The Fine Arts Museum in Caen is very interesting. It was officially opened in December 1809. A great deal of works were unfortunately lost as a consequence of Allied air raids during the Second World War, which destroyed the old seminary housing the Museum at that time. This was a very unfortunate event, the more so if the fact that the collections had been largely unharmed through the Nazi occupation is taken into consideration. The present location of the Museum in the Castle of Caen dates back from 1971. The paintings which can be contemplated in that Museum are prominent and valuable from an artistic viewpoint. The whole consists of French, Italian, Flemish and Dutch artworks from the 16th and 17 centuries, as well as a singular set of etchings. Some of the said paintings are the works by famous painters, such as Perugino, Veronese, Tintoretto, Rubens and Ruysdael. Pictures by romantic and realist painters, such as Courbet, Delacroix and Géricault, and impressionist ones like Monet and Boudin are also exhibited in the Museum. Masterpieces of such a high importance as “The Apparition of Christ to St. Peter and St. Paul” by Veronese, and “Quentin Durward et la Balafré” by Delacroix are real jewels which find themselves as part of the colections there harboured. As aforesaid, the Museum is very interesting. The visit thereof is therefore highly recommended. Just a piece of advice as regards the amount of money requested to pay as price. One must be aware of not being charged a sum higher than that to which the price amounts to. It's advisable particularly therefore to pay attention to the fact if on the relevant days the entry is free of charge.

The whole site is under renovation and hard to find the entrance. It is a long walk through the building site on uneven surfaces with no signage. Once inside the museum has many interesting exhibits and beautifully done. Cafe closed on Mondays / and the museum shuts from 12.30-1.30 for lunch for staff.

The museum is big enough to entertain you for one to two hours without feeling rushed. I found the second floor to be the most interesting one so if you have a limited time I would spend most time there. They do temporary exhibitions as well, some for free and some at extra cost. The main museeum is for free - fantastic!