If you love the "Impressionists" head directly to this museum and go to the 5th floor! Having been the this museum several times, it still doesn't disappoint! This trip, we went twice, returning on a Thursday to enjoy a full day's visit and enjoying the late evening hours. Last Thursday evening, there was live entertainment in various sections of the museum, a piano concert, a singer and an operatic singer all adding another dimension to the visit! It was wonderful! Be sure to buy a Museum Pass to save a lot of time! With a Museum Pass, generally, you can walk right in to many of the museums rather than waiting in a long line to buy an admission ticket. There are 2, 4 and 6 day passes. You can purchase a pass at a museum, but purchase one at a smaller or less popular one. We quickly bought our passes at the Armee Musee side of Les Invalides (Napoleon's Tomb). If you can visit about 4 museums in a day, your pass will have cost not much more than individual tickets and saved you hours of standing in long lines. There are two cafes now in the museum. We stopped for lunch at the 5th floor cafe and enjoyed the beautiful setting and a delicious meal.

Musée d'Orsay is one of the busiest and most visited museums in the world, so it is advisable to make advance online bookings BOTH for the regular collection and temporary exhibits. We did this for the current - very good - Edvard Munch exhibit. With the priority access/entrance ticket (download on your mobile phone or print out), you'll have to hit the priority access lane. You basically cut waiting time by 4or 5 (we waited 5 minutes to get in, whereas the 'normal' queue was about 40-45 mins). Ditto for the entrance to the temporary exhibit. The permanent collection of impressionists on the 5th floor and the rooms with van Gogh and Gauguin paintings will always be crowded so try to sneak in when most visitors have lunch....

We are very glad we came here. The museum explains impressionism and the movement well. The building is also very impressive and has a little exhibit explaining the history of the site outside. We went directly to the fifth floor and worked our way down and across and then enjoyed the sculptures in the middle. We went later in the day but it wasn't too busy in the afternoon until we got to the Munch exhibition and that was too busy for us. The museum is located by Musee d'Orsay metro station and the area is very walkable. It is suggested to buy tickets in advance for busy days but we had no problem walking in. There is a combination ticket available for Musee d'Orsay and Rodin Museum so you can save a few euros.