Thousands of art lovers queued in freezing temperatures on Saturday night for a final glimpse of a major retrospective on French Impressionist Claude Monet, after Paris' Grand Palais opened round the clock to cope with demand.

Wrapped in scarves and heavy coats, people queued for more than three hours to see the nearly 200 works by the 19th century master before the historic exhibition, the biggest one on Monet in decades, closes on Monday evening.