Why go

The Musée d’Orsay holds the finest collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art anywhere, in one of the most beautiful buildings in Paris. The museum fills the old Gare d’Orsay, a grand railway station built for the 1900 World’s Fair, and the vast arched hall with its gilded clocks is a sight in itself.

The collection covers French art from 1848 to 1914, the period when painting broke free of the academy. That means room after room of Monet, Renoir, Degas, Manet, Cézanne, Gauguin and Van Gogh, alongside sculpture, decorative arts and Art Nouveau furniture. It is smaller and easier to navigate than the Louvre, which makes it a perfect half-day museum, and the light pouring through the old station roof makes even a grey Paris day feel bright. Temporary exhibitions change through the year and are included in the standard ticket.

What to see

  • The Impressionist galleries. On the fifth floor, works by Monet, Renoir, Pissarro and Sisley, including Renoir’s Bal du moulin de la Galette.
  • Van Gogh. Self-portraits, his bedroom at Arles and Starry Night over the Rhône draw the biggest crowds.
  • Manet. Olympia and Le Déjeuner sur l’herbe caused scandals in their day and still hold the eye.
  • The great clocks. The giant station clock windows on the fifth floor frame views across the Seine to the Louvre and the Sacré-Cœur.
  • The main hall. The long nave of the old station is lined with sculpture beneath the original glass roof.

Plan your visit

The Orsay is closed on Mondays, as well as on 1 May and 25 December. From Tuesday to Sunday it opens from 9.30am to 6pm, with a late opening on Thursdays until 9.45pm. Last admission is at 5pm, or 9pm on Thursdays, and the galleries start closing half an hour before the museum.

A full-price ticket costs €16 online or €14 at the museum. A reduced rate of €11 is sold on site to eligible visitors, and on Thursday evenings there is a cheaper evening rate. Entry is free for under 18s and for residents of the European Economic Area under 26. If you plan to see Monet’s Water Lilies at the Orangerie too, a combined ticket for both museums costs €20, sold on site.

Booking online is worth it. Visitors with timed tickets use Entrance 1 on the quay side, while everyone else queues at Entrance 2. The museum is in the middle of major renovation work, so check the access conditions on its website before you go, as some spaces may be closed.

Head straight to the fifth floor when you arrive, before the Impressionist rooms fill up, then work your way down. Thursday evenings are the calmest time of the week. There is a cloakroom, free Wi-Fi, lifts between the levels and equipment such as wheelchairs to borrow. The restaurant on the middle floor, with its painted ceilings and chandeliers, was the dining room of the original station hotel.

Nearby

The footbridge in front of the museum crosses the Seine to the Tuileries Garden and the Orangerie. Saint-Germain-des-Prés and its cafés are about ten minutes’ walk south, and the Musée Rodin is around 15 minutes west.