Before You Book the Musée d'Orsay: Every Cost, and What's Worth It
By the BeatTheCrowd team · Prices last checked 2 November · 3 min read
The Musée d'Orsay, in a former railway station, holds the world's greatest Impressionist collection, and there are more ways to pay less than most visitors realise. There's the standard ticket, a cheaper Thursday evening, free entry for under-18s and young EU residents, a free first Sunday, a combo with the Orangerie and the Paris Museum Pass. Most of them sound worth paying for. You don't need the most expensive one to have a great visit. In this guide we walk through what each option costs, what you really get, and how to choose the right one, whether that's a quiet opening slot or a busy Thursday night.
At a glance
Adult, online
€16
Thursday after 6 pm
€12
Orsay + Orangerie
€20, at the Orangerie desk
Free
Under 18; EU residents 18-25
First Sunday
Free for everyone, booking required
Hours
Tue-Sun 9:30 am-6 pm; Thu to 9:45 pm; closed Mondays
Quietest
The first hour after opening
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The real total: entry price vs what a typical visit costs
A standard adult ticket costs €16 online, and €12 for Thursday evenings after 6 pm. Under-18s of any nationality and EU residents aged 18-25 are free, and on the first Sunday of the month everyone is, but a booking is still required. Prices are from Art Visit Guide's check of the official site.
Visitor
What they buy
Price
Adult
Standard ticket, online
€16
Thursday evening
After 6 pm
€12
Two museums
Orsay + Orangerie
€20
Under 18, or EU resident 18-25
Free, with a booking
€0
Tickets and entry: what each one gets you
Cost
Price (€)
Type
How to cut it
Standard ticket
€16
≈ US$18
Unavoidable
Book a timed slot online.
Thursday evening, after 6 pm
€12
≈ US$14
Optional
Open until 9:45 pm on Thursdays.
Orsay + Orangerie
€20
≈ US$23
Optional
Sold at the Orangerie desk, not online.
Paris Museum Pass
Varies
Optional
Holders must reserve a timed slot.
Is the Orangerie combo worth it?
The Musée de l'Orangerie, home to Monet's Water Lilies, is across the Seine. The combo is €20 for both, and is sold at the Orangerie. Our verdict: worth it for Monet fans; start at the Orangerie and walk over the bridge.
The Thursday evening
After 6 pm on Thursdays, tickets cost €12. But in our data, Thursday evening is busy, so you save money, not space. Our verdict: good value; just don't expect quiet galleries.
What visitors say
Visitors love the Impressionist galleries on the top floor, the great clock window and the building itself. The most common complaints are crowds in the Impressionist rooms and security queues, so the advice is to book an opening slot and head straight upstairs.
Prices last checked: 2 November. Prices vary with the season, peak and off-peak dates and promotions, and we recheck them every month. Visitor-reported costs are marked as estimates, and US$ figures are rough conversions.
The crowd tax: what busy hours really cost you
Our crowd data shows the Orsay moderate in the first hour after opening, then busy from about 11 am or noon until about 5 pm from Tuesday to Sunday. On Thursdays, it stays busy until about 9 pm. The museum is closed on Mondays. The crowd tax is a packed top floor, where the Impressionists hang.
When
Crowds (our data)
What to do
9:30 to about 11 am
Moderate
Impressionists first
About noon to 5 pm
Busy
Lower floors and sculpture
Thursday evening
Busy
€12, but not quiet
Crowds by day and time
From the typical weekly visitor pattern for Musée d'Orsay, based on Google’s popular-times data.
Quietest time
Sunday, 9-10 am
Skip-the-line and tours: when they're worth it
A timed ticket from the official site is the real skip-the-line. Reseller tickets cost more. Our verdict: book directly; consider a guided tour only for a deeper look at the Impressionists.
Short on time? What you'd regret missing
The Impressionist galleries on the top floor.
Van Gogh's self-portrait and Starry Night over the Rhône.
The great clock window, looking over the Seine.
Renoir's Bal du moulin de la Galette.
Getting there
The Orsay is on the Left Bank. Musée d'Orsay RER C station is next to it, and Solférino (Metro 12) is close. The entrance forecourt is under renovation, but the museum stays open.
Group costs: children, students and accessibility
Under-18s, EU residents 18-25, disabled visitors and one companion are free. Book a free slot online.
What can go wrong
You go on a Monday: closed.
You arrive on a free Sunday without booking.
You try to buy the Orangerie combo online: it's sold at the Orangerie desk.
How we research: every guide is written by the BeatTheCrowd team from official sources and recent traveller reports, cross-checked against each other. Crowd figures come from our own crowd data. Prices last checked 2 November. Prices and rules change, so always confirm on the official site before you book.
Busiest time
Tuesday, 11 am-5 pm
When
What to expect
Verdict
Weekdays, 9-11 am
Busier rooms, short waits at the star exhibits. Before the main crowds arrive.
Best
Weekdays, 11 am-3 pm
Crowded rooms and queues at entry and the star exhibits. Peak sightseeing hours, when most visitors are on site.
Worst
Weekdays, 3-6 pm
Crowded rooms and queues at entry and the star exhibits. Stays busy into the afternoon.
Worst
Weekdays, 6-10 pm
Crowded rooms and queues at entry and the star exhibits. Evenings are a busy time here.
Worst
Saturday and Sunday
Crowded rooms and queues at entry and the star exhibits. Similar to weekdays.
Worst
📍 Live crowd check
See how busy Musée d'Orsay is right now, plus today’s hourly forecast.
