Visit the Musée de l’Orangerie in Paris: tickets, prices, schedules

Do you like impressionist painting? So, go to the Musée de l’Orangerie in Paris, a pleasant visit in the heart of the French capital!

The Orangerie Museum is a visit to be made for all lovers of painting, especially the impressionist movement. If Claude Monet’s paintings, Cézanne, Picasso, Renoir or Gauguin inspire you, it’s the ideal place to soothe you if you live or are visiting Paris.

Located in the Jardin des Tuileries, it is all a cultural programming that is organized throughout the year: exhibitions, concerts, workshops for children, dances, meetings etc. The Orangerie Museum is in perpetual movement.

If you want to let yourself be carried away by the emotions of impressionist painting, you must absolutely visit the Musée de l’Orangerie in Paris. You can enjoy it to stroll around the Jardin des Tuileries, one of the green spaces of our dear capital.

History of the Orangerie Museum

The Orangerie Museum has had several faces since its construction in 1852 , starting with a roof to house the city's orange trees. We can even go back even further in time in the 17th century, talking about the Renard restaurant that was at this location, on the Tuileries terrace.

At the time of the orange trees, the building is well thought out as it has a glazed south side to bring the light in, and a dark north side to protect the plants of the wind. This is the work of Firmin Bourgeois engineers and Louis Visconti . A few years later, it is used as a repository of materials, venue of sporting and musical events, or exam room.

♪ 1921 , the orangery is attributed to the Beaux-Arts in the aim of exposing live artists. In the same years, the French painter Claude Monet , the founder of the impressionist movement, will transform the building into a museum. He likes to contemplate for hours his pond, and especially his nympheas, which he uses as a model for his paintings. Friend with Georges Clémenceau , it encourages him to expose his works in the form of large decorative panels. It was finally at the Orangerie that he decided to settle in 1921. After some renovation work, the museum was inaugurated six months after Claude Monet died.

Later, enter 1959 and 1963 , this is collection Jean Walter and Paul Guillaume which settles at the Musée de l’Orangerie. Today, it is attached to Musée d’Orsay . There are 3 levels between exhibitions, bookshop and coffee.

What to see and do at the Orangerie Museum

The visit to the Orangerie Museum is fast enough, but it is really worth it if you like painting. It is a haven of peace, a relaxing break in the frantic rhythm of Parisian life. There are 3 levels : the 0, the -1 and the -2.

On the ground floor we find Claude Monet’s famous works. The Jean Walter and Paul Guillaume collection is at the level -1. As for level -2, this is the bookshop and coffee, created in 2015. There are also a lot of activities for young and old: workshops, films and documentaries, dance performances and many others.

Les Nymphéas de Claude Monet

When you arrive at ground floor , you discover 2 oval rooms that contain the works of the French painter Claude Monet The famous Nympheas. On the rounded walls are fitted with huge decorative panels of 1.97 meters high and 6 to 17 meters wide, where 8 of its compositions can be seen.

Each of them represents the pond of Giverny at the painter’s home in Normandy. During the second part of his life, these nenuphars were his main centre of interest. Moreover, he even gave his friend Georges Clémenceau a gift to participate in his way to the armistice in 1918.

On a total surface 200 m2 , everything was thought to highlight these paintings and to make the visitor feel the emotion that it takes. The separation between the panels, the openings to pass from one room to another, the shapes, and even the natural light that changes over time to make the painting even more unique.

The collection Jean Walter and Paul Guillaume

By continuing your visit to level -2 , you enter the room dedicated to the collection Jean Walter and Paul Guillaume . For history, it is Paul Guillaume which began this collection of masterpieces of painting. This famous French art dealer has brought together hundreds of paintings by Gauguin, Renoir, Sisley and Cézanne.

He was also known for his taste of African art. When he died brutally, his wife Domenica inherited this collection. It disconnected many paintings, including those of Picasso, Matisse and Chirico. African pieces have also disappeared.

Then she refits her life with another man, the architect Jean Walter . Both of them developed the collection, with new acquisitions. Later, Domenica respected the will of her first husband by exposing the paintings in a museum. The State then proposed the Musée de l’Orangerie in Paris in the late 1950s. Today you can see a wide collection of 146 paintings bringing together the greatest names of the impressionist period in the twentieth century.

Note : the room presenting the collection Jean Walter and Paul Guillaume is closed 4 September 2019 at 31 March 2020 Because of work. Instead, a temporary exhibition Félix Fénéon (1861-1944), Les temps nouveaux, from Seurat to Matisse, takes place from 16 October 2019 to 27 January 2020.

How do I go to the Orangerie Museum?

The Musée de l’Orangerie is located in the Jardin des Tuileries between Place de la Concorde and the Seine, in the first arrondissement of Paris. You can access it:

By car

At your destination, you have several parking spaces available nearby. The nearest parking lot is the Place de la Concorde, at the corner of avenue Gabriel and Place de la Concorde.

By metro

• Line 1: « station Concorde »
• Line 8: « station Concorde »
• Line 12: « station Concorde »

By bus

• Line 24"Concorde stop"
• Line 42"Concorde stop"
• Line 52"Concorde stop"
• Line 72"Concorde stop"
• Line 73"Concorde stop"
• Line 84"Concorde stop"
• Line 94"Concorde stop"

In velib’

There are 2 stations nearby:

• 2 rue Cambon (closest)
• 119 rue de Lille

As the visit to the Musée de l’Orangerie is fast enough, don’t hesitate to enjoy it to discover the Jardin des Tuileries, a beautiful park in the heart of Paris.

Schedules and rates of the Orangerie Museum

HORARI

The Orangerie Museum is open every day from 9am to 6pm, except Tuesday. It is also closed on May 1, the morning of July 14, as well as on December 25. The last entrance is at 5.15 p.m. and the rooms begin to close at 5:45 p.m.

RATES

• Rate : 9€
• Reduced price : 6,50€

The entrance is free for persons under the age of 26 (European Union, if not 18), school groups, job seekers, disabled, etc. To access the complete list, you can go directly to the Orangerie Museum website.

Note combined tickets exist to visit the Musée d’Orsay and the Fondation Claude Monet, as well as to participate in cultural activities.