On our recent art-and-food-of-Paris extravaganza trip in November of 2024, we, of course, visited the Musee D’Orsay. I hadn’t been here in about 15 years, and I was excited to return because the museum itself has changed quite a bit, and I feel like it’s actually got a lot more art going on here than it did back then. My main memories were basically just of the building itself, which is stunning, so it was fun to check out a museum that I had been to, but was almost new to me anyway. We stayed just a few blocks away at the Pavillon Faubourg Saint Germain, so we had an easy walk to get here. Check out my review of this centrally located, luxury boutique hotel!

The building itself is awesome – the museum was created out of an old railway station, and the openness of the space is breathtaking. Throughout the center of the building is a large space where you can view various sculptures, and most of the paintings are on the perimeter. Virtually all of the impressionist art is on the top floor, which is also where most of the people are.

As always, definitely book a ticket in advance. General admission is 16 Euros, and kids are 13 Euros. The first Sunday of each month is free, but you still have to book in advance as these days sell out well in advance of the date. You can get a ticket at the museum on the day of for a slightly discounted rate of 14 Euros, but the lines are very long and not worth the 2 Euro savings. We had a timed ticket and walked right in without waiting in any lines.

There are several restaurants and cafes here, and we grabbed a mid-afternoon snack in the Restaurant, which is grand and full of frescoes and chandeliers. I enjoyed a warm bowl of french onion soup and Brian had a chicken salad. It’s pretty expensive to eat here, (our dishes were 17 and 18 euros respectively) but it was a nice atmosphere and super convenient.

This museum is also chock full of people, much like the Louvre, although to me, it’s much more understandable that there are gobs of people visiting here, since Impressionist art is more accessible and interesting to more people. The building itself is also a draw for folks, and since the design is quite open and airy, the amount of people is not quite as imposing and suffocating as it is at the Louvre.

I was excited to discover and contemplate some new-to-me art here at the Musee D’Orsay, and two pieces/artists come to mind immediately. First are the very large scale, “La Branche Fleurie Jaune” paintings by Odilon Redon (1901), a guy who I had never heard of before. The floor-to-ceiling paintings really took my breath away, and I really wanted to steal them since they would go really great with the decor in my home! The tiny photo here doesn’t do these grand paintings justice!

Second was the rediscovery of my love of Renoir’s paintings, especially his portraits. We have some amazing and very famous Renoir pieces here at the Art Institute of Chicago, and they definitely rank among my favorite pieces of art, however, there is a gallery at the MD’O exhibiting a few of Renoir’s portraits that took me by surprise! He painted these women in such a way that you really just want to chat with them and get to know them and their stories. They were so interesting and animated, that it really solidified my opinion that Renoir is my favorite Impressionist artist.

Honestly, I think there is something for everyone here at the Musee D’Orsay, and that’s the reason why it’s at the top of everyone’s must-do-in-Paris list. Luckily, the collection here is large and diverse, and you can discover something new here every time.