Paris Travel Forum

Any suggestions for how best to spend our time visiting the Musee d'Orsay?
Plan to go there for a couple of hours.
Thank you for any advice!

Not knowing what your particular interests are it's difficult to say.

Why not take a Virtual Tour around the Museum before you go - have a look at the collections, the plan of the lay-out of the Galleries and the history of the Museum -- and more

http://www.musee-orsay.fr/en/home.html

Previous posters suggestion is great. We went there last year and wished we'd spent 2 days there rather then the one day as its so big. It was a railway station so that gives you some idea of the size of the place. I liked the main gallery with the sculptures and the huge painting "Decadence of Rome" but I also liked the "walk over" diaroma of Paris and the Opera House (might have been a temporary exhibiion). Then on one of the upper rooms was a room full of Van Goths that you are only a couple of inches away from - just amazing. My suggestion is no to go for a couple of hours, but rather spend the whole day there. I understand that could be a challenge with available time, but it is one of he best museums in the world.

Enjoy.

start with the last floor where the famous impressionist are

Whatever you do, do NOT miss eating at their restaurant--it's reasonable (for Paris at least), they serve great food, and it is in one of the most stunning rooms you have ever seen in your life!!! I agree that you should spend more than just a few hours at the d'Orsay, so a great way to break it up would be to go for a while, take a break and eat, and then go back to walking around the museum.

"A couple of hours" at the Musée d'Orsay is much but better than no time.

The questions of highlights is most difficult. All paintings and sculptures are of great quality but the style varies with the period and school of art.
Most popular are certainly the "Impressionists" on the upper floor. Start with them.

On the website of www.musee-orsay.fr you should consult "Collections" and then "Works in Focus" to get a first idea but there are 500 what does not simplify the choice for a first visit.
You will also find on VT pages Paris "things to do" "Musée d'Orsay" about 300 reviews by VT members. They will give you personal appreciations of the works liked by other visitors.
Of course this are most subjective reviews, you should not like "Dances" from Renoir or the "Magpie" from Monet because an amateur here on VT likes them.

Here I come to the basics of visiting Musée d'Orsay, one of the best painting museums in the world. Walk around, stop at what attracts you, look at it and get a "coup de foudre".
Now if you have no time to see and admire it all, come back. Once you will have fallen in love with the Musée d'Orsay you will come back to Paris just for this museum.

Bon voyage.

The whole place is magnificent - I spent a day there - and as suggested above did eat in the restaurant. The scale of the d'Orsay is much more pleasant than the scale of the Louvre which I frankly found overwhelming. I loved the sculptures on the main floor. I will go back there if I return to Paris.

We were on a whirlwind zip through Paris with one of our daughters and the d'Orsay was on the list. We entered and climbed to the top floor where the Impressionists are and worked down. It really depends on your own interests. We visit the d'Orsay every time we go to Paris so don't even try to see the whole thing. We each have our favorites and take that into consideration.

The advice above to check the web site, decide what you want to see and then find it on the museum map is a great idea.

This museum its so nice.
I already seen it 3 times and i always get lost there.
ALways new things you discover.

A full morning its ok...its very relaxing.

Cheers