It's T-minus 10 days to "wheels up" and I'm trying to massage our sightseeing schedule so we can at least fit in our most prized must-sees while still having time to stop and smell le cafe. My wife, who has been to Paris before, really wants to see the Parc des Buttes Chaumont (it does look cool) and I really want to see Lafayette's tomb and since both of these are a little farther out, we thought we'd do a "Metro" day, riding first to The Cimetiere Picpus to pay our respects to General Lafayette, then up to Buttes Chaumont for a leisurely stroll, then up to Parc de la Villette to catch one of the Paris Canal boat rides down the Canal St. Martin. This is the one that drops you off right in front of the Orsay at about 5:00 p.m., so I thought we'd do this on Thursday when the museum's open 'til 9:00 p.m. Then, we could just go right in and see the museum then (after a 2-hour canal ride, we should be well rested). Here's my question: The Orsay is one of my top priority sites (I love impressionist art)...will it be more or less crowded and will there be anything negative about the experience? I'd really love to hear from anyone who's visited the museums (especially the Orsay of course) in the evenings to see what you thought. Rick Steves' book says they're less crowded, but who knows if that's right. Thanks, folks!

The museums are much more relaxed on their evening opening days.

Go fot it! My preferred time to visit the Orsay and the Louvre are on the evening nights. Like Kerouac says, the atmosphere is much more relaxed - no tour groups, etc. - no rush to move along, because a line is behind you wanting to look at a piece of art.

A museum is a museum inside, doesn't make any difference what time of day it is IMO. They are generally less crowded, which is a bonus. If something is really important to you to see at the Louvre, you should check their website carefully, as I think they do have some rooms or exhibits not open in the evening hours. I've never heard that for the Orsay, but their website should say if they do.

We did the Canal St. Martin ending at Musee d'Orsay, where the lines were very, very long. We were glad we had a museum pass. You can also purchase advance tickets just for Musee d'Orsay at FNAC.

Thanks for the feedback, everyone. Thanks, Christina, for the suggestion...I should have thought of that since I've had a similar experience at the National Gallery here in DC (not with an exhibit being closed, but the cafe downstairs). DJK, what time of year was it when you ran into the long line in the evening at the Orsay? Thanks again!

Hi DB,

You can buy your d'Orsay tickets the day before and skip the lines.

Thanks, Ira...I'm pretty sure we're going to get the museum pass anyway since we plan to cover quite a bit of ground.