Musée d'Orsay, Paris

About the Musée d'Orsay

The Musée d'Orsay occupies the former Gare d'Orsay, a Beaux-Arts railway station built in 1898–1900 for the World's Fair on the Left Bank, directly opposite the Louvre and the Tuileries. When trains grew too long for its platforms the station closed, and after long debate it became a museum, opening in 1986.

The collection covers French art from 1848 to 1914, the period between the Louvre's classics and the modern art of the Centre Pompidou: painting, sculpture, furniture, decorative arts and photography. In 2022 it drew 3.2 million visitors; only the Louvre gets more in France.

What to see in the Orsay

• The Impressionists — Monet, Renoir, Degas, Manet, Pissarro.
• Van Gogh — a self-portrait and Starry Night over the Rhône.
• The Post-Impressionists — Cézanne, Gauguin, Seurat.
• The clock windows — the Seine and Montmartre through the dial.
• The central nave — sculpture under the glass roof.
• The restaurant — in the station's painted dining room.

The Impressionists and Van Gogh

The Orsay's great treasure is the world's largest collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art. The top floor hangs Claude Monet's bridges, cathedrals and water lilies, Édouard Manet's Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe and Olympia, Renoir's Bal du moulin de la Galette, Edgar Degas's dancers, landscapes by Pissarro and Sisley and paintings by Berthe Morisot.

Further rooms are devoted to the Post-Impressionists: Van Gogh's self-portrait and Starry Night over the Rhône, Cézanne's still lifes and landscapes, Gauguin's Tahitian canvases and Seurat's pointillism. Many are familiar from reproductions, but seeing them in person is something else: the brushstrokes, texture and light only reveal themselves up close.

The station building and its clocks

The building is an exhibit in itself. The vast central nave of the former station, under its arched glass roof, is filled with sculpture, with station architecture still visible around the edges. The museum's emblem is the giant clocks on the façade: from the top floor you look through a transparent dial at the Seine, the Louvre and Montmartre with the Sacré-Cœur.

On the second floor, the restaurant fills the former station dining room, with gilding, chandeliers and painted ceilings. Even if you don't eat there, peek in at the early-20th-century interior.

Sculpture and decorative arts

Along the central nave stand sculptures from the second half of the 19th century by Carpeaux, Rodin, Maillol and others, showing sculpture's move from academic polish to lively, dynamic forms. Other rooms display Art Nouveau furniture and objects, with sinuous lines, plant motifs, glass and ceramics.

There's also a photography section on the art's early decades, and a model of the Opéra district beneath a glass floor that lets you walk over an entire neighbourhood. These rooms are usually quieter than the Impressionist floor and make a good break from the crowds.

Tips for your visit

The Orsay is smaller than the Louvre and easy to see in 2–3 hours. Take the audio guide or download the official app for the stories behind the paintings. It works best to start at the top and finish in the sculpture-filled nave.

The Orsay and the Louvre pair well in one day, as they face each other across the Seine: the Louvre in the morning, the Orsay after lunch. Impressionist fans should add the Musée de l'Orangerie and Monet's Water Lilies in the Tuileries next door.

Children enjoy hunting for famous paintings, looking through the giant clocks and studying the model of Paris under glass. There are family trails and weekend workshops for kids.

Places in Paris: compare and choose

Places in Paris rated by YesGo. Click a column header to sort.

Nearby and on the way

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Tuileries Garden

Paris, France

1 h · Free · 8 min walk

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41

Musée de l'Orangerie

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1 h 30 min · Ticketed, free under 18 · 9 min walk

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The Louvre

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3 h 30 min · Timed ticket, online · 12 min walk

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Place de la Concorde

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30 min · Free · 13 min walk

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How to do it right

• Book a timed ticket online.
• Start on the 5th floor.
• Closed on Mondays.
• Thursday evenings are calmer.

Questions