Musee d'Orsay Review

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Musée d'Orsay

Write a review | Avg. member rating: 4.7/5

Fodor's Review:

Opened in 1986, this gorgeous, renovated Belle Époque train station has a world-famous collection of Impressionist and Postimpressionist paintings. There are three floors; to visit the exhibits in a roughly chronologic manner, start on the first floor, take the escalators to the third, and end on the second. If you came to see the biggest names on display here, head straight for the top floor and work your way down.

HIGHLIGHTS

Ground floor: Salle 7 has Courbet's masterpieces L'Enterrement à Ornans and Un Atelier du Peintre. His realist painting influenced the Impressionists, whose work is upstairs. There are also works by lesser-known academic painters here, showing the prevailing artistic atmosphere of the period. More experimental visions, including Gustave Moreau's myth-laden decadence and Puvis de Chavanne's surprisingly modern lines, make the leap into Impressionism easier to understand. In Salle 14 is Edouard Manet's Olympia. The artist is poking fun at the fashion for all things Greek and Roman; this young lady is a 19th-century courtesan, not a classical goddess. Photography exhibits are also on the ground floor.

Top floor: Impressionism really gets going here, with works by Degas, Monet, Pissarro, Sisley, and Renoir. Postimpressionist galleries include work by van Gogh, Gauguin, Toulouse-Lautrec, and Odilon Redon.

Second floor: An exquisite collection of sculpture as well as Art Nouveau furniture and decorative objects are housed here. There are rare surviving works by Hector Guimard (designer of the swooping green Paris métro entrances), as well as Lalique and Tiffany glassware.

TIPS

Lines at the d'Orsay are some of the worst in Paris. Book ahead on the Internet or buy a Museum Pass; then go directly to entrance C. Otherwise, go early.

Thursday evening the museum is open until 9:45 pm and less crowded.

The elegant Musée d'Orsay Restaurant once served patrons of the 1900 World's Fair; there's also a café and a self-service cafeteria on the top floor just after the Cézanne galleries. Don't miss the views of Sacré-Coeur from the balcony—this is the Paris that inspired the Impressionists.

The d'Orsay is closed Monday, unlike the Pompidou and the Louvre, which are closed on Tuesday.

English audioguides are available just past the ticket booths; pick up a free color-coded map of the museum here, too.

  • Cost: EUR 9.50; EUR 7 after 4:15 except Thurs. after 6
  • Open: Tues.-Sun. 9:30-6, Thurs. 9:30 am-9:45 pm
  • Metro: Solférino; RER: Musée d'Orsay
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Member Reviews and Ratings

Reviewed by bachslunch from US on 11/9/08
An excellent museum, after the Louvre the most important museum to see in Paris. Not everything here is a must (there are several examples of 19th century French academic art that are of secondary importance) but the Impressionist and post-Impressionist collection is stunning. The building housing the museum is of interest as well, a converted train station.

Member Rating: 5.0
Ratings details: Experience: 5.0 Ease: 5.0 Value: 5.0 Don't Miss: 5.0

Reviewed by mikecimini from Massachusetts on 6/17/07
Polar Bear statue not to be missed.

Member Rating: 4.4
Ratings details: Experience: 4.0 Ease: 5.0 Value: 5.0 Don't Miss: 4.0
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