More than 63,000 people have seen the impressionist paintings by Claude Monet since they went on view Oct. 15, according to the box office. If the show remains that popular until it closes Jan. 14, attendance could reach close to 190,000 -- the number for the record-setting Rodin sculpture exhibition in 2000. Rodin ran four months; Monet would get the job done in three. The museum had predicted 150,000 visitors.

The show's popularity has also translated into more than 3,000 new members for the museum. Membership, starting at $40, buys free admission into ticketed exhibitions and entry into members-only hours on certain Mondays.

The artist has stirred up interest in other quarters as well. The Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau reports nearly 5,000 people registered to win its dinner-for-two-in-Paris sweepstakes. About 150,000 page views have been recorded on its special Web site (VisitRaleigh.com) promoting travel packages tied to the show.

And merchants around town have capitalized on the exhibition with wine tastings, cooking classes and special meals. The Bloomsbury Bistro, for one, served more than three dozen Monet-themed meals in the first two weeks of the show, according to the bureau.

The exhibition's stop in Raleigh -- the middle of a three-city tour -- has also generated at least brief travel write-ups in newspapers across the country and in other countries as well. The bureau says it has counted more than 250 such "mentions" to date.

If you're planning to see the Monets, the museum strongly suggests buying timed tickets before you go. The easiest way is online -- at www.ncartmuseum.org. The museum, at 2110 Blue Ridge Road in Raleigh, is open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday (until 9 p.m. Friday) and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday. Monet tickets are $15.

Call 839-6262 for details.