Musée d'Orsay and the Impressionists

What it is

The Musée d'Orsay occupies the former Orsay railway station, on the banks of the Seine opposite the Tuileries. It brings together French art from the second half of the 19th century and the early 20th: painting, sculpture, photography and decorative arts. It is the museum of the Impressionists and Post-Impressionists: Monet, Renoir, Degas, Manet, Cézanne, Gauguin and Van Gogh. Allow between two and three hours.

What to see

• The nave: the great hall of the old station, with 19th-century sculpture at floor level and the monumental clock at the far end.
• The Impressionist gallery, on the fifth floor: the heart of the museum. On the way out is the Café Campana and, in summer, a terrace with a view over the city.
• The clock from inside: behind the giant dial on the fifth floor, the view over the Seine and the Louvre is one of the museum's photos.

Until 24 January 2027 there is a route devoted to Claude Monet, "Je passe ma vie à peindre", and several temporary exhibitions, such as the ones on Mary Cassatt and Gustave Le Gray. The museum is undergoing major renovation works: check its website for the day's access conditions.

Hours

• Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday: 9:30 to 18:00.
• Thursday: 9:30 to 21:45.
• Monday: closed, and also on 1 May and 25 December.

Last entry is at 17:00 (21:00 on Thursdays) and the rooms begin to close at 17:30 (21:15 on Thursdays).

Tickets and prices

• General rate: €16 online, €14 at the ticket office.
• Thursday evening, from 18:00: €12 online, €10 at the ticket office.
• Reduced rate: €11, at the ticket office only.
• Free: under-18s and under-26s resident in the European Economic Area, with ID.

The online ticket is dearer than at the museum, but it gives you an entry time and the queue at entrance 1, the one on the quay, for timed tickets. At the ticket office you enter through entrance 2, on the esplanade, with those who have no ticket. In high season, booking is worth the two euros.

Getting there

The museum is at esplanade Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, in the 7th arrondissement. By RER C, Musée d'Orsay station; by metro, line 12 to Solférino; by bus, lines 63, 68, 69, 73, 83, 84, 87 and 94. From the Louvre you can walk across the Léopold-Sédar-Senghor footbridge over the Seine.

Facilities and accessibility

There is a cloakroom, equipment loans, lifts, toilets, a baby area, water fountains and free wifi. The museum plan is available in Spanish. The audio guides have about 300 commentaries on works. For eating there is the museum's restaurant, the Café Campana on the fifth floor and the Café de la Gare under the nave.

The museum offers adapted access and tours for people with reduced mobility, who are deaf or who have a visual impairment; details are on its website.

With teenagers

Orsay goes down better than the Louvre with teenagers: it is smaller, can be seen in two hours and has the works from textbooks on a single floor. Under-26s with a Spanish ID card enter free. The museum also organises evenings with activities for young people aged 18 to 25 on some Thursdays.

Combine it

Before or after, cross to the Tuileries garden or continue along the bank of the Seine to the quay of the Seine cruise, at the Pont Neuf.