Travel bucket list idea:
Orangerie Museum
Paris, Ile-de-France, France
Credit: Shutterstock.com / Kiev.Victor
Last updated: 23 April, 2024
Napoleon III’s former citrus greenhouse is (along with the Orsay Museum) one of the loveliest places in Paris to admire Impressionist and Modernist art.
Works by many of the big 19th- and 20th-century names are there— Renoir, Cezanne, Matisse—but the stars of the show are Monet’s monumental ‘Water Lilies‘, which wrap around the gallery’s curved walls in pastel-hued beauty and draw crowds by the dozens.
Regular temporary exhibitions complete the offerings.
If you like coffee table books, you’ll be well-served in the bookshop, which sells an excellent array of art-themed tomes.
The museum sits within the Jardin des Tuileries – after your visit, you should take a stroll through the park (former royal gardens), up towards the Louvre.
Don't miss
Aside from Monet’s eight Water Lillies panels, don’t miss the Jean Walter-Paul Guillaume Collection, which contains some extraordinary works by Chiam Soutine.
Logistics
Price from: £8
Minimum age: 0
Age suitable: 18+
When: All year around
Getting there & doing it
The museum is a 2-minute walk from Concorde metro station.
It’s a popular place so you’ll need to pre-book a ticket with a time slot on the museum website.
Audio guides are available in nine languages (small fee), or you can also book a 90-minute guided tour of the permanent collection, also via the museum website.
When to do it
The museum is open all year round, Wednesday to Monday. Closed Tuesday.
You should avoid any queues if you book a time-stamped ticket, otherwise the quietist time to visit is during lunchtime.
