Monet’s Water Lilies in two oval rooms at the end of the Tuileries. Ninety minutes, done right.
The short version
- Book a timed ticket at musee-orangerie.fr: €12.50 online, €11 at the door, free under 18 and for EEA residents under 26. It covers the Water Lilies, the Walter-Guillaume collection downstairs and the exhibition.
- Closed Tuesdays. Open until 21:00 on Fridays while an exhibition is on, and after 18:00 the Friday ticket is €10.
- The entrance is in the Tuileries at the Place de la Concorde end, on the river side. A few minutes from the Concorde metro.
- The two oval rooms are on the ground floor. Go there first, sit on the bench in the middle of each, and give them 30 minutes.
- Last entry is 17:15 and the rooms close at 17:45. Arrive by 16:00.
- Pair it with the Orsay across the river on the same day: the combined ticket is €20 at the door of either museum.
Getting in
Buy on musee-orangerie.fr and nowhere else; the museum turns away tickets from street sellers and copycat sites. An online ticket gives priority at the door for 30 minutes after the time on it. Reduced tickets (€8.50) are door only. Two EU-resident adults with a child under 18 pay the Enfant et Cie rate: €10 online, €8.50 at the door.
The combined Orsay and Orangerie ticket is €20, sold at the ticket desks only. The Orsay is closed Monday and the Orangerie Tuesday, so the two-museum day is Wednesday to Sunday.
There is no second way in. The building sits on the Seine-side terrace of the Tuileries by the Concorde gate. Bikes and scooters stay outside the garden; the racks are on the Place de la Concorde.
Or let us handle the morning: our private Musée d’Orsay tour is two hours with a licensed guide and timed tickets, and the Orangerie is a 15-minute walk across the river for the afternoon.
The visit
The eight Water Lilies compositions have hung here since 1927, a few months after Monet died. They run nearly 100 meters around two oval rooms, each composition 1.97 meters high, lit from above. Sit down in each room. Twenty minutes per room is not too long.
Downstairs is the Walter-Guillaume collection: Renoir, Cézanne, Matisse, Picasso, Modigliani, Soutine and the Douanier Rousseau. It takes 45 minutes and most visitors rush it.
The exhibition Monet, Painting Time runs from September 30, 2026 to January 25, 2027: nearly forty Monets, mostly on loan from the Orsay and the Marmottan, following his work from the Impressionist years through the series to the Water Lilies. It is in your ticket. Vija Celmins has a smaller show alongside it until February 15, 2027.
When to go
The 9:00 opening on a weekday. The oval rooms are quiet for the first half hour and full by 11:00. Friday evening after 18:00 is the other quiet slot, at €10.
The first Sunday of the month is free, but you must book a slot online and it is the busiest day of the month. Skip it unless free is the point.
Closed every Tuesday, May 1, the morning of July 14 and December 25. Open on other holidays.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a timed ticket for the Orangerie?
Get one. The online ticket gives you priority at the door within 30 minutes of your slot. Without it you stand in the general line, which is long on a weekend afternoon. First-Sunday free tickets must be booked online too.
How long does the Orangerie take?
Ninety minutes: 40 in the two Water Lilies rooms, 45 downstairs in the Walter-Guillaume collection. Add 30 minutes for the Monet exhibition while it runs. One entry only, so see everything before you leave.
Can I do the Orangerie and the Orsay in one day?
Yes, Wednesday to Sunday. The combined ticket is €20 at the ticket desks. Do the Orsay first with a 9:30 slot, cross the footbridge to the Tuileries and do the Orangerie after lunch. Fifteen minutes on foot between them.
Is the Orangerie free?
For under-18s, for EEA residents under 26, and for everyone on the first Sunday of the month with a slot booked online. Otherwise €12.50 online, €11 at the door, and €10 after 18:00 on Friday.
Do I need a guide for the Orangerie?
No. Two oval rooms and a bench do the work. For the Impressionists with a guide, our private Musée d’Orsay tour is two hours, tickets included, any day but Sunday and Monday, and the Orangerie fits the same afternoon.
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