The Musée de l’Orangerie, in the Tuileries garden, is open from 9 am to 6 pm every day except Tuesday; the ticket costs €12.50 online or €11 on site, and it is free for under-18s and for 18–25-year-olds who are residents of the European Union. People come first for the eight large compositions of Claude Monet’s Water Lilies, installed in two oval rooms to his plans in 1927. Until 25 January 2027, the exhibition « Monet, peindre le temps » (« Monet, Painting Time ») marks the centenary of the painter’s death.
The Orangerie combines well with the Louvre and Orsay: our guide to visiting Paris offers a « which museum, which day » decision tree.
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Musée de l’Orangerie: key facts
- Hours: 9 am – 6 pm, closed on Tuesday; last admission 5:15 pm; late opening until 9 pm on Fridays during exhibitions (last entry 8:15 pm) — checked on 23 October 2026 on musee-orangerie.fr
- Standard price: €12.50 online, €11 at the museum; reduced €8.50 (on site); combined Orsay + Orangerie ticket €20 (at the museum) — checked on 23 October 2026 on musee-orangerie.fr
- Free: under 18; 18–25-year-olds from the EU or long-term EU residents; people with disabilities and one companion; all visitors on the 1st Sunday of the month (booking mandatory) — checked on 23 October 2026 on musee-orangerie.fr
- Closures: every Tuesday, 1 May, the morning of 14 July and 25 December.
- The ticket is valid for one entry: any exit is final.
Tickets: official, resellers and combined ticket with Orsay
| Ticket | Online | At the museum |
|---|---|---|
| Full rate | €12.50 | €11 |
| Reduced rate | — | €8.50 |
| Friday late opening (from 6 pm) | €10 | €8.50 |
| « Enfant et Cie » (up to 2 EU-resident adults accompanying a minor) | €10 | €8.50 |
| Combined Musée d’Orsay / Orangerie ticket | — | €20 |
Destination de Voyage calculation: buying an Orsay ticket and an Orangerie ticket separately at the desk does not tell you the exact saving without Orsay’s price on the day; note that the combined €20 ticket is only sold at the museum, not online. The online ticket costs €1.50 more than on site: that is the price of a guaranteed slot. On Friday evening, the online late-opening rate (€10) saves €2.50 per person compared with the full web rate.
The museum warns against fraud: beware of « skip-the-line » offers, mirror sites and unauthorized street sellers, on pain of refused entry. The only official ticket office is accessible from musee-orangerie.fr.
To go further: a guided tour with a lecturer costs €10 on top of the ticket (€6 for Carte Blanche holders), and an audio guide covers the permanent collections and temporary exhibitions. The Carte Blanche gives one year of unlimited access to Orsay and the Orangerie, worthwhile if you visit both museums several times. For sculpture, our guide to the Musée Rodin: tickets, hours and garden complements these visits.
Opening hours and closing days
| Day | Hours |
|---|---|
| Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday | 9 am – 6 pm |
| Tuesday | Closed |
| Friday | 9 am – 6 pm; until 9 pm during exhibitions (reduced rate from 6 pm) |
Good to know: on Tuesday, the Orangerie’s closing day, the Louvre is also closed, while the Musée d’Orsay closes on Monday. Monday is therefore a good day for the Orangerie.
What to see: the Water Lilies and the Walter-Guillaume collection
The Water Lilies (Nymphéas). Monet gave his large panels to France in the wake of the 1918 armistice, as a symbol of peace; they were installed to his plans in 1927, a few months after his death. The eight compositions (Soleil couchant, Reflets verts, Les Nuages, Matin…) fill two elliptical rooms lit by natural light — official presentation of the Water Lilies. Sit in the center of each room: this is the viewpoint intended by the painter, who spoke of « the illusion of an endless whole ».
The Walter-Guillaume collection. Downstairs, 148 works from the 1860s to the 1930s assembled by the dealer Paul Guillaume: 25 Renoirs, 15 Cézannes, but also Matisse, Picasso, Modigliani, Soutine — Walter-Guillaume collection. For modern and contemporary art, the Centre Pompidou is closed for renovation: our page says where to see its works in the meantime.
Right now: the exhibition « Monet, peindre le temps » (30 September 2026 – 25 January 2027) brings together nearly forty paintings, mostly from Orsay and the Musée Marmottan Monet, around the series (Haystacks, Rouen Cathedrals) and the Water Lilies. During this period, the Friday late opening runs until 22 January 2027.
Best time to visit the Orangerie
The Water Lilies rooms are lit by skylights: daylight changes how they look. We calculated the sunset time over the Tuileries on the 15th of each month, with the Paris-Montsouris normals published on our Paris page.
| Month (15th) | Sunset | Compared with 6 pm (closing) | Max °C (°F) | Rainy days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5:21 pm | before | 7.6 (46) | 9.9 |
| February | 6:10 pm | after | 8.8 (48) | 9.1 |
| March | 6:55 pm | after | 12.8 (55) | 9.5 |
| April | 8:42 pm | after | 16.6 (62) | 8.6 |
| May | 9:25 pm | after | 20.2 (68) | 9.2 |
| June | 9:55 pm | after | 23.4 (74) | 8.3 |
| July | 9:49 pm | after | 25.7 (78) | 7.4 |
| August | 9:06 pm | after | 25.6 (78) | 8.1 |
| September | 8:04 pm | after | 21.5 (71) | 7.5 |
| October | 7:01 pm | after | 16.5 (62) | 9.5 |
| November | 5:10 pm | before | 11.1 (52) | 10.4 |
| December | 4:54 pm | before | 8.0 (46) | 11.4 |
How to read it: from November to January, the sun sets before closing: come in late morning for the highest light. From February to October, natural light lasts until the 6 pm closing. Rainy days (close to 10 to 11 a month in winter at Montsouris) are when queues shift to the museums: prefer the 9 am opening then. The first Sunday of the month is free for everyone but requires a booking.
Getting there, accessibility and common mistakes
Address: Tuileries garden, place de la Concorde (Seine side), 75001 Paris. Metro lines 1, 8 and 12 (Concorde), buses 42, 45, 72, 73, 84, 94 (Concorde). Bikes and scooters may not be parked in the Tuileries; racks are provided on place de la Concorde — checked on 23 October 2026 on musee-orangerie.fr. The museum has an elevator and accessible restrooms, and lends wheelchairs, folding stools and canes.
- Coming on a Tuesday: closed.
- Arriving at 5:30 pm: last admission is 5:15 pm.
- Coming on the 1st Sunday without a booking: it is mandatory that day.
- Looking for the combined Orsay ticket online: it is only sold at the museum.
- Buying from a street seller: entry may be refused.
What to see nearby
The Musée d’Orsay is across the Passerelle Léopold-Sédar-Senghor, and the Louvre is on the other side of the Tuileries. Also see the Arc de Triomphe, at the end of the Champs-Élysées, and the Opéra Garnier.
Frequently asked questions
How much does the Musée de l’Orangerie cost?
€12.50 online and €11 at the museum at the full rate; €8.50 at the reduced rate (on site); €20 for the combined ticket with the Musée d’Orsay, sold at the museum.
Is the Musée de l’Orangerie free?
Yes for under-18s, 18–25-year-olds who are nationals or long-term residents of the EU, people with disabilities and their companion, and for everyone on the first Sunday of the month, with mandatory booking.
What are the Musée de l’Orangerie opening hours?
9 am to 6 pm, every day except Tuesday; last admission 5:15 pm. Late opening until 9 pm on Fridays during exhibitions.
How many Water Lilies panels are there at the Orangerie?
Eight large compositions by Claude Monet, spread across two oval rooms, installed to his plans in 1927.
Our sources
- Musée de l’Orangerie (musee-orangerie.fr): access, hours and prices; prices and free admissions; Water Lilies; Walter-Guillaume collection; exhibition « Monet, peindre le temps » and late openings, consulted on 23 October 2026
- Météo-France: 1991–2020 normals, Paris-Montsouris station, taken from our Paris page
- Astronomical calculations: NOAA solar algorithm, IANA Europe/Paris time zone, applied by Destination de Voyage to the approximate coordinates of the Musée de l’Orangerie (15th of each month, year 2027)
- Our methodology
Updated November 2026.