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MUSÉE DE L’ORANGERIE · MUST-SEE GUIDE

10 Orangerie must-sees, upstairs and down

Most visitors see the Water Lilies and leave, because the stairs down look like the way out. This short list covers both floors, with the room number for every stop.

5 min read

10
must-sees
2
floors
~90 min
to see them all
139
audio stories

STOP 1–2 · START HERE

Ground floor: the Water Lilies

Two oval rooms Monet designed himself, with eight panels curved around the walls under natural daylight. Sit down in both.

Rooms 1–3 · about 30 min

  1. Water Lilies, first oval room 01
    Water Lilies, first oval room Claude Monet · 1914–1926 Room 2 · Ground floor
  2. Water Lilies, second oval room 02
    Water Lilies, second oval room Claude Monet · 1914–1926 Room 3 · Ground floor

STOP 3–10 · DON’T SKIP IT

Lower level: the Walter-Guillaume collection

The private collection of the dealer Paul Guillaume: 148 works, including 25 Renoirs, 15 Cézannes and 12 Picassos. The rooms run in a loop.

Rooms 8–15 · about 45 min

  1. Paul Guillaume, Novo Pilota 03
    Paul Guillaume, Novo Pilota Amedeo Modigliani · 1915 Room 8 · Lower level
  2. Under copyright until 2027. The only way to see it is in Room 10. 04
    Portrait of Mademoiselle Chanel Marie Laurencin · 1923 Room 10 · Lower level
  3. Portrait of Madame Paul Guillaume with a Large Hat 05
    Portrait of Madame Paul Guillaume with a Large Hat André Derain · 1928–1929 Lower level
  4. Odalisque in Red Trousers 06
    Odalisque in Red Trousers Henri Matisse · 1924–1925 Room 11 · Lower level
  5. Young Girls at the Piano 07
    Young Girls at the Piano Pierre-Auguste Renoir · 1892 Room 12 · Lower level
  6. Portrait of Madame Cézanne 08
    Portrait of Madame Cézanne Paul Cézanne · 1885–1895 Room 12 · Lower level
  7. The Wedding 09
    The Wedding Henri Rousseau · 1905 Room 15 · Lower level
  8. Père Junier’s Cart 10
    Père Junier’s Cart Henri Rousseau · 1908 Room 15 · Lower level

BEFORE YOU GO

The list is the easy part. Here’s the rest.

Full visiting guide →
TICKETSEveryone needs a timed slot, even with free entryHow to visit → HOURSBe there at 09:00, before the oval rooms fillHow to visit → LAYOUTThe stairs down are not the way outHow to visit →

MUSECAT MAGAZINE · FREE TO READ

Read the backstory on the metro

All 122 Orangerie stories →
Painting · 2 minWater Lilies, room one Painting · 2 minWater Lilies, room two: where abstraction began Painting · 2 minThe story of the Walter-Guillaume collection Painting · 2 minRousseau’s The Wedding

SAME DAY, NEXT DOOR

Still have energy after the Orangerie?

15 min walk across the SeineMusée d’Orsay28 must-sees → 15 min walk through the TuileriesMusée du Louvre25 must-sees →

Stand in front of it. Press play.

The same 10 works, with a story at each · iPhone · Works offline

Listen in the app

Photographs via Wikimedia Commons, by Miguel Hermoso Cuesta and xiquinhosilva (CC BY-SA 4.0 / CC BY 2.0 / CC0 / Public domain).

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