MUSÉE D’ORSAY · MUST-SEE GUIDE
28 Orsay masterpieces, from the top floor down
The Van Gogh room is on the top floor and the Rodin terrace is halfway down. This is the short list, arranged as a route with the room number for every stop, so you don’t walk the ground floor twice.
- 28
- must-sees
- 3
- levels
- ~3h
- to see them all
- 106
- audio stories
STOP 1–17 · START HERE
Level 5
Take the escalator straight to the top. Van Gogh, Monet, Renoir, Degas and Cézanne are all up here, and it’s the busiest floor by mid-morning.
-
The Luncheon on the Grass Édouard Manet · 1863 Room 29 · Level 5
01
-
The Luncheon on the Grass Claude Monet · 1865–1866 Room 29 · Level 5
02
-
The Floor Scrapers Gustave Caillebotte · 1875 Room 31 · Level 5
03
-
The Ballet Class Edgar Degas · 1873–1876 Room 31 · Level 5
04
-
In a Café (The Absinthe Drinker) Edgar Degas · 1875–1876 Room 31 · Level 5
05
-
Mont Sainte-Victoire Paul Cézanne · 1890 Room 35 · Level 5
06
-
Young Girls at the Piano Pierre-Auguste Renoir · 1892 Room 35 · Level 5
07
-
Starry Night Over the Rhône Vincent van Gogh · 1888 Room 36 · Level 5
08
-
Self-Portrait Vincent van Gogh · 1889 Room 36 · Level 5
09
-
The Siesta (after Millet) Vincent van Gogh · 1889–1890 Room 36 · Level 5
10
-
The Church at Auvers Vincent van Gogh · 1890 Room 36 · Level 5
11
-
The Bedroom in Arles Vincent van Gogh · 1889 Room 36 · Level 5
12
-
Portrait of Doctor Gachet Vincent van Gogh · 1890 Room 36 · Level 5
13
-
The Circus Georges Seurat · 1891 Room 38 · Level 5
14
-
Woman with a Parasol Paul Signac · 1893 Room 40 · Level 5
15
-
Self-Portrait with the Yellow Christ Paul Gauguin · 1890–1891 Galerie Françoise Cachin · Level 5
16
-
Tahitian Women on the Beach Paul Gauguin · 1891 Galerie Françoise Cachin · Level 5
17
STOP 18–19
Level 2
Toulouse-Lautrec, Art Nouveau and the sculpture terraces that look down over the old station nave.
STOP 20–28 · ON THE WAY OUT
Ground floor
Manet, Millet, Courbet and the pre-Impressionist rooms, laid out along the old station platforms.
-
The Spring Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres · 1856 Room 1 · Ground floor
20
-
The Birth of Venus Alexandre Cabanel · 1863 Room 3 · Ground floor
21
-
The Angelus Jean-François Millet · 1857–1859 Room 4 · Ground floor
22
-
The Gleaners Jean-François Millet · 1857 Room 4 · Ground floor
23
-
Hidden behind a sliding panel for decades. Still covered here. 24The Origin of the World Gustave Courbet · 1866 Room 6 · Ground floor
-
The Painter’s Studio Gustave Courbet · 1855 Room 7 · Ground floor
25
-
Olympia Édouard Manet · 1863 Room 14 · Ground floor
26
-
The Fifer Édouard Manet · 1866 Room 14 · Ground floor
27
-
Portrait of Émile Zola Édouard Manet · 1868 Room 14 · Ground floor
28
NOT ON THE WALL RIGHT NOW
Five famous works you won’t find this year
Checked against the museum tour in August 2026. Works return from storage and loan without notice, so if one of these is your reason to go, confirm with the museum first.
- Dance at Le Moulin de la GaletteMoved to a special exhibition on the ground floor
- The Gare Saint-LazareIn storage
- Camille on her DeathbedIn storage
- Apples and OrangesIn storage
- The Card PlayersIn storage
BEFORE YOU GO
The list is the easy part. Here’s the rest.
MUSECAT MAGAZINE · FREE TO READ
Read the backstory on the metro
SAME DAY, NEXT DOOR
Still have energy after the Orsay?
Stand in front of it. Press play.
The same 28 works, with a story at each · iPhone · Works offline

