# Paris Museums: Louvre vs Orsay



## Bill4728 (May 20, 2009)

Just back from a great trip to Italy & France. 

Got to talking with friends about the Louvre but I said I liked the Orsay better.  The top floor of the Orsay has 6-10 rooms in which almost every painting is from a very well known master. All from the late 1800s to early 1900s.  

The Louvre is great but much of the art is by artists I didn't know. Plus it is so BIG! It takes over a day to do just one of the three wings of the Louvre. The Orsay can be done in 3/4 of a day.


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## e.bram (May 20, 2009)

Bill4728:
Never heard of Leonardo Da Vinci and his Mona Lisa?


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## ScoopKona (May 20, 2009)

I agree with Bill.

The Orsay is less crowded, more intimate, and has more great art per square meter than the Louvre. But if you're an aficionado, you'll do both.

My favorite in Paris, however, is the Rodin museum. I always loved his sculpture, and this museum has _everything_.


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## Carlsbadguy (May 20, 2009)

Is there some type of museum pass you can buy for access to museums for a set period of time for one fee?  ALso any transportation passes?
Will be in Paris this summer Aug 30-Sept 4


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## happymum (May 21, 2009)

Carlsbadguy said:


> Is there some type of museum pass you can buy for access to museums for a set period of time for one fee?  ALso any transportation passes?
> Will be in Paris this summer Aug 30-Sept 4



Yes, there is a museum pass that is well worth it if you intend to visit many.
Much of this information has been posted previously - just search "Paris".
Have a great trip!


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## Bill4728 (May 21, 2009)

Carlsbadguy said:


> Is there some type of museum pass you can buy for access to museums for a set period of time for one fee?


As was said there is a museum pass which covers most of the museums in Paris. You can buy a 2,3,4 & more day pass.  The best advice is to buy the pass at one of the lessor sights then you'll not have to wait in any of the super long ticket lines at the big sights like the Louvre or Orsay.



> ALso any transportation passes?


The subway and buses all use the same pass/tickets. The best advice is to buy a book of ten tickets which discounts the tickets to about 1.10 euro/tix vs the 1.5 euro regular price. The tickets get you free transfers on either the subway or bus but you can't use the tix for transfers between the bus & subway.


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## Conan (May 21, 2009)

Bill4728 said:


> The Louvre is great but much of the art is by artists I didn't know. Plus it is so BIG!


 
Two good reasons to visit the Louvre, IMHO.


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## nonutrix (May 21, 2009)

When I'm in Paris, I use Rick Steves' guide for the Louvre.  Since I'm not interested in everything there, it helps me to hit the high lights and move on.  Otherwise, I might wander around for days and not see what I want to see.  

The d'Orsay on the other hand, has art I recognize in every room.  I might not even know the artist of the piece, but the art is highly recognizable and I usually at least know the name of the artist when I see it.  As an art non-connoisseur, I really prefer the d'Orsay for its approachability!


nonutrix


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## hibbeln (May 21, 2009)

The major art museums in Paris (Louvre, D'Orsay, Pompidou) are divided up by time periods....so the Louvre is the old art, the D'Orsay is the newer art (which includes the impressionist era which is very approachable and familiar (and pretty!) art) and the Pompidou is modern art.   We went in not knowing much about any of the art and LOVED them all.  
We went to the Louvre first.  It is neat to see the building itself (which was the royal palace, can you imagine LIVING there?) and there is lots of stuff besides big old oil paintings (though my boys actually LOVED the gigongonormous French oil paintings from the 1700 and 1800's).  There's also royal jewelry, Egyptian stuff, Roman stuff, lots of other ancient statues (including a very old bathtub, see if you can find it!), and if you can find the sub-basement you can go down to the old castle walls and moat that were there for the castle that was BEFORE this royal palace.  Crazy stuff!  We just wandered and had fun.  Try mentally adding up the price of the art in there.

The D'Orsay also has cool stuff, but totally different.  ONce again, the building itself is unique.  There is the glass floor looking down at a miniature Paris diorama, the art deco furniture and stained glass section (my husband's favorite) and lots of sculpture (which surprisingly, my young boys really liked).

The Pompidou, of course, is also a very interesting building and has some of the most crazy hysterical art (just try not to laugh at some of it!) you've ever seen.  It also has some beautiful stuff by Kandinsky, Miro, oh....and the guy that went blind and did the paper cut out stuff (obviously my art knowledge is limited).

The great thing is, all of these (AND the l'Orangerie AND the Rodin AND the Picasso Museum AND the Cluny AND loads of other places) are free free free with the Museum Pass so you can wander into them and give them a try and see what you think!


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## falmouth3 (May 25, 2009)

We just got back from Paris last night.  We bought the 4-day museum pass and we highly recommend getting one.  They can be purchased for 2, 4 or 6 days.  Because we planned to go to Versailles and it was covered by the pass (otherwise 23.50 Euros), we found the pass to be very cost effective and it allowed us to see several places that we would not ordinarily have stopped in to see.

One of my husbands favorite things on the trip was to climb the towers at Notre Dame and he wouldn't have even thought about it if we didn't have the pass.  Plus, at many of the sites, you can cut to the front of the line with the museum pass.  There were two lines at the Orangerie and no one was in the museum pass line except for us.  When they let in the group, we bypassed everyone else who had already been waiting.

Getting back on topic, we found the Louvre overwhelming - both the crowds and the layout.  The Orsay was very enjoyable and although we're not art experts, we liked it much better than the Louvre.  

Sue


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## hibbeln (May 25, 2009)

I know what you mean about "we wouldn't have gone in if it hadn't have been included in the museum pass"!  We felt that way also about the Notre Dame Tower Climb and the Arc d'Triomphe.  I was *staggered* at the cost of those for a family, and was soooooooo happy to hand over my Museum Pass to get in "free".


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## pwrshift (May 26, 2009)

Here are some free downloads of Rick Steves Paris tours in MP3 frormat you can put on a Cd and play in the car.  Maps too.  That should help you decide which museum to choose, if you are limited.

http://www.ricksteves.com/news/travelnews/0602/france_downloads.htm

Brian


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## KDD (Jul 6, 2009)

*Yes, the Orsay*

I know this is an older thread, but thinking about the Orsay brought Paris back so vividly. Definitely the Orsay for us.  Maybe because it is so much easier to take in - maybe the delightful building - maybe because our favorites are there.  We also very very much enjoyed the Picasso and the Rodin.


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## Carlsbadguy (Jul 7, 2009)

Is there any specail type of museum pass you can buy in Paris?


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## Carol C (Jul 7, 2009)

Carlsbadguy said:


> Is there any specail type of museum pass you can buy in Paris?



Yes, it is for 3, 4 or 7 days if I recall. I just was there in Oct and already forgot specifics, but I do know it was a deal and it also kept me from having to stand in long lines at the busiest museums. I took a hint from TUGger Laurie and went first to Musee Caravalet (which I liked a lot) and bought my pass there. No lines whatsoever, and then I had my pass for the Louvre, D'Orsay and the rest.


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## Bill4728 (Jul 7, 2009)

At both the Louvre and the Orsay, the lines can be very long.  Buy your museum pass at almost any other site and save yourself a huge wait.


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## radmoo (Jul 7, 2009)

Best to do first thing in the AM, so not the same day.  I believe on museum is closed Mon and the other Tues so figure it out from there.

I'd recommend taking metro to Louvre and entering directly from Metro station.  If you go right when they open, not only will you not have to queue up, you also won't have to share space with tour groups.  

Again, visit Orsay first thing - you can do everything else later.


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## Bill4728 (Jul 7, 2009)

radmoo said:


> I'd recommend taking metro to Louvre and entering directly from Metro station.  If you go right when they open, not only will you not have to queue up, you also won't have to share space with tour groups.


The metro opens up to a little mini mall which has an entrance to the Louvre. It really very nice.  This is also where they have the big inverted glass pyramid.


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## X-ring (Jul 10, 2009)

*Rick Steves' Orsay Museum Tour*

for iPhone and iPod Touch. Free download until July 31.

http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=318764321&mt=8


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