Musee d'Orsay - Resources for Art Lovers
Find out about the Musee d'Orsay
Pay a virtual visit to the Musée d'Orsay in Paris to see:
- Famous french art produced between the years 1848 and 1914.
- Famous paintings by the major Impressionist painters
- Whole rooms devoted to the work on one artist - including Monet; Cezanne, Van Gogh, and Degas
- How to fit a museum into a former railway station and create one of the very best museums in the world
In 2009, the Musée d'Orsay in Paris was the 3rd most popular museum in Paris and also ranked as the 8th most popular in the world.
If you cannot visit Paris, you can still see the art and feel as if you are in the museum by paying a virtual visit using some of the links listed on this site
Musee d'Orsay - Official Website
- Muse d'Orsay: Home
Access is available in Franais, Deutsch, Espaol, Italiano and English - Muse d'Orsay: Museum floorplan
Please note The location of artworks is updated every morning, before the Museum opens, based on information from the previous evening. - Muse d'Orsay: 'Orsay
'Orsay A film by Bruno Ullmer, trailer(Requires Flash Player) - Muse d'Orsay: The Museum in motion
The Museum in motion In a large museum, changes are orchestrated by the movement of artworks. On this page you will find regularly updated information on the principal changes in the Muse d'Orsay galleries, and on new discoveries to be made.
The website of the Musee d'Orsay has been recently redesigned
How to get to the Musee d'Orsay?
The Musee d'Orsay is on the South Bank of the River Seine. It is housed in a converted nineteenth century Railway Station which lies opposite the Tuileries Gardens and the Louvre.
Address: 1 rue de la Lgion d'Honneur, 75007 Paris
Metro: line 12, to Solfrino (or Rue du Bac); Line 4 to St-Germain-des-Pres; Line 1 to Tuileries and cross the riverRER: line C, to Muse d'Orsay
Bus: 24, 63, 68, 69, 73, 83, 84, 94
Taxi: taxi stand and special vehicles quai Anatole-France
- Muse d'Orsay: Access
Details about how to get there and where different people should queue for ticketsPlus details of Disabled Access - DOWNLOAD The Paris Tourist Map (pdf)
Paris Tourism Guide / Map (PDF - 1,85 Mo) - Parking du Carrousel du Louvre Q-PARK - parking paris 75001
Parking du Carrousel du Louvre Q-PARK - parking paris 75001 - parking public paris : Avenue du Gnral Lemonnier75001 paris stationnement
When can you visit the Muse d'Orsay?
In general the museum is open daily from 9.30am to 6pm EXCEPT MONDAY - with a late night on Thursdays until 9.45pm. You can find out more details about the opening hours here (in English).
DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: Paris
My guide book of choice for Paris - newly revised, updated, and redesigned for 2014. This is the one I take with me when I visit Paris.
RECOMMENDED: Rated an average of 4.7 out of 5 stars by 45 customer reviews
It has a really great "exploded view" section on the Musee d'Orsay - and also covers the other art galleries and museums well - plus all the usual information visitors need for a city which is new to them.
What's the best way of find out about the Musee d'Orsay?
There are two times when people want to find out about the museum - before they visit and while they are there. Options include books (see below), audio guides and apps.
- The museum provides Audio guides - with themed tours
- There are also various apps for Musee d'Orsay for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad on the iTunes App Store
Books are also good as a reminder of what you have visited!
Map of the Museum
- Muse d'Orsay: Museum floorplan
Searchable map - enter the name of an artist and it shows you where the work is. Try searching for Degas whose work is in various places in the museum.
Art & Architecture Musee d'Orsay
Art & Architecture Muse d'Orsay
This book provides an overview of the museum and has excellent illustrations In my opinion it's a book for those who have visited or who plan to visit - but not one for travelling with. It has a compact format but is not a lightweight book.
Rated an average of 5.0 out of 5 stars based on 5 customer reviews
Every piece of art that is described has an image to accompany it which then enables visitors to more easily recognize the original when they visit. Insets on cultural-historical topics and illustrated glossaries, summaries, and timelines supplement the body text
This book provides an excellent overview of the work in the museum in two different ways:
- chronological pages which group the artists with their peers
- thematic pages which enable you to see how different artists treated the same subject matter eg portraits, how the Impressionists painted water
Muse d'Orsay - Artists & Collections
- Muse d'Orsay: Artists A -Z - Home
This a brief inventory of artists with a document file in the general archive indicating their location. It's a tool particularly aimed at the researcher. This is why the artists presented here are in chronological sections shown in the documentation - Muse d'Orsay: Painting
Painting - Muse d'Orsay: Sculpture
Sculpture - Muse d'Orsay: Decorative arts
Decorative arts - Muse d'Orsay: Photography
Photography - Muse d'Orsay: Graphic arts
Graphic arts - Muse d'Orsay: Architecture
Architecture
Muse d'Orsay - Events & Exhibitions
Typically you go to the Muse d'Orsay to see the collection rather than exhibitions.
However they do also have some amazing exhibitions from time to time. These are the current exhibitions
The Musee d'Orsay - Views and Reviews
This includes my blog posts about The Muse d'OrsayAlso included are linked to reputable websites which provide consumer reviews of visitor attractions. Read a few to get an excellent perspective on the place - and then come back to this site to find out more of what you need to know!
Plus if you'd like to see what it looks like (prior to the 2011 refurbishment) take a look at the videos of works by Van Gogh and Claude Monet (see below)
- Making a Mark: The Muse d'Orsay
The Muse d'Orsay is one my favourite museums for all sorts of reasons. I love the art. I love the the structure which contains it. I love where it's situated and I love the views from the roof over the Seine across to the Louvre with l'Opera and Monm - Travels with a Sketchbook in.......: A day in the Musee d'Orsay - tips on sketching
On our second day in Paris I visited the Muse d'Orsay and the Sennelier shop at Quai Voltaire (on the Left Bank, opposite the Louvre). Click this link to see a Google map of the places I visited - also shown below. - Muse d'Orsay - Muse d'Orsay - Paris | Yelp
169 Reviews of Muse d'Orsay"Hands down the best museum in Paris, even recommended by Parisians. I preferred Musee d'Orsay more than the Louvre." - Things to do in Paris > Musee d'Orsay | Trip Advisor
Ranked #1 of 537 attractions in ParisRecommended length of visit: More than 3 hours - 29 Reviews - Muse d'Orsay | Viator
Musée d'Orsay: Check out 29 reviews from Viator travelers - Musee d-Orsay Reviews. Buying Guides & Consumer Product Reviews - Epinions.com
Epinions.com - Read product reviews on Mus�e d-Orsay - Destinations. Overall Rating: 5 stars from 39 consumer reviews at Epinions.com. - Muse d'Orsay in Paris, France - Lonely Planet
Top of every visitor’s must-see list is the museum’s painting collections, centred on the world’s largest collection of impressionist and post-impressionist art. - Fodor's - Muse d'Orsay Review
Read the Fodor's review of Musee d'Orsay, or post your own.Opened in 1986, this gorgeously renovated Belle poque train station displays a world-famous collection of Impressionist and Postimpressionist paintings on three floors.
Video: Paintings by Claude Monet at the Musée d'Orsay
Video: Paintings by Vincent van Gogh at the Musée d'Orsay
HOW TO: Sketch, Draw or Paint in the Muse d'Orsay
Freehand pencil sketches, not exceeding 30 x 60 cm, are allowed in the museum.
This is the link to the RULES ABOUT COPYING works in the Musee d'Orsay
Visiting Groups need to ask permission when the booking is made.
Copying museum works of art, by professional or amateur copyists, or by art school students, requires an individual authorisation. This is issued to one named person, and for a single work. The request must be submitted at least one month before the required date of entry to the museum. The permission is valid for three months, and may not be extended.
Muse d'Orsay: Official website - History - History of the building and collections
- Muse d'Orsay: History of the building - A museum in a station
The history of the museum, of its building is quite unusual. In the centre of Paris on the banks of the Seine, opposite the Tuileries Gardens, the museum was installed in the former Orsay railway station, built for the Universal Exhibition of 1900. S - Muse d'Orsay: History of the collections
Muse d'Orsay is a national museum which opened to the public on 9 December 1986. It focuses on the diversity of artistic creation in the western world between 1848 and 1914. It was formed with the national collections coming mainly from three establ
The Nouvel Orsay
Musee d'Orsay has undergone a major refurbishment of its Impressionist and Post-Impressionist galleries (located on the upper floor), as well as the four levels of the "Pavillon amont" that lead to it.
At the end of 2009, the museum launched a renovation of its Impressionist and Post-Impressionist galleries (located on the upper floor), as well as the four levels of the "Pavillon amont" that lead to it.
The result is a better display of artworks, larger exhibition areas and greater comfort for visitors, plus better circulation and more security.
- Impressionism (Manet, Degas, Monet, Cezanne, Renoir, Sisley...) on the 5th floor in a renovated gallery under the glass canopy,
- Post-Impressionism (Van Gogh, Gauguin, the school of Pont-Aven, Cross, Seurat, the Douanier Rousseau) on the middle level,
- the large Nabi decors and foreign schools of decorative arts in the "Pavillon amont".
- Plus there is also a new Cafe de l'Horloge on the 5th floor.
Below are links to the museum's website which explains the changes.
Another major change is that photography is no longer allowed in the galleries.
- Muse d'Orsay: Towards the Nouvel Orsay
After more than a year and a half of renovation works, the Muse d'Orsay is getting ready to reopen its newly renovated spaces. - Muse d'Orsay: The Impressionist Gallery
The large gallery on the fifth floor devoted to Impressionism has been truly transformed. There is dark wood flooring, and the walls are painted in a delicate grey allowing a full appreciation of all the chromatic nuances in the paintings - Muse d'Orsay: The Amont Pavilion
The interior of the Amont Pavilion, the station's former engine house, has been entirely reconstructed. - Muse d'Orsay: Temporary exhibition area
The former Column Gallery that accommodated the Neo-Impressionist works has been transformed into a large flexible space that can be adapted for future temporary exhibitions and that can include the adjoining rooms if required. - Muse d'Orsay: Copying, filming, photography
It is forbidden to take pictures and to film in the museum. In the interests of the safety of works and visitors, and to ensure a more pleasurable visit, photography and filming are no longer allowed in the museum galleries. - Muse d'Orsay's 'renaissance' casts impressionism in spectacular new light | Art and design | The Obs
The French museum's renovation has brought the grandeur of its 19th-century masterpieces back to life - Muse d'Orsay: Audio guides: themed tours
Let yourself be guided through these new rooms with commentaries on 50 artworks accompanied by photos. Practical information will also help you plan your visit and keep you up to date with current exhibitions at the museum.
Monet's version of Dejeuner sur l'Herbe (Luncheon on the Grass)
Detail from a self-portrait of Vicent Van Gogh
BOOKS: Art History of the period
The Restaurant at the top of the Musee D'Orsay
Where to eat in the Museum
- Muse d'Orsay: Restaurant
Muse d'Orsay Restaurant Fabrice VallonA historic location with a contemporary look - Jean-Michel Wilmotte's new layout sets the tone.The French cuisine is equally impressive with its blends and contrasts. Chef Yann Landureau and his team have develop - Muse d'Orsay: The Caf des Hauteurs and terrace
At the top of the Museum, near the Impressionist galleries, is the Caf des Hauteurs, one of the most frequented areas of the museum. It is easily found behind one of the large clocks overlooking the river Seine.The terrace, open from May to October, - Muse d'Orsay: Mezzanine
Above the Caf des Hauteurs there is an exceptional view of the clock from the Mezzanine, a self-service restaurant offering a wide range of products and flavours from around the world: seasonal soups, salads, a selection of baguettes and club sandwic
Reviews of the Muse d'Orsay
- Muse d'Orsay in Paris, France - Lonely Planet
Lonely Planet review for Muse d'OrsayFresh from renovations that incorporate richly coloured walls, a re-energised layout and increased exhibition space, the home of France’s national collection from the impressionist, postimpressionist and art nouve
