Ingres Museum — Attraction in Montauban

Great applause to the marvellous staff of this well curated and perfectly housed museum.

We were on a bike packing trip, hence we were reluctant to leave our bikes outside with all the bags on it. The kind staff organized for them to be safely stored so that we hadn't had to think about them during our visit. They explained the museum to us and took great care we don't miss the main pieces. Much obliged, really!

The curation of the collection and exhibition is using the qualities of the old building to great effect, sometimes contrasting, sometimes blending. The selection of art pieces, especially when juxtaposed with contemporary art concepts, is refreshing.

One detail i'd like to highlight is the contexts (in addition to the more descriptive details) given on the exhibit labels, which we found more informative and inspiring than in many comparable places (labels are available in english, also).

In short, a great museum with engaged staff and...

I enjoyed our visit today. There is a car park very close to the museum which had spaces for us on market day. The machine to get a parking ticket from is complicated and reacts to key presses very slowly but there is an option to choose English which helps. Counter-intuitively the choice of time for your stay is towards the end of the process.

The museum has good toilets opposite the reception office.

There are 4 floors and finding how to get into the upper floors was a challenge. The entrances are behind a blank metal door off the stairs. There are no intelligible signs saying "Turn this handle"!

But once you get in there is a lot to see. We...

This museum is in a magnificent restored episcopal bishop's palace. The back prince's room is at the bottom level and is extremely large with an impressive high vaulted ceiling, enough reason in itself to visit. Above is an excellent collection of sculptures by Brouillard including one very fine one by Camille Claudel. There is a beautiful painting by Vouillard. There is a very nice cafe, too. I didn't have time to see the Ingres exhibit- maybe next visit....