Paris Art Museum: Musee de l’Orangerie

Paris is full of art. Especially art museums. During our trip, we spent hours looking at art from probably hundreds of artists. It was at the Musee de l’Orangerie – a smaller Paris art museum – that I discovered the piece of art that I would love to have hanging on the walls in my home. It’s a Renoir, titled Young Girls at the Piano. The classical colors and simplicity of kids trying their hand at the piano is beautiful. The trick will be affording a nice piece of art like that, since I spend my money on traveling to all these amazing places.

With Europe opening back up following the shutdown from COVID-19, the Musee de l’Orangerie is open as well. Here are a few tips to help you know what to expect at the museum, and a list of some of the more well-known artists with work on display at this small art museum just across the Jardin des Tuileries from the Louvre Museum.

Advanced Tickets and Getting to the Musee de l’Orangerie

In years past, the Musee de l’Orangerie didn’t have limitations on the number of people visiting the museum. It was pretty crowded during our visit in Aug. 2019. But in a post-COVID world, timed ticket entry is becoming the new norm at almost every tourist attraction. As you plan your visit to the museum, purchase or reserve your timed ticket entry online.

Certain age groups get free admission to the museum – all the more reason to take your kids to Europe before they get too old. Even with free admission, you’ll need to reserve your tickets online in advance as they limit capacity to this Paris art museum. Free groups include: Visitors under 18 years old, European Union nationals between the ages of 18 to 25 years old, and all visitors on the first Sunday of each month.

There are three types of admissions to consider: General admission, an audio guide, and a guided tour (in English).

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Most people know where the Louvre is in Paris. Well, from there you’ll walk west through the Jardin des Tuileries. The Musee de l’Orangerie is just before your get to Place de la Concorde (the square where King Louis and Marie Antionette were beheaded). The entrance is on the west side of the building.

Large backpacks are prohibited in the museum, so you can check them at the cloakroom. DO NOT leave any valuables in your bags – cameras, passports, wallets, IDs, money, etc.

The Most Popular Room in the Whole Museum

Claud Monet’s Water Lilies is so large it gets its own room. As you can see from the photo above, its a very poplar spot. It’s also interesting to note the different type of people in the room (can you spot them in the above photo?):

• People who just need a place to sit and this room had benches
• Those looking to grab a selfie with the art in the background
• People who are bored and fully engulfed by their phones
• Adults who are actually admiring the art

Which style of Paris art museum visitor are you? To be honest, I was surprised about what all the fuss was about with this art. Granted, it was large and warranted it’s own mural-like room. It made you feel like you were on an island, surrounded by reflective water, lilies and trees. I’m a little bit of a people watcher, so that was interesting as well. But after we examined the art, watched some people and grabbed a selfie of our own, we headed to less crowded areas of the museum.

Notable Artists at this Paris Art Museum

Earlier in the post, I mentioned that I had discovered my favorite piece of art – Two Young Girls at the Piano. It wasn’t until I was really looking through all my trip photos that I discovered multiple iterations of the same painting. At Musee d’Orsay, another popular art museum in Paris, there is this same painting. The young girls look the same in both. However, the background of the one in Musee d’Orsay has more details – a curtain, flowers on the piano and more. I think I like the one with the details in it more.

Musee de l’Orangerie houses artwork from roughly 14 different artists as part of their permanent exhibit. Those include articles like:

• Paul Cezanne
• Henri Matisse
• Claude Monet
• Pablo Picasso
• Auguste Renoir

There are only two floors to explore. When you compare the number of artists in this museum to Musee d’Orsay or the Louvre, the numbers are much smaller. I think that allows a more intimate experience with the artists, instead of being overwhelmed with so much art crammed into one building. This smaller setting probably contributed to why this is at the top of my list for best Paris art museum.

A Place for Kids to Explore their Art

I must be a kid at heart, because I enjoyed the kids are of the museum more than most adults. There were various tables to sit at and try creating your own work of art. One wall had two large paintings on it, along with a quote box. I added in a quote (as you can see above) my eight-year-old daughter had said during a visit to The Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met) in New York City. She may have been a little young for that massive art museum, because all she wanted to do was check out the gift shop after about 20 minutes of looking at art.

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My wife grabbed some chalk and added some flowers to a vase on one of the chalk walls. It’s okay – that’s why they had chalk there. It was fun to try our own hand at creating art. And even though my artistic talent left lots to be desired, I saw some art from a few of the kids at the tables and there are some definitely future artists out there.

The kids area is on the basement floor, so it’s a sort of reward for when your kids make it through all the other art areas. You can encourage them to look at all the other art so they can be inspired when they get to their own artist workshop while touring the museum.

The Details

Address: West side of the Jardin des Tuileries, Place de la Concorde 75001 PARIS

Cost: Full price for adults is about $14. A reduced rate is available at about $12. Free admission for Visitors under 18 years old, European Union nationals between the ages of 18 to 25 years old, and all visitors on the first Sunday of each month.

Hours: Open daily from from 9am to 6pm. The last admission is at 5:15 p.m. The museum is closed on Tuesdays.

Website: https://www.musee-orangerie.fr/en

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