"Practical Info at renovated Orsay." Top 5 Page for this destination Musée d'Orsay Tip by breughel

MUSEE D'ORSAY.
OPEN daily, except Mondays, from 09.30 to 18.00 h. Late night on Thursdays until 21.45 h.
Last tickets sold at 17.00 h (21.00 h Thursdays)
CLOSED on MONDAYS, on 1 January, 1 May and 25 December.

AVOIDING THE LINES.
It's never amusing when arriving at a museum to face long lines like you see here from my photo 1 showing the entrance called A, facing the quay on the river Seine, for individual visitors without ticket, and the other one called C (photo 2), on the rue de Lille side, for visitors who have already their ticket or passes, or priority access. They have only to pass the security check.

There are several ways to get the ticket before the visit.
1° ONLINE PRINTABLE TICKET at :
www.fnac.com
www.digitick.com
www.ticketnet.fr
There are supplementary charges for administration (1,60 or 1,70 €. One pays 9,00 (basic price) + 1,70 (commission) = 10,70 € for example at the FNAC).
You can print out tickets purchased in advance and enter the museum through the reserved entrance (entrance C). The museum entrance ticket is valid for one year and one day. The special exhibition ticket is valid for the day selected on booking.
Tickets bought online cannot be collected at the museum.

2° ADVANCE TICKET SALES.
There are a number of points of sale in France like big shops Fnac, Carrefour, Géant, Système U, Bon Marché, Virgin Megastore, Auchan, Leclerc, Galeries Lafayette.
Tourist Information Points at Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport, Paris-Orly airport, Versailles Tourist Office.
I bought my ticket at the FNAC where I use to buy books when in Paris. The surcharge of 1,70 € is well worth the gain of time at the entrance of the museum.

3° COMBINED TICKET with another museum.
Musée d'Orsay /Musée de l'Orangerie Passport at 14,00 €
This entrance ticket is valid, on the date purchased, for the permanent collections and exhibitions of the museum where it was bought, and for a visit to the permanent collections and exhibitions of the other museum within four days.
There are fewer lines at the Orangerie but I wouldn't guarantee it.

EATING AND DRINKING.
The Restaurant on Level 2.
In a previous tip I wrote here on the former restaurant of the Hôtel d'Orsay, still as magnificent as it was when it opened in 1900. The food is good, the prices are reasonable (menus at 16,50 and 20,50 €) and the service is kind (bilingual French-English).
As my visits to the Musée d'Orsay extend on several hours, usually I have here a pleasant lunch pause.
The Café Campana (French Brasserie type food) on Level 5 near the Impressionist Gallery has been renovated and redesigned what was a necessity because the previous cafeteria was rather bad.
The Café du Lion on floor 0 at the entrance to the sculptures gallery offers a self-service selection.

PHOTOS.
Sadly enough photos are no more allowed inside the museum since 2010.
All photos from paintings I show are from my visits before 2010.

Directions: Métro: line 12, Solférino station; RER: line C, Musée d'Orsay station
Website: http://www.musee-orsay.fr/