The Musee d’Orsay is one of the three largest art museums in Paris, in this case one focusing on Impressionist art. It is more than arguably the greatest Impressionist art museum in the world. Your challenge: avoiding the crowds it attracts. The Musée d’Orsay is housed in a former train station, and the building itself is beautiful. The conversion to an art museum was done wonderfully, so it’s fun to be there. The large central atrium is impressive, and the galleries display the art well. The art is truly great. You will see countless famous paintings, including many others by the very best Impressionist artists. There are iconic works from Monet, Manet, Van Gogh (roughly 20 paintings), Gaughan, Seurat, Latour, Renoir, Degas, Berthe Morisot, Mary Cassatt, Pissarro, Cezanne, Bonnard, Vuillard, and others. That roster and the fame of the paintings attracts a very large crowd. To some degree, the crowds are unavoidable, but you can mitigate them with a few tips. First, you want to arrive before the museum opens with a timed ticket in hand. They are easy to get online, and you’ll want to do so weeks in advance. You should also get the excellent Paris Museum Pass, which will get you in here as well as many other Paris museums (including the Louvre). There will be a line, but it will be far smaller than the one two hours later. Second, know what you like. You’ll want to go straight there first. For most people, it will be the Monet/Van Gogh/Renoir paintings. Get a map and head straight to the top floor. You will have about 20 minutes before the others show up. The atrium is great, but bypass it for now and come back later. Third, spend a little time with the paintings you like! Most are spectacular, and a few minutes of viewing will reveal details, light effects, brush strokes, and other details giving insight into the painters’ visions. We were surprised to see many visitors snap selfies of themselves in front of famous paintings without ever actually looking at the painting itself. Don’t do that. Fourth, if a gallery gets too crowded, go to some of the equally great but less popular ones. Only steps from some of the most popular galleries you will find dozens of striking Gaughan paintings, sculptures, and other artwork. One overlooked gallery shows a lot of early artistic silent movies, many of which are hysterical. One is of Charlie Chaplin as a spectator to an event hogging a camera. Some have “magic effects” like you may have seen in the movie “Hugo,” reflecting the genius of Georges Méliès. They are not displaying his works (you can find them easily on YouTube), but the ones they show have similar tricks and inspiration -- and are often funny. There is a nice café on the third floor. It fills up rapidly between around 11:30 and noon, with long lines afterward. If you want to eat at the museum, we suggest going early. This is a wonderful museum and a Mecca of sorts for fans of Impressionism. Do a little planning and give yourself a chance to bask in these magnificent artworks.

My husband and I booked tickets in advance to come here (about £14 per ticket) so we missed the massive queues. We arrived at 10:40am, twenty minutes before our designated slot, there was a bit of a queue but it wasn’t anywhere near the size of the one for those without tickets, so advanced booking is recommended. We made it in the museum about 11:05am, the bag/security checks were quick and there was no line for scanning our tickets. The museum is very large, five different floors for different eras of art. However, due to my unfortunate fear of heights, we didn’t make it up the entire five stories, which is a shame as the fifth floor is for van Gogh. The entire gallery is busy, there are a lot of tour guides as well as people wearing the virtual headset guides, so patience is a virtue whilst you’re here. There are a few areas where you can buy merchandise for the specific art era you’re in, as well as an actual gift shop, though as you can imagine it isn’t the cheapest so prepare yourself for that. There is also a café next to the gift shop, we didn’t make any use of it but is handy if you would like refreshments and a breather, as if you did the entire gallery it could easily take you hours. There are a lot of exhibitions that take place here, so perhaps time your trip at a time they take place as it would be an added bonus. Would we come here again? Probably not, but I’m glad we did once.

This is one of the world's great art museums. If you are going to visit one of the great Parisian museums, this should be your first choice. I have been to Paris 10x and to this museum 5x. But, if you have no interest in Art, let alone the impressionists, you might wnt to skip Paris altogether. The museum is laid out to start from the top and work your way down. expect to spend a minimum of 3.5 hours and up to five. If there is a special exhibition, expect 45-60 minutes there. Buy tickets in advance, only from the Musee d'Orsay website. Consider the self-guided audio tour which is 5-6 e. Rick Steves' app may also have a free guided tour. Thursday night is the late night the museum is open.

It took us about 2 hours to go through the museum. Try to get to the museum when it opens; it gets busy quickly and that makes it harder to get close to some of the paintings. Also, there are a limited number of free storage boxes where you can leave your coat and bags, and these also get taken quickly. The 5th floor has most of the Impressionist paintings, so I would recommend starting there first. Lots of Monets, Renoir, some degas and Manets. My favorites were the Paul Signacs but there weren’t many. Other visitors are usually very happy to help take your pictures. Enjoy !

The Musée d’Orsay is a must-see for art lovers, housed in a former train station with a unique charm, it offers a stunning permanent collection, including Impressionist and Post-Impressionist masterpieces. Each room reveals treasures, enhanced by the majestic architecture of the place. Even on weekdays, crowds can be high (about 15 minutes waiting), but the visit is well worth it. Temporary exhibitions are always of high quality and allow you to discover or rediscover artists from a new angle. A museum to see if you are visiting Paris, whether you are an art lover or simply curious in search of beauty and emotions!

The impressionist lover paradise. An absolute must-do. We were lucky enough that the Musee was celebrating the anniversary of the first Impressionism exposition, so they had an special exhibition for the most celebrated impressionism works, some of them typically located in other museums. Set aside at least three hours.

This is one of the most popular art museums in Europe. Situated along the Seine River in the historic Gard d'Orsay rail station was redeveloped and repurposed to house the incredible collection of Impressionistic artworks back in 1986. Today, millions of visitors walk through this museum's doors. Opening hours are 9.30am to 6pm daily with late hours until 9.45pm on Thursdays. Ticket prices are now (€16 for adults) and it is highly recommended to reserve in advance online where you are given time slotted entrance, something that is much needed to manage queues and crowd sizes. Note that entrance is included with the Paris Museum Pass if you plan to make this purchase as part of your visit to Paris. Within, there are several floors with gallery halls packed with masterpieces from the likes of Bonnard, Cezanne, Courbet, Degas, Delacroix, Gauguin, Manet, Matisse, Monet, Pissarro, Renoir, Rodin, Rousseau, Seurat, Sisley, Van Gogh and many others can be enjoyed. One can easily find themselves spending 3-4 hours leisurely enjoying the permanent collection artworks on display. Check online for temporary exhibitions that will be on offer during the time of your intended visit. I always enjoy a brief stroll through the Art Nouveau furniture and decorative arts section and will forever enjoy seeing the old rail station clock face which remains part of the building. There are several espresso bar stopping points with the museum and a decent top floor cafe. Public toilets are fairly easy to locate. There are lockers in the basement level near the entrance/exit as well as a good gift shop nearby as well.

The main impressionist galleries are on Floor 5, so head there immediately as you will run out of time and probably enthusiasm if you leave them to last. Book a timed ticket in advance to be sure of getting in at a good time and before too many people arrive. Cost is 16 euros for an adult. Fabulous works of art and a great building

This was our last museum on the last day of a weeklong stay in Paris. Yes, we had done the Louvre and several other museums by this point. We had seen many beautiful works of art, but by far this was the museum that made the entire trip!! I don't know if it's the way they group the works, or if it was the selection of the works themselves, but this museum was the one that we talked about for weeks after. All the great masters, and such an accessible layout. Of course we loved having the opportunity to see through the giant clock faces as well, and the Rodin sculptures on the main floor were as equally amazing. If you have a limited time, or have limited interest in art museums, this is the one you should go to in France, not the Louvre. Highly recommend!

This museum is a must if you visit Paris. To enter there are always people, so I recommend buying tickets in advance (remember that young people 18-26 years old EU citizens or residents enter free). We waited 15 minutes outside to go through security and then enter the museum presenting the tickets. The museum is spectacular. It has iconic works by Monet and Van Gogh. Everything in the museum is very well marked, very clean and tidy. I highly recommend it, especially if it is your first time in town.