Where? 1, rue de la Légion d’Honneur – Entrance A: visitors without tickets / Entrance C: visitors with tickets.
Access? Solférino station (Metro Line 12) and RER C (Gare Musée d’Orsay station).
When? Tuesdays to Sundays from 9:30am to 6pm (open until 9:45pm on Thursdays).
Located in the 7th arrondissement and facing the Tuileries garden on the banks of the Seine river, the Musée d’Orsay is not only one of the best museums in Paris but also one of the best art museums in the world. In fact, the museum has won the title of the best museum in the world in 2018 (TripAdvisor Travellers’ Choice Awards). More than 3 million persons visit Orsay every year.
The museum is housed inside a restored old railway station, the former Gare d’Orsay; the unique architecture is breathtaking and this alone is well worth the visit! The building is as beautiful as the artworks it displays. Besides, Orsay possesses the largest collection of impressionist and post-impressionist masterpieces in the world, including paintings from Monet, Van Gogh, Gauguin and Renoir.
What to see?
Open since 1986, the Orsay museum houses the greatest collections of paintings, sculptures and decorative arts created between 1848 to 1914. The museum is also famous for owning the largest collection of impressionist and post-impressionist artworks in the world.
On the ground floor, you will find a stunning central alley with bronze, stone and marble sculptures and different rooms with realist and pre-impressionist paintings. Most of the time, this is also where you’ll find a space dedicated to the temporary exhibition (the fantastic exhibition displayed when I visited the museum was dedicated to Edgar Degas’ works at the Opera).
The second floor (Middle level) is devoted to the sculptures, paintings and decorative arts from Academic art, Naturalism, Symbolism and Art Nouveau movements, but also Orientalism and Japonism movements.
The 5th floor (Top Floor) is where you’ll find the most famous masterpieces of the museum: the impressionist and post-impressionist paintings. Most of the visitors come to Orsay for the paintings located on the 5th floor; my advice to avoid the crowd is to arrive early, head straight up to the 5th floor and then work your way back down.
Check out:
‘Poppies’ by Claude Monet (1873)
‘Dance at the Moulin de la Galette’ by Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1876)
‘And the gold of their bodies’ by Paul Gauguin (1901)
‘Luncheon on the grass’ by Eugene Manet (1862-1863)
‘The Truth’ by Jules Joseph Lefebvre (1870)
‘The Four Parts of the World Holding the Celestial Sphere’ by Carpeaux (1872)
‘The Origin of the World’ by Gustave Courbet (1866)
How to visit the Orsay museum?
The Orsay museum is one of the best museums in the world; it is no surprise that the Musée d’Orsay is often crowded. To avoid the crowds, travel during the low season (November to March), try to avoid the weekends and Tuesdays (on Tuesdays, the Louvre is closed so the Musée d’Orsay tends to be busier) or head there on a Thursday in late afternoon (it is open until 9:45pm on Thursdays).
If you plan to visit the Musée de l’Orangerie, it is well worth it to combine your visit with the Orsay Museum. Begin your visit with the Orangerie as most of the time, there is little or no queue to get in and you’ll get the fast access queue for the Musée d’Orsay!
You should count at least 3 hours to hit the highlights of Musée d’Orsay. But if you want to make the most out of your visit, plan on spending the whole day.
Book your best museum experience in Paris
My opinion
This museum is by far, my favorite museum in Paris. Just the architecture of the building is enough to make you want to go. The art collection is outstanding. Do not miss the big clocks at the top, a very popular spot for photos! I must give a special mention to the friendly staff; they really enhance the experience. If you have only one day for a museum in Paris, this is the one. Whether you are an art enthusiast or not, you will appreciate this museum.
Have you visited the Musée d’Orsay? What are your favorite Musée d’Orsay’s masterpieces?
Pin this article to read it later:
