The Musée d'Orsay
Did someone say "Impressionists"? The Orsay Museum houses the world's largest collection of Impressionist art
In 1986, Paris consolidated most of its collections of French art from 1848 to World War I in the most unlikely of spots: a old converted train station.
While the museum does contain earlier, mid-19th century works by the likes of Ingres and Delacroix, without a doubt the Orsay's biggest draw is its massive collection of paintings and sculptures those crowd-pleasing Impressionists.
So many of the works here are so widely reproduced that you might wander through with an eerie feeling of déjà vu.
Orsay highlights
There are Degas' ballet dancers, his l'Absinthe; Monet's women in a poppy field, the Rouen cathedral painted under five different lighting conditions, a giant Blue Waterlillies; Van Gogh's Restaurant de la Siréne, self-portraits, peasants napping against a haystack, and his Bedroom at Arles.
Then there are artistic icons of surpassing fame: Whistler's Mother; Manet's groundbreaking Dejeuner sur l'Herbe (Picnic on the Grass) and Olympia, which together helped throw off the shackles of artistic conservatism, giving Impressionism room to take root.
Add in a generous helping of Cézanne, Gauguin, Rodin, Toulouse-Lautrec, Pissaro, and Seurat, and you could easily spend a full day exploring this museum.
Tips
- Planning your time: Budget at least 90 minutes to spend in the Musée d'Orsay—though personally I'd give it about 3 or 4 hours. This is, afetr all, the single greatest collection of Impressionist works in the world.
- Free admission with a sightseeing discount card: Get into Musée d'Orsay for free (and skip the often interminable lines at the ticket booth) with either the Paris Sightseeing Pass
or the Paris Museum Pass.
- Take a tour of Musée d'Orsay with our partners at Viator.com:
- Skip the Line: Musée d'Orsay Small-Group Walking Tour
- Paris Walking Tour: Classic Paris (no site entry)
- Paris L'Open Hop-On-Hop-Off Tour (no site entry)
- Private Citroen 2CV Tour: Essential Paris (no site entry)
- Paris Bike Tour (no site entry)
- Combined admission: Get a ticket covering admission to both the Musée d'Orsay and the Orangerie for €14. It lasts for four days, but is good for only one admission at each museum. (Frankly, the unlimited-entry Paris Sightseeing Pass
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This article was last updated in March 2012. All information was accurate at the time.
Copyright © 1998–2012 by Reid Bramblett. All rights reserved.
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The Travel Store        |
1 rue Bellechasse or 62 rue de Lille
Tel. +33-(0)1-40-49-48-41
www.musee-orsay.fr
OPEN
Tues-Wed & Fri-Sun 9:30am–6pm
Thurs 9:30am–9:45pm
ADMISSION
€9
Paris Museum Pass: Yes (free)
Paris Sightseeing Pass
TRANSPORT
Métro: Solférino (12)
RER: Musée-d'Orsay (C)
TOURS
• Skip the Line: Musée d'Orsay Small-Group Walking Tour
