax: 011 33 1 42 72 01 61
Hours: Daily 10:00 am - 5:40 pm. Closed Monday and bank holidays.
This lesser known destination is the Museum of the City of Paris and features a number of interesting exhibitions. Among them is possibly the largest display of 16th-century fragments from the Tuileries garden grotto by Bernard Palissy excavated three centuries later. Unfortunately, the exhibit was closed to the public during a recent visit (September, 2001). A must visit for Palissy enthusiasts intent on viewing authentic Palissy work!

Musée des Arts Décoratifs
Palais de Louvre
107, rue de Rivoli
75001 Paris
France
Telephone: 011 33 1 44 55 57 50
Fax: 011 33 1 42 60 49 48
Hours: Wednesday to Saturday 12:30 pm to 6:00 pm, Sunday 12 Noon to 6:00 pm. Closed Monday and Tuesday.
website: www.paris.org/Musees/Decoratifs
Currently (September, 2001) closed in part or in whole for extensive restoration. When last open, displayed three excellent examples of 19th-century French Palissy ware. Although a fabulous museum of French decorative arts, hardly worth a special Palissy visit.

Musée d'Orsay
62, rue de Lille
75343 Paris
France
Telephone: 011 33 1 40 49 48 12
Fax: 011 33 1 45 48 21 23
Hours: From October 1 to June 20: Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday from 10 am to 6 pm; Thursday from 10 am to 9:45 pm; Sunday from 9 am to 6 pm. Closed Monday
website: www.musee-orsay.fr
The Musée d'Orsay is reputed to display at least one very great example of 19th-century French Palissy ware, a large cup and basin set executed by Charles-Jean Avisseau around 1855. Perhaps it is being conserved as we failed to locate it during a recent visit (September, 2001). A great museum, especially for Impressionist art, but hardly for Palissy ware; otherwise, a must visit!

Museé du Louvre
France
Telephone: 011 33 1 40 20 50 50
Fax: 011 33 1 40 20 54 42
Open daily from 9 am to 6 pm, Monday and Wednesday until 9:45 pm. Closed Tuesday.
website: www.louvre.fr
e-mail: info@louvre.fr
The most famous museum in the world! Its display of 16th-century French Palissy ware exhibited in the "Salle de Bernard Palissy" is the best known. Be sure not to miss the nearby exhibit of St.-Porchaire ware, also the largest and best collection of these ceramic rarities (in part also attributed to Bernard Palissy). Located in the Richelieu Wing, third floor. A must visit in Paris! Tip: To avoid long lines, enter the Louvre through the Carrousel underground entrance on the Rue de Rivoli.

Musée National de Céramique
Place de la Manufacture
92310 Sèvres
France
Telephone: 011 33 1 41 14 04 20
Fax: 011 33 1 45 34 67 88
Open daily except Tuesday from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm.
The greatest museum for French ceramics adjacent to the famous Sèvres porcelain factory. Contains a magnificent display of Palissy Tuileries grotto fragments, some of the best examples of 16th-century French Palissy ware in any museum, and several great 19th-century pieces of French Palissy ware (though many others are not exhibited). About seven miles outside Paris. Take Metro to Pont de Sèvres and walk across bridge. Well worth a visit!

Musée National de la Renaissance
Chateau d'Ecouen
95440 Ecouen
France
Telephone: 011 33 1 39 90 04 04
Fax: 011 33 1 39 4 93 37
Hours: Open daily from 9:45 to 12:30 pm and 2:00 pm to 5:15 pm.
Former chateau of the 16th-century Constable Anne de Montmorency, the second most powerful person in France next to the throne, and mentor to Bernard Palissy. This chateau-museum houses a treasure of Palissy-attributed artifacts including many fragments from Palissy's Tuileries grotto. The museum also stores more than 10,000 fragments from Palissy's Parisian workshop recovered during the excavations in the courtyard of the Louvre and nearby Carrousel Arch. Located twelve miles northwest of Paris. Take the Ecouen-Ezanville train from Gare du Nord. If you have time, a worthwhile visit.

Tours

Musée des Beaux-Arts de Tours
18, place François-Sicard
37000 Tours
France
Telephone: 011 33 2 47 05 68 73
Fax: 011 33 2 47 05 38 91
Conserves the finest collection of Tours ceramists in any museum, about 140 pieces. Approximately forty examples are displayed on the third floor including Avisseau's famous nearly 7-foot "drageoir" created for Princess Mathilde in 1847. A must visit for any 19th-century French Palissy enthusiast! From Paris, 70 minutes by TGV. Depending on schedule, stops in Tours main station (2-minute walk to museum) or nearby St.-Pierre de Corps, a 10-minute taxi ride to museum