mrt

While we may decide to see both the Musee D'Orsay and the Louvre during our 5 days in Paris if you omitted the Mona Lisa from the equation, which would you prefer to see if you were only going to one of them. I do not know if I want to spend up to two days in museums and I do not know if rushing through the Louvre to get to the Mona Lisa is worthwhile. My wife and I enjoy French Impressionist art and have read the that the Musee D'Orsay has an amazing collection.

Gardyloo

Obviously both is the "right" answer, but if pushed I'd pick the Orsay. Not only does it represent my preferred period, but the building itself is a masterpiece IMO. The Louvre is a bit like a lot of leading museums in the world - enormous, exhausting (in a good way) and really needing multiple days on its <i>own</i>. The Orsay is also very big, but - just me - not as taxing.

IMDonehere

Very different collections and buildings. The Louvre has one of the greatest general collections in the world. The paintings are exhibited salon style which makes for a less relaxing visit.

The D'Orsay is housed in one of the more spectacular renovations of a public space. It is laid out for a more pleasant tour.

The Musée de l'Orangerie also has an excellent collection of Impressionists.

TPAYT

If you like impressionists, D'Orsay is for you. Very easy museum to visit and excellent selection of recognizable art.

The Louvre courtyard is wonderful and not to be missed, great photo op, but the inside is way too overwhelming and art is before the impressionist period. Think hundreds of paintings of Madonna & child. We didn't go in until our 3rd visit and never went back during many subsequent visits. See the Mona Lisa? Good luck----you'll "see" it with hundreds of people all trying to get to the front & see a very small painting enclosed by glass. IMO, don't bother. Yes, The Louvre is one of the top museims in the world for many, it just wasn't for us.

panecott

I agree with both of the above posts. Try to see both, and select what interests you at the Louvre.

If you had to choose just one, I'd go with the D'Orsay. The building alone - a former train station - is worth the visit.

And the fact that you like Impressionists is an added bonus.

PalenQ

Not into museums but love Impressionists art? How about a day trip to Auvers-sur-Oise, where Impressionists set up camp in the late 1880s - Van Gogh and Cezanne for some - many copies of paintings have been set up in the exact spot where they were painted - great for seeing Impressionism at its roots.

https://www.google.com/search?q=auve...=1600&bih=1075

An easy train trip of about an hour from Paris.

bvlenci

I wouldn't go to the Louvre just to see the Mona Lisa. As someone mentioned above, there is a horde of people crowded around it almost always. If you're short, bring a periscope. If there are numerous things you want to see there, it's another matter, and many of them won't be inundated with other visitors.

If you like art of the Impressionist period, the Musée d'Orsay seems a logical choice.

KTtravel

I think you'd enjoy the Musee D'Orsay and would also recommend you trying to visit the Orangerie. The Orangerie is a small museum and won't take you much time to visit but its Monet waterlily paintings are outstanding.

kerouac

The Orsay (not the D'Orsay!!! unless you want to call the other museum the Du Louvre) is splendid but really quite small compared to the Louvre. But naturally it is the choice if you like the Impressionists and the Romantics of the 19th century.

The Louvre on the other hand covers more than a millennium of art from the splendours of Egypt to the Italian and French masters, not forgetting the section of Islamic art, the incredible Napoleon III apartments and the foundations of the medieval Louvre in the spooky cellar.

Tough call.

tom_mn

I will disagree as usual and say the Louvre. The D'Orsay has a collection like a U.S. Museum so similar to something you could see at home. The Louvre is totally unique.

Christina

It just depends on what period of art you most want to see. Also, the Orsay museum is really just a gallery for the most part, I don't think they have much of anything there but paintings and drawings (I sort of recall a very few sculptures and pieces of furniture, but not many). The Louvre has all kinds of objects, artificacts, sculpture, etc as well as paintings and drawings.

I personally don't really care much about Mona Lisa and never have, so never went there for that. It doesn't really take that long to get to that room, however, but it may be crowded and you won't be close, anyway. I would much rather see an authentic Ingres.

Of course the Orsay is from Impressionist onwards, the Louvre basically before that, that's the main difference (there is actually a small collection in the Louvre with a few new paintings dated past 1850, at least one Corot).

To be honest, if you want a broad period, but don't want to spend a lot of time, you could also just go to the Petit Palais. It is a nice smaller collection but covers various time periods, and is free. They do have a Monet in there.

MaineGG

Yes, it is huge and can be overwhelming, but it is possible to make a relatively short visit to the Louvre to see a few of its masterpieces. If you enter through the Porte des Lions entrance (which isn't usually as crowded as others, but check the hours it is open) and go directly to the 1st floor of the Denon Wing you will find -

The Winged Victory of Samothrace
The Mona Lisa
The Coronation of Napoleon - David
La Grande Odalisque - Ingres
Liberty Leading the People - Delacroix
The Raft of the Medusa - Géricault
(And other earlier 19th C. French paintings)

See this floor plan for the locations of these works.
http://www.louvre.fr/en/plan

Kathie

We loved The Orsay, but then, we love the Impressionists. We also spent time at the Louvre. We had very specific goals at the Louvre which didn't include any of the above-named famous paintings and sculpture. I wanted to see the Egyptian collection - though I found it a bit disappointing, perhaps because I've seen so much both in Egypt and outside of Egypt. I liked the Mesopotamian collection.

If you like impressionism, do visit L'Orangerie - an exquisite venue for Monet's waterlilies. It is just a stroll across the bridge from the Orsay.

LSky

My opinion on this matter is worthless. What one likes in art is subjective.


Do you have certain artists that you love? Do you like sculpture? Do you want to see ancient art? Byzantine? Impressionist? Maybe you just want to see the highlights.

Tell me what you like so that I can answer the question, please.

I love art museum but how do I know that the Pompidou wouldn't be the place you'd love to go?


What are your real interests?

aliced

Another vote for the D'Orsay with the Orangerie; if weather is great, you'll want to be outdoors. If the weather is poor, then perhaps you'll have time for the Louvre, but decide what you wish to see and plan accordingly. We only got to the Louvre on our 4th trip to Paris. Loved the Musee Decoratifs and Napoleon's apartments.

vanne

As others have said it all depends on what interests you and we can't answer that for you. THat said, I really much prefer the Musee d'Orsay because it has the art I most enjoy. I find the Louvre overwhelming -- you really need to know what you want to see there and look on the museum plan because even in a few hours you will only cover a small portion of the museum.

If you enjoy the Impressionists, I would highly recommend going to the Orsay and the Orangerie. Both are on a much smaller scale than the Louvre and you could easily tour both. If you don't want to be indoors but want to see more art, you could also go to the Rodin Museum and, if you wish, just tour the outdoor gardens which have some wonderful Rodin sculptures.

kerouac

Hurry up because the entry fee of most museums increases on July 1st.

ssander

If your preferences is for:

Impressionists & Post-Impressionists --> Orsay arguably has the finest collection in the world.

Dutch Genre Masters (Vermeer, Steen, de Hooch, etc.) --> Louvre has one of the top two collections in the world...the other being the Rijksmuseum, in Amsterdam.

(But I realize much of this has already been said.)

<strong>I'll try not to be snooty</strong>, but most "regular" folks would prefer the Orsay. I say this based on the crowds. Once you get away from the three or four biggies at Louvre, the crowds thin out considerably, but pretty much every nook and cranny of the Orsay is packed.

You have to choose based on your taste and the breadth or your art appreciation. It never hurts to spend time with new art genres, but your time is limited. Follow the maxim: "I don't know much about art, but I know what I like."

SS

PS - I, too, would not go to the Louvre just for the Mona Lisa. But I would go just for the two Vermeers there.

Brooke_Herron

I have been to both twice and have preferred Musee d'Orsay both times. Less overwhelming I feel less guilty that I can't give hours to each section. It's gorgeous, accessible, etc

Dukey1

IMO a lot depends on your whole mental and physical approach to these places.

I have read above the word "overwhelming" more than a couple of times and given the fact that the Louvre is pretty much the largest palace in western Europe then yeah, it can be overwhelming if you all the size and the number of people and the number of works do that to you.

I think if you go to the Louvre with particular aims and stick to those things you are most interested in then it can be less overwhelming. I also noticed nobody even mentioned the Louis Napoleon apartments and those alone can be worth a visit and forget Ms. De Milo and the rest of them.

And then there are <B>the throngs of people</B> and one wonders when somebody is going to come along and declare the Louvre to be one of the biggest tourist traps ever devised. Oh, but that's right: so-called "tourist traps" are thus because they "aren't worth it."

Enjoy the D'Orsay. I thought some of the lighting could have been improved but it is a great place to visit and satisfying