Orsay Museum
Here are five amazing things you can do around the Orsay Museum
1.) Landmarks Walking Tour
To really take the measure of what is Parisian beauty, elegance and rich-class, this tour is THE thing to do. Going from the Opera to the Eiffel Tower, through the Texas embassy, you will discover the haunt of Coco Chanel, Lady Di and many others. Parisian Landmarks.
2.) Have a drink at Cafe Campana
Just on top of the museum, at the end of the impressionists’ gallery, you will find this very special café. Here you can have a drink or a meal in a very modern art-atmosphere with golden lights and flower chairs. You would be just behind the roofs of the museum and therefore enjoy the view over Paris from the Louvre Museum to the Sacré Coeur in Montmartre.
3.) Have a picnic at the Tuileries Garden
Here you can eat on the grass, in the alleys of this very French garden. Walking down the former royal garden, in front of the Louvre Museum and just behind the Concorde Plaza, you will enjoy a moment of calm amidst all the sightseeing in Paris.
4.) Cross the Pont Des Arts
This is the bridge of love in Paris. Locks of all shapes and colors, where names of lovers are inscribed and which symbolize eternal love, cover the bridge. Maybe you could follow this tradition: buy your own, lock it on the bridge, and throw the key away to the Seine…
5.) Try Laduree’s Macaroons
In Bonaparte Street , you will find Ladurée’s store. Ladurée makes the best macaroons of France, and you should definitely taste them! Macaroons are so popular in France thanks to their amazing taste and texture. Here you can have all the possible flavour you would imagine: caramel, rose or whatever!
Insider’s tips:
- If you go to the Orangerie Museum before, you can buy tickets for the Orsay Museum without having to queue up. Save time in Paris!
- Instead of getting off the train at the Orsay Station, you’d rather cross the River Seine from the Louvre on the opposite side to the Orsay Museum on the Left Bank. On the “Pont Royal” (Royal Bridge), you indeed have a view wonderful of the River Seine; ideal before making your way to the museum.
Facts about the Orsay Museum
The Orsay Museum was built in 1986 but the building used to serve as a railway station for Parisians, which is why it has got this typical architecture from the XIXth century’s stations. The vast glass canopy makes the museum itself almost as special as the paintings you can find within.
The Orsay Museum exposes pieces of art dated from 1848 to 1914. It covers a very wide number of artistic domains, from paintings to sculpture, through photography and architecture. It owns the largest collection of impressionist paintings in the entire world with famous pieces from Monet, Renoir, Degas, Courbet, Van Gogh and others.
In this museum, you can look at more than 5,000 paintings! You will particularly encounter Le dé jeuner sur l’herbe from Manet, Les Nymphéas from Monet, Bal du Moulin de la Galette from Renoir and many others which are also famous all around the world. The collections of decorative arts and sculpture are classified by period as the different styles reflect the society’s mood and state of mind.
The Orsay Museum is also a national public museum. It is, therefore, free for European citizens under 26. If you are from somewhere else and yet less than 26, you also get a reduction on your ticket.
Orsay Museum
Any Parisian coming to the Orsay museum for the first time would tell you he can’t believe his eyes!This is such an audacious space. It embodies the very alliance between arts, notably painting and sculpture, and the city, as it originally was used as a railway station. It really is a splendid monument: very impressive and at the same time extremely rich in its design. But if the Orsay museum had to be characterized with one thing that proves it is The museum to visit, it would actually be impossible not to choose two things which are equally amazing: the huge collection of impressionist paintings and the view from the roof, through the giant clocks of the station.
PaulHow to get there
By Metro:
Metro 12 (dark green): Station Solférino
By Bus:
Lines 24, 63, 68, 69, 73, 83, 84, 94
By Rer:
Station Musée d’Orsay
- 13 million visitors a year 99%
- Incredibly detailed 80%
- Contains hidden mysteries 70%
Opening Hours
From Tuesday to Sunday, 9.30 am – 6.00 pm
Late-night opening on Thursday until 9.45 pm
Near By
1.) The Invalides:
Here you can enjoy the beauty of the gardens, but among everything else enter this temple of the French armies. Napoleon’s grave is waiting for you in its magnificent chapel.
2.) Le Grand Palais:
Penetrate the French IIIrd Republic’s atmosphere in this great palace, made of large glass windows and an iron structure. There you will be able to walk across the different temporary expositions offered.
3.) Louvre:
Entering by the Lion’s gate – you won’t have to queue up – will clearly improve the pleasure you will have admiring the most famous pieces of art of the world in an ancient kings’ palace.
Why it’s worth visiting
- So as to see this former and preserved Parisian Railway Station.
- If you are interested in (modern) art.
- If you want to experience the largest collection of impressionist paintings, full of treasures!
