Musée d'Orsay

Musée d'Orsay Review

Opened in 1986, this gorgeously renovated Belle Époque train station displays a world-famous collection of Impressionist and Postimpressionist paintings on three floors. To visit the exhibits in a roughly chronologic manner, start on the first floor, take the escalators to the top, and end on the second. If you came to see the biggest names here, head straight for the top floor and work your way down. English audioguides and free color-coded museum maps (both available just past the ticket booths) will help you plot your route. Note, though, that renovations will be ongoing until 2015, so expect some gallery closings.

HIGHLIGHTS

Ground floor: Galleries off the main alley feature early works by Manet and Cézanne in addition to pieces by masters such as Delacroix and Ingres. Later works by the likes of Toulouse-Lautrec are found in Salle 10. The Pavillon Amont has Courbet's masterpieces L'Enterrement à Ornans and Un Atelier du Peintre. His realist painting influenced the Impressionists, whose work is upstairs. Paintings by lesser-known academic artists show 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. Hanging in Salle 14 is Édouard Manet's Olympia, a painting which pokes fun at the fashion for all things Greek and Roman (his nubile subject is a 19th-century courtesan, not a classical goddess). Photography and temporary exhibits are also on the ground floor.

Top floor: Impressionism gets going here, with iconic works by Degas, Pissarro, Sisley, and Renoir. Don't miss Monet's series on the cathedral at Rouen and, of course, samples of his waterlilies. Other selections by these artists are housed in galleries on the ground floor.

Second floor: An exquisite collection of sculpture as well as Art Nouveau furniture and decorative objects is housed here. There are rare surviving works by Hector Guimard (designer of the swooping green Paris métro entrances), plus Lalique and Tiffany glassware. Postimpressionist galleries include work by van Gogh and Gauguin, while Neoimpressionist galleries highlight Seurat and Signac.

Lines here are among the worst in Paris. Book ahead online 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; the Café du Lion offers quick fare on the ground floor by the entrance; 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.