A national museum, situated on the left bank of the Seine in the former Orsay railway station, built in 1898 by Victor Laloux for the World Fair. It was converted into a museum and inaugurated in 1986. The collections present Western painting and sculpture from 1848 to 1942, as well as decorative arts, photography and architecture.

The Musée d’Orsay conserves and shows the largest collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings in the world as well as outstanding Symbolist, Realist and Academic paintings. More than 5,000 paintings and drawings make up this collection including masterpieces like Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe and Olympia by Édouard Manet, the Danseuse âgée de quatorze ans by Degas, L'Origine du monde, Un enterrement à Ornans, L'Atelier du peintre by Gustave Courbet or five paintings from the Série des Cathédrales de Rouen by Claude Monet or Le bal du moulin de la Galette by Renoir.

Temporary exhibitions present the work of an artist, an artistic current, a picture merchant, or a history of art related subject. The auditorium hosts a range of events including concerts, cinema, talks and colloquiums and shows for children.

Musée d’Orsay: 1 rue de la Légion d’Honneur, Paris 7th. Metro Solférino / RER Musée d’Orsay

Description

Internationally renowned for its rich collection of impressionist art, the Musée d'Orsay also displays all western artistic creation between 1848 and 1914. Its collections represent all expressive forms, from painting to architecture, not forgetting sculpting, decorative arts and photography. You're sure to be dazzled by the beauty of the place: a palace-like station, launched for the 1900 Universal Exposition.

At the end of 2011, the museum reopened all of its entirely renovated spaces as well as some new rooms: an additional 400 m² for the Pavillon Amont, post-impressionist artists at the heart of the museum, the restructuring of the Galerie des Impressionnistes, a new space for temporary exhibitions, and a new aquatic decor in the Café des Hauteurs, designed by Brazilian designers, the Campana Brothers.

Entrance fees and modalities

Independent tour

Museum ticket: €9 / €6.50 (concessions)

Museum ticket + exhibition: €12 / €9.50 (concessions)

Concessions: 18-25 year olds who are not EU nationals or long-term residents, for all after 4.30pm except Thursdays and Saturdays, for all on Thursdays after 6pm.

Guided tour

€6 / €4.50 (concessions)

Group tour

Booking necessary for all groups, with or without tour guides. Entry from Tuesday to Saturday 9.30am to 4pm and until 8pm on Thursdays. Reserve by phone: +33 (0)1 53 63 04 50 from Tuesday to Saturday 9.30am-2.45pm.

Free

Free admission for everyone the first Sunday of every month. Free for under 26 year olds from countries within the European Union and for primary and secondary school teachers (except temporary exhibitions). Free for jobseekers. Direct and free access to those holding the Carte Blanche and MuséO membership cards, as well as members of the 'amis' of the Musée d'Orsay.

Free for young people and children Under 18s

Free and reduced for disabled people Free and reduced for disabled people : Free entry for disabled people and an accompanying person on presentation of written proof.

Opening times

Open Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 9.30am to 6pm and on Thursday until 9.45pm.

Details of opening times

Opening of ticket desks Last admission 30 minutes before the museum closes.

Late opening Open until 9.45pm on Thursdays.

Exceptional opening 1 January, Easter, Ascension Day, 8 May, Whitsuntide, 14 July, 15 August, 1 November, 11 November