While the Louvre is usually the star of the show when visiting Paris, you’d be remiss to skip the Musée d’Orsay while in the City of Lights.
Whether you’re into Art Nouveau or are simply overwhelmed by the Louvre, the Orsay is quite the fantastic alternative! It’s one of my favorite ways to spend half a day, transporting you back in time when artistic revolution and innovation were at the forefront of local culture.
That’s why I’ve gone ahead and carefully selected the 5 top Orsay Museum guided tours available, so you don’t have to worry about not getting the full experience. Let’s jump right in!
Be sure to see our reviews of Day Trips to Normandy, Louvre Guided Tours and Paris Catacombs Tours.
Best Guided Tours of the Orsay Museum
| Orsay Museum Semi-Private 8ppl Max Guided Tour | Orsay Museum Private Guided Visit | Orsay Museum Must-Sees Private or Semi-Private Guided Tour | |
|---|---|---|---|
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| Location: | Musee D'Orsay, 75007 Paris | Musee D'Orsay, 75007 Paris | Musee D'Orsay, 75007 Paris |
| Start: | 10:00 AM, 1:30 and 5:00 PM | Between 9:00 AM & 5:00 PM | 10:00 AM, 1:30 and 5:00 PM |
| Duration: | 2 to 2.5 hours | 2 hours | 2 to 2.5 hours |
| Includes: | Semi-private museum tour, professional tour guide, all entrance fees (reserved entry included) | Professional art historian guide, Guaranteed to skip the long lines, Private tour | Private museum tour, all entrance fees (reserved entry included) |
Quick Answer: The 5 Best Rated Orsay Museum Tours For 2024
- Orsay Museum Semi-Private 8ppl Max Guided Tour
- Orsay Museum Private Guided Visit
- Orsay Museum Must-Sees Private or Semi-Private Guided Tour
- Musée d’Orsay Skip-the-Line Impressionists Guided Tour
- Orsay Museum Skip-the-Line Private or Small-Group Guided Tour
Orsay Museum Tour Reviews
1. Orsay Museum Semi-Private 8ppl Max Guided Tour
- Duration: 2 to 2.5 hours
- Departure: Musee D’Orsay, 75007 Paris
- Start Time: 10:00 AM, 1:30 and 5:00 PM
- Includes: Semi-private museum tour, professional tour guide, all entrance fees (reserved entry included)
The first time I went to Paris, I was so caught up in going to the Louvre every day that I hadn’t even considered going to the Orsay Museum! That was definitely an error on my part – one that I don’t want you to repeat.
I’m a big art fan, and the Orsay Museum Semi-Private 8ppl Max Guided Tour is a budget-friendly way to skip those long lines and crowded galleries!
Our guide started out like every other tour I’ve covered here, by meeting up with our guide right outside the museum. Our guide was fantastic, speaking English and French seamlessly and in a way that was easy to understand yet very entertaining!
Immediately, I was glad that I hadn’t gone for one of those uninspiring pre-recorded audio tours that don’t allow for questions to be answered or certain pieces to be elaborated on.
Being able to skip those massive lines was worth the price, alone – saving us easily at least an hour that we would’ve been queuing outside.
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We headed right into the building, learning about its initial construction during Napoleon, and then how it was an opulent train station at one point! I’m a big history nerd, so it was cool learning about the background of the museum structure, itself, and the various incidents that took place here.
Of course, we learned a ton about the French Impressionists and post-Impressionists, which gave me quite a bit of insight into French culture, past and present.
Our guide led us on a tour detailing how Impressionism came to be, the main artists of the movement, and their most famous works of art. Overall, it was a very educational, eye-opening experience that made me fall in love with this museum and Impressionism even more!
More Information & Tour Booking
100% refund for cancellations within 24 hours of tour experience
Other Paris Experiences You May Enjoy:
2. Orsay Museum Private Guided Visit
- Duration: 2 hours
- Departure: Musee D’Orsay, 75007 Paris
- StartvTime: Between 9:00 AM & 5:00 PM
- Includes: Professional art historian guide, Guaranteed to skip the long lines, Private tour
This tour draws quite a few similarities to the first, but the major difference here is that it’s a completely private excursion.
That means that it’s literally just you, the rest of your party, and your guide – no other participants. With the Orsay Museum Private Guided Visit, you get complete attention from your guide, with the option of personalizing it to suit your interests best.
This 2-hour experience is super easy to fit into a busy schedule, given that not only are there many start times, but you don’t have to wait around in line.
As soon as I met with my guide, he started chatting with me about the history of the museum and French culture, relating back to the Impressionist movement.
I’m personally drawn to the dreamy landscapes that Monet created – along with his personal background – so my guide placed special focus on him and Van Gogh (another favorite of mine).
Being able to see Monet’s “Water Lilies” and Van Gogh’s “Starry Night Over the Rhône” was simply breathtaking, and perhaps made me even more excited than when I saw the Mona Lisa in person for the first time!
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My guide also filled me in on some little-known facts about each, which is much more than I could’ve learned from a class or Google search. He told me stories of the human and the emotions that fueled each work of art, delving deeper into just the brushstrokes.
It’s a great tour to book whether you’re on your own, with a partner, or with your entire family – no need to worry about that one person in the group who keeps asking questions and holding up the rest!
You’ll learn so much in just a couple of hours here with your guide than you would for an entire day by yourself (or with an audio guide!). It was a very memorable experience thanks to our knowledgeable guide who answered pretty much everything we were curious about!
More Information & Tour Booking
100% refund for cancellations within 24 hours of tour experience
3. Orsay Museum Must-Sees Private or Semi-Private Guided Tour
- Duration: 2 to 2.5 hours
- Departure: Musee D’Orsay, 75007 Paris
- Departure Time: 10:00 AM, 1:30 and 5:00 PM
- Includes: Private museum tour, all entrance fees (reserved entry included)
This next tour is a little bit different, as you have the option of either choosing a completely private or a small-group tour of the museum.
If you’re looking to save some cash but still want a personalized experience, I’d recommend the small-group option as there are still very few participants but the price is significantly less.
The Orsay Museum Must-Sees Private or Semi-Private Guided Tour is there to make sure you’re completely happy with your time in this beautiful place.
This tour also offers some of the most start times of any I’ve seen, making it very easy to fit into even the busiest of itineraries.
While it’s only 2 hours or so long, you’ll be surprised at just how much you can see and learn about with these expert guides! Regardless of the option you choose, you’ll benefit from the skip-the-line entry tickets, so there’s no need to wait in line (which can get super long!) – just head straight inside!
Sitting right on the Left Bank of the Seine, the Orsay Museum is an absolutely beautiful building that stands as a kind of testament to Paris’ rich and varied art culture!
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More specifically, it delves into the Impressionist and Post-Impressionist masterpieces like few other places on the planet do. Our expert guide did a great job of asking us about our interests and creating a little tour based on them, tailoring their commentary to the pieces that most caught our eye.
We got to see legendary works of art, such as Manet’s provocative “Luncheon on the Grass”, Renoir’s “Dance at Le Moulin de la Galette”, as well as many pieces from Van Gogh and Claude Monet.
It was really cool to see masterpieces referring to certain Parisian scenes while still being in Paris while learning about the direct influence the city had on the artists and famous techniques. Overall, it was a very enriching tour covering all things Impressionism and French history, art, and culture.
More Information & Tour Booking
100% refund for cancellations within 24 hours of tour experience
4. Musée d’Orsay Skip-the-Line Impressionists Guided Tour
- Duration: 1 hour and 45 minutes
- Departure: Musee D’Orsay, 75007 Paris
- Departure Time: Between 9:45 AM & 2:45 PM
- Includes: Guided tour of the Musée d’Orsay, fully accredited guide, skip the line entrance to the Musee d’Orsay, access to stay in the museum after tour
If you’re on the hunt for a tour that will take you on a deep dive through some of the biggest masterpieces of 19th-century art, look no further.
The Musée d’Orsay Skip-the-Line Impressionists Guided Tour is one of the most brief tours I’ve been on through the museum, yet remains one of my favorites. After all, it will transcend time and transport you back to the golden age of Impressionism, which was born right here in France.
France is no stranger to rebellion, so I don’t know why I was surprised to learn that the Impressionist movement actually emerged with a group of artists who’d rebelled against the strict guidelines of academic painting.
This is where Impressionism began, with artists who regularly had meetings at local cafes – artists like Monet, Renoir, Degas, Pissaro, and Manet. You’ll get to see some of their most famous works of art on this tour, learning all about their backgrounds as you do.
You get to select amongst many different tour start times, depending on what works best with your schedule.
You’ll then meet your guide right outside the museum, where they’ll hand you your skip-the-line ticket and breeze past the lines right inside the majestic building.
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We learned about how the museum had quite the intense history, from being used as a train station, to a processing facility in World War II, to even the threat of being demolished in 1970!
Our guide was super passionate about the art and artists, sharing their love with us about the well-known paintings which at the time were considered to be quite controversial.
While we did get to see the most important pieces, we also got to see plenty of hidden gems and explore on our own afterward. If you’re looking to understand the Impressionist movement as well as French culture, this is a great way to do it!
More Information & Tour Booking
100% refund for cancellations within 24 hours of tour experience
5. Orsay Museum Skip-the-Line Private or Small-Group Guided Tour
- Duration: 1.5 hours
- Departure: Musee D’Orsay, 75007 Paris
- Departure Time: 10:00 AM, 12:00, 2:00 & 4:00 PM
- Includes: Bilingual private guide, skip the line entry
Last but not least, is the Orsay Museum Skip-the-Line Private or Small-Group Guided Tour, which can be taken in a small group or completely private excursion. With a private guide just for your group as well as the ability to skip over the queue, you’ll maximize your time and learn a ton!
This is the tour I recommend if you’re traveling with the entire family – particularly children or teenagers! The reason why I say this, is because we had some kids in our group and our guide did a borderline miraculous job of keeping them entertained.
Whether you’re an art or history enthusiast or are a complete newbie, you’ll surely appreciate this famed museum and what lies inside as much as I did.
The private guided tour was fantastic as a family, as we didn’t have to worry about bugging others with our kids being a little chatty but the small-group tour is also great.
We met our guide outside the museum where we did a little introduction, a briefing as to what we should expect, and they answered all of our questions beforehand.
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They asked us about our specific interests and applied that when creating a little itinerary for us once we were inside, as well. We got to skip the lines, which looked pretty long on that hot, sunny day!
We then strolled through the grandiose halls of the museum, where our guide took us through the iconic paintings by Monet, Renoir, Van Gogh, Manet, and many more. Bypassing the crowds was a nice touch, as we got front row to each piece without having to wait for others.
Whether you’re interested in the Impressionists or simply want to explore more about Parisian life in the past, you’ll love this experience.
More Information & Tour Booking
100% refund for cancellations within 24 hours of tour experience
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The Orsay Museum Semi-Private 8ppl Max Guided Tour is our Editors Choice for the best Orsay Museum tour
