Musée d'Orsay Access to the permanent collections and the temporary exhibitions
- Priority access
- Mobile tickets accepted
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What to expect
The Musée d'Orsay is one of Paris’ most popular museums, attracting almost three million annual visitors. Its first incarnation was as the Gare d’Orsay, built to coincide with the Universal Exposition of 1900. The station was protected as a historical monument in 1978, and converted into the museum, which opened its doors in 1986. A superb example of the Beaux Arts style, the Musée d'Orsay is dedicated to 19th century artists, with pre-Impressionists and Impressionists to the fore. As you wander the halls you will discover great names like Pissarro, Van Gogh, Renoir, Monet, Millet and Degas, and don’t forget to admire the beautiful original station clock, which still adorns the main hall of the museum.
Musée d'Orsay Opening times
Every day except Mondays from 9:30 a.m to 6:00 p.m
On Thursdays from 9:30 a.m to 9:45 p.m
Warning!
The museum closes at 18:00 and the evacuation of the galleries must begin from 5:30 p.m (9:15 p.m on Thursdays).
The museum is closed every Monday, along with May 1st and December 25th.
2023-2024 exhibitions at the Musée d'Orsay
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from March 14 to July 2, 2023: Pastels from the Musée d'Orsay
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from March 28 to July 23, 2023: Manet / Degas
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From July 14 to October 22, 2023: Soyer, a lineage of Parisian enamelers
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From September 12, 2023, to January 07, 2024: Louis Janmot - The Poem of the Soul
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From September 19, 2023, to January 14, 2024: Blanche Derousse
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From October 03, 2023, to January 14, 2024: The Albums of Lili Grenier
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From October 17, 2023, to January 21, 2024: Peter Doig - Reflections of the Century
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From October 03, 2023, to February 04, 2024: Van Gogh in Auvers-sur-Oise - The Final Months
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From October 31, 2023, to February 04, 2024: Gustave Eiffel, Bridge Builder
Consult the other current exhibitions in Paris.
Entrances to the Musée d'Orsay
- Entrance A: visitors without tickets
- Entrance B: adult groups with reservations
- Entrance C: visitors with tickets
- Entrance D: school groups with reservations
Avoid long queues of visitors who have not made reservations. Instead, go to entrance C (the reserved entrance) and show the e-ticket on your smartphone.
Good to know :
- Audioguides are available in French, English, Spanish, Italian, German, Portuguese, Japanese, Chinese and Russian.
- Wheelchairs, folding seats and strollers are available from the locker rooms for any visitors with reduced mobility.
Free entry
- For under 18s
- The first Sunday of each month
A Guide to the Rooms of the Musée d'Orsay
On level 0 : Around the sculpture gallery (featuring Carpeaux, Cordier etc..), you can discover, on the Seine side, the Barbizon School (including Millet), the masterpieces of Courbet, and works by Manet and Monet. On the Lille side, you will find the academic current from the years 1850-60 (Ingres, Delacroix), works by Degas before 1870, the Symbolist Gallery (Moreau, Puvis de Chavannes) and a gallery dedicated to Toulouse-Lautrec.
On level 2 : On the Seine side you will find: naturalism, various foreign schools, decorative arts under the Third Republic, French, Belgian and Italian Art Nouveau (including Van Gogh, Gauguin and Seurat) and works by the Nabis movement from around 1900. You can also reach the Amont Pavillion by taking a newly added bridge, where you will discover a collection of great modern decorative pieces from 1905-1914. Inside the Amont Pavillion following the modern decorative section, you will find, on level 3, central European, Scandinavian and northern European Art Nouveau. On level 4, you will encounter Austrian, British and American Art Nouveau, while level 5 provides access to the Impressionists Gallery.
On level 5 : beginning with "Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe" by Manet, the Impressionists Gallery offers a tour through the masterpieces of the movement from the late 1860s to the 1900s.
Musée d'Orsay 2020 events
- Degas à l'Opéra - 24 September 2019 to 19 January 2020
- Yan Pei Ming - A Burial in Shanghai - until January 12, 2020
- Joris-Karl Huysmans art critic. From Degas to Grünewald - from 3 December 2019 to 2 March 2020.
- In the land of monsters. Léopold Chauveau (1870-1940) - from March 10 to June 29, 2020
- James Tissot - from March 24 to July 19, 2020.
- Leon Spilliaert (1881-1946). Light and solitude - from June 15 to September 13, 2020
- Aubrey Beardsley (1872-1898) - June 15 to September 13, 2020
See other current exhibitions in Paris.
A Little History
Built at the end of the 19th century, the Gare d'Orsay was designed to transport crowds to the Paris Universal Exposition of 1900. Thanks to the beauty of the station itself, it became the Exposition’s very first pavilion. It is located opposite the Louvre and the Jardin des Tuileries, and just a few steps from the Grand Palais, the jewel in the crown of the 1900 Exposition. Situated on the Seine, the spine of Paris, the Gare d’Orsay played a key role in the city’s life until it was closed to trains in 1939.
In 1945, following the War, the station served as a reception centre for prisoners of war who were returning from captivity in Germany. It was also the stage for General de Gaulle’s famous 1958 press conference, when he announced his return to the public scene.
However, the magnificent building was constantly under threat. In fact, it almost disappeared, being threatened with demolition in the 1960s. A theatre company saved the station from destruction, by installing its stage in the vaults for six years. Finally, in 1978, President Giscard d'Estaing decided to transform the site into a museum of the 19th century, and the Musée d'Orsay was born.
After eight years of work, the museum was finally inaugurated by Francois Mitterrand on 1 December 1986. Even today, the museum-station proudly displays its double heritage as a transport hub and a world-class artistic institution.
Would you want to learn more about the history of the Musee d'Orsay?
Customer Reviews
4.8/5253 reviews
closed on Mondays
but been there before
Very convenient. Save time at the museum
Also very flexible you can go any time in 5 month..
Map
75007 Paris
Solférino
Musée d'Orsay
Musée D'orsay
Pont Royal - Quai Voltaire
