Highlights of the Musée d’Orsay

Starry Night over the Rhône by Van Gogh

We have added a highlights tour of the Musée d’Orsay to the Amuze app. Now, on your trip to Paris, you can combine a visit to the Louvre Museum with a visit to the Musée d’Orsay the next day!

​The Musée d’Orsay has the best collection in the world in terms of French Realist, Impressionist, and Post-Impressionist art. It is close to the Louvre, and both museums have a very different feel. Whereas the Louvre is big and busy, the Musée d’Orsay feels relatively small and much less chaotic. You can still easily spend a full day there without having time to see everything in detail, but the museum is clearly organized, and you don’t easily get the feeling that you are lost.

The tour starts with Realism art on Floor 0. There are fantastic artworks on display by some of the leaders of this movement, including The Gleaners by Millet and the enormous paintings of The Artist’s Studio and A Burial at Ornans by Courbet. As you make your way through the rooms on this floor, you will also come across some of the early works by Manet, like his famous Olympia. And, of course, it is impossible to miss the impressive sculpture gallery in the center, where a diverse set of sculptures is visible in natural light.

The Gleaners by Millet

A Burial at Ornans by Courbet

​After finishing Floor 0, you already have the feeling that you have visited a wonderful museum. But then, next, you can take the stairs or elevator to the smaller fifth floor, where the true highlights of this museum are. Numerous masterpieces by the Impressionists are on display, like Degas, Manet, Monet, and Renoir. And they are followed by the works of the Post-Impressionists like Cézanne, Seurat, and Signac. Every room truly is a new highlight and at the end of the floor, you can enjoy a snack or a drink while overlooking Paris and the Seine from their outside terrace.

Rouen Cathedral by Monet

Dance at Le Moulin de la Galette by Renoir

And finally, you can head down to the second floor for a desert. There you can see some works from truly unique artists like Gauguin and Van Gogh. Just looking at the Starry Night over the Rhone by Van Gogh already makes this trip worthwhile, but then there are so many other incredible masterpieces in this museum that it is a must-visit for everybody with some interest in art!