Musée d'Orsay
Impressionism's greatest hits in a converted 19th-century railway station.
The Musée d'Orsay holds the world's greatest collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art — Van Gogh, Monet, Renoir, Degas, Seurat, Gauguin, Cézanne. It does so in a building that is itself extraordinary: the former Gare d'Orsay, a fin-de-siècle railway station opened in 1900 and converted to a museum in 1986.
The building
The Gare d'Orsay opened in 1900 for the World's Fair, then closed in 1939 when its platforms became too short for longer trains. It served as a mailing centre, an auction house, and a movie set (Orson Welles filmed The Trial here in 1962) before being designated for conversion to a museum. The grand clock faces on the end walls are original station fittings — you can stand behind them and look through the clock face onto Paris, which is one of the best moments in the museum.
What to see
Top floor — the Impressionists
The heart of the museum. This is what people come for:
- Van Gogh: Bedroom in Arles (Room 35), the Portrait of Dr Gachet, The Church at Auvers-sur-Oise. The Van Gogh room alone is worth the trip.
- Monet: The series paintings — haystacks in different light conditions, Rouen Cathedral at different times of day. These were revolutionary when made (1890s) and remain extraordinary.
- Renoir: Dance at the Moulin de la Galette (1876) — 130cm × 175cm of Montmartre Sunday afternoon, all dappled light and movement.
- Degas: The ballet dancer sculptures and paintings. Room 31 has the largest concentration.
- Seurat: The Circus (unfinished at his death in 1891) — pointillism at its most theatrical.
Ground floor — the Realists
Courbet, Millet, Daumier. Less famous but outstanding — Millet's The Gleaners (1857) and The Angelus (1857–1859) are among the most reproduced French paintings and they're both here, in the same room.
Middle floor — Art Nouveau & Decorative Arts
The most overlooked part of the Orsay. Extraordinary Art Nouveau furniture, jewellery, and glass. The Café Campana is also on this level — the gilded Belle Époque dining room is the most beautiful museum café in Paris.
The clock rooms
Walk to the far end of the top floor (the north side, overlooking the Seine) and find the two large clock faces. You can stand directly behind the clock hands and look through the glass onto Paris. The Sacré-Cœur is directly in your eyeline. This is an underrated and absolutely free photo opportunity that most visitors miss.
Visiting in the evening
The Orsay is open until 9:45pm on Thursdays. From about 6pm, the crowd drops significantly. The Impressionist rooms in particular — normally the most crowded space in the museum — become calm and browseable. Evening light through the glass roof is also extraordinary. Thursday evening is the best time to visit the Orsay if you have any flexibility.
Musée d'Orsay FAQ
Yes. The queues without pre-booked tickets are significant, particularly in July and August (90+ minutes). Book at musee-orsay.fr or through GetYourGuide. Timed-entry slots can sell out a week ahead in peak season.
For the Impressionist highlights (top floor) and one other section: 2–2.5 hours. For a thorough visit covering the whole collection: 3–4 hours. The museum is far more manageable than the Louvre — you can realistically see the best of it in a focused 2-hour visit.
Thursday evenings (open until 9:45pm) are significantly less crowded from about 6pm onwards. First entry at 9:30am is also good. The worst times are weekend afternoons in July and August.
The Louvre covers art from ancient civilisations through to 1848. The Orsay picks up from 1848 and covers through 1914 — the Impressionist and Post-Impressionist period. If you have time for one museum, the Orsay is more focused and more immediately accessible to most visitors. The Louvre is larger and spans more of human history.
Yes. The Café Campana (inside the museum, on the middle level) is inside the extraordinary gilded belle-époque dining room and is worth visiting even just for the space. There's also a restaurant on the top floor. Both are accessible with a museum ticket without leaving and re-entering.