The Orangerie (or l’Orangerie) in Paris is the home of a large circle of paintings by Claude Monet. You can find this lovely small museum at the entrance to the Tuileries, at the opposite end of the park from the Louvre. It’s tucked away in a corner, but definitely worth finding.
The Reason the Museum Exists — to Feature the Water Lilies
In the words of the museum, “It was designed as a real environment and crowns the Water Lilies cycle begun nearly thirty years before. The set is one of the largest monumental achievements of early twentieth century painting.” The art was a gift to the French State on the day after the Armistice of World War I in November, 1918, symbolizing peace. The museum built specifically to house these paintings opened in 1927, just a few months after Monet’s death. Monet himself described this crowning achievement of his work on Water Lilies as giving an “illusion of an endless whole, of a wave with no horizon and no shore.”
You can look at the impressionist paintings from a distance in this museum, or you can stand up close and take in the detail.
Enjoy the Paintings Close Up
The long view of these water lilies gives the impression that you are seeing lots of blue and purple hues. When you move in just a few inches from the paintings, you notice all the bright greens and yellows that contribute to the art.
The detail in the flowers is delightful. Look at how happy this little section of the whole is.
Sit and Take in the Beauty of the Paintings
Benches in the center of the museum beckon you to sit. Look around you at the 360 degrees of Monet. And it’s a great place to rest tired feet as well as refresh a frazzled mind.
Check Out the Exhibition Hall
The main attraction of the Orangerie is the Monet Water Lilies. But an exhibition hall in the museum hosts the art of other artists as well. When we visited, I was thrilled to find my favorite Renoir painting, “Girls at the Piano.”
This one is so bright and beautiful.
And this Paul Cezanne painting drew my attention.
If you’re wondering where to spend a pleasant hour or so in Paris, the Orangerie is a fine choice.
Plan Your Visit
To reach the Orangerie, take the metro to the Concorde station. Before or after your visit, wander through the adjacent garden, the Tuileries. Relax with a coffee or cold drink on one of the green chairs and enjoy the center of Paris.
On the other side of the Concorde Metro is the Place de la Concorde. This was once the Place de la Revolution and is the site of historical events such as the beheading of Marie Antoinette and many others. Wanting to erase that grisly part of the past, Paris renamed this the place of “peace.” Egypt gifted the giant obelisk to Paris in 1833. It took Parisians about three years to figure out how to unload the obelisk and stand it up in this circle. At least, that’s the story our guide told us. It is obviously very heavy. And the fountains help make this a place of beauty, with the Arc de Triomphe and the Eiffel Tower in the distance.
The Orangerie is open every day except Tuesday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. The last entrance at 5:15 p.m. Check the official website for information on exhibitions, programs, and the cafe.
Where to stay
Paris offers hundreds of hotels. It’s sometimes overwhelming to start looking for a place to stay. Here are a few suggestions for lovely hotels near some of the sites mentioned. With the excellent Paris Metro system, you will be able to arrive wherever you like with just a little planning.
Near the Invalides: The Hotel de Varenne is exquisitely decorated and includes an inviting patio. You can walk from here to the Invalides as well as the Rodin Museum. (7th arrondissement)
Near the Pantheon: Hotel des Grand Hommes and (right next door) the Hotel les Dames du Pantheon. Both of these elegant hotels are across the street from the Pantheon. From my balcony room at the Grand Hommes I watched the sun rise on the iconic Pantheon. (5th arrondissement)
Near the Museum of the Liberation of Paris: Hotel Serotel Lutece is in the Latin Quarter, not exactly near the museum. But it is within comfortable walking distance. You can also walk from here to the Pantheon, Notre Dame, and Sainte-Chapelle. Not only is this a comfortable, attractive hotel, but I also found the staff here to be extra helpful with directions and information. (5th arrondissement)
Central to wherever you want to go: Hotel Moliere, themed on the French poet, is a delightful hotel near the Louvre. It is surprisingly affordable for this pricey area. You can walk or take the Metro to any sites you would like to visit. (1st arrondissement)
Explore more of Paris with a walking tour!
Want to enjoy more of Monet’s life and art? Treat yourself with a visit to Monet’s home at Giverny, just outside Paris. The gardens here were his inspiration.
57 Comments
Wow!! Those are just amazing pieces of art.
It would be so easy to lose yourself in that beautiful display — I’d forget where I was, maybe even who!! Definitely would forget what time it was. How absolutely lovely.
His Water Lilies is huge. I wonder if he could be considered a muralist. If I ever get to Paris, I definitely want to go this museum.
my favorite museum in Paris!
Renoir was one of my (many) favorites during my art training in Holland. Hope you don’t mind me saying that I never liked Monet, I do Manet (one letter difference). They’re both from the impressionists era, but the two are vastly different. Monet is a romanticists, and that’s why he may be popular, but that’s not enough for me to be called an artist. You have been to many museums in Paris, Sharon! Many thanks for sharing l’Orangerie with All Seasons, and have a beautiful week!
One of the most recognized pictures, love it! Interesting to see the close up details.
…surrounded by beauty!
I cannot telly how much I have enjoyed this post. I was only in Paris for a short day and a half. I would have loved to have lingered longer at the Louvre. Sometimes one need to travel again on my own and not with a tour. Thank you!!
As many times as I’ve been to France/Paris, I still haven’t visited the Orangerie. One day. 🙂
I really have to return to Paris. I did not make it the Orangerie when I was there.
I confess I’m quite ignorant about art, but the paintings of Monet are so distinctive that I recognize them more often than not. He had quite a talent!
Thanks for sharing at https://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2018/03/springtime-at-sarah-p-duke-gardens.html
Delightful! I’ve always loved Monet, and your photos around Paris are beautiful, but I didn’t find that traffic cone!
Kay
An Unfittie’s Guide to Adventurous Travel
The circular exhibition of Monet is breath taking!
One of my favourite places inaris.
This is one of my fvourite museums – th first time I went, hardly anyone visited it. It was glorious. The second time, I had to stand in line and there were people getting in the way of the art viewing…All those Derains are just gorgeous. And the big Monets too.
What an unusual and interesting place!
Beautiful!
I’ve never heard of this painting before, let alone the Orangerie! Now I really want to go!! Pinned! #CityTripping
Wow – how beautiful!
Your photos are gorgeous!
I’ve been to Orsay and to Museum of Impressionism in Auvers-sur-Oise, but somehow I’ve never managed to visit Orangerie. Hopefully next time when I’m in Paris. #CityTripping
Orangerie is a pretty small museum, but it’s 100% worth visiting. I loved it!
#CityTripping
I wish I’d visited this museum when I was last in Paris. Oh well, next time. Oh, and that fountain? I remember having a pic taken with me standing right in front of the fountain… very “tourist-y”!
That’s stunning – I love Monet, Cezanne & Renoir’s works, so really must put this on my list for when I finally get to Paris (I haven’t been since I was about 12!!) Thanks for sharing & I will certainly get there now #citytripping
I have been to Paris twice and I can’t believe I missed the Orangerie! I will definitely put this on my list if I ever make a return visit. I loved seeing your up-close photos of the art. I really put the meaning and purpose of the paintings into perspective. #citytripping.
What a delightful museum. I didn’t realise how huge Monet’s Water Liles is! I’d love to get up close and see all the finer detail. Thank you for sharing on #citytripping
After the Lourdes, The Orangerie is my second favourite museum in Paris. I remember walking into the Water Lilies gallery and immediately sensed the quietness in the room – I suppose everyone was enthralled by the beautiful piece of art 🙂 #Citytripping
We’re thinking about going to Paris for our anniversary this year, and the Orangerie will definitely be on my list!! These canvases look absolutely lovely!! Gorgeous pictures and capture of the curvature of them! #citytripping
Such a wonderful post full of colour. I love Paris and the museums . I love the burst of colours in this post and it’s a pleasure and an experience looking at works Monet and Renoir so up and close. Happy travelling #citytripping
We loved our visit to see the Water Lilies, and lucky us due to a holiday and a late opening we were the first people to arrive at the museum, and practically had the place to ourselves for the first 30 min! Paris is such a lovely place even with misplaced traffic cones! #citytripping
Looks lovely and something great to do for our next Paris visit. Thanks for the tip. #farawayfiles
I find it interesting that many of us are familiar with certain pieces of art but we are not familiar with the real size of that piece of art? This painting is huge. I would not have guessed it. On the other hand, I got surprised when I saw how small the Mona Lisa is. Not sure why but I was expecting something bigger. It took me a while to find the misplaced cone but I found it? #feetdotravel
Oh, it’s been so long since I’ve been in this museum. I think the last time I visited l’Orangerie was in 2001. We loved wandering through the Tuileries also. #TheWeeklyPostcard
Monet’s work is great. There is such a softness to his pieces. Would love to see this one day!
I’d love to go see these paintings. I love the Impressionists, I would enjoy a visit to this museum. I didn’t expect the Waterlilies to be this huge. Thanks for sharing, your photos are great!
I love the Impressionists so this museum has been on my list to visit, but I have not made it yet. I love Monet’s water lilies and I think the oval concept is interesting. Have you seen the large ones in the MOMA in NYC? Thanks for sharing on #TheWeeklyPostcard.
Ah! The Orangerie is such a wonderful museum to visit… and, yes, the perfect place to rest your feet while gazing at the Water Lilies. My ultimate dream, however, is to visit Giverny to see the gardens that inspired Monet! One day… #TheWeeklyPostcard
We were in Paris and never knew about this museum! We’ve seen many famous paintings in our time and would have loved to see Monet’s artwork!
The Orangerie looks so beautiful. Water Lillies is definitely one of my favourite Monet pieces! 🙂 #citytripping
This looks absolutely lovely. I am fan of Monet so this looks like a must visit when I finally get to Paris. Your pictures are great. #WeekendWanderlust
I used to be a huge Monet fan and when I visited Paris (many years ago), I went to the Musee d’Orsay which housed a huge collection. I thought it was that Museum which was the Monet Museum as there were so many of his works there, the Water Lillies were but not the huge circular painting you have shown here, that is beautiful. I will be pinning this for the future! I want to see more Monet! #feetdotravel
I love this museum. One of my favorites in Paris. Always puts a smile on my face. Thanks for linking up with #farawayfiles
We love this post but, at the same time, it’s killing us! l’Orangerie was high on our list the last time in Paris – we’d never been to the museum before. But with only a few days to spend with friends exploring the city, we ran out of time far before we ran out of To Do’s. On the up side, that immediately puts another trip to Paris on that same To Do list! 🙂 Love your pictures, and can’t wait to be sitting there admiring Water Lilies ourselves! #TheWeeklyPostcard
I’ve never been but it certainly looks incredible. Wow!
It is truly one of my favorites spaces in all of Paris that last room of Monets at the L’Orangerie. It is a hidden gem and I’ve never had to wait in line or feel like there were throngs and masses in there. J’adore cette musée! I haven’t been in summer when the gardens are in bloom since the mid-90’s, but always love this side of the Tuileries. Thank you for sharing, as always your beautiful pics! #FarawayFiles
What an amazing museum! Embarrassingly I totally wrote off all the museums in Paris when we visited thinking that they would be crowded – looks as though we were wrong. At least we now have another reason to go back!? Paris is always a good idea!
The Orangerie would be a lovely place to rest and take in the Monet Panorama. I can imagine myself doing so on a hot and stressful day. I did find the misplaced traffic cone. 🙂
Beautiful! I do love this central area of Paris and strangely I began reading a book last night where the protagonist visits l’Orangerie. This may be a sign for me to return to Paris. 😉
It was such a pleasure to visit your blog and the orangerie through it.
Fabulous museum in Paris. My favorite also to do was wander the adjacent garden, the Tuileries. The Orangerie Museum is a great place to see the paintings of Monet.
I skipped out on the Orangerie Museum when I was in Paris, but then lamented my decision after visiting Monet’s house in Giverny. I so want to see Water Lilies in person!
Stunning art – would love to see this! Definitely on my itinerary next time we are in Paris
We loved the Orangerie when we visited many years ago. What a super idea – to take photos of the paintings close-up. Just gorgeous. #allaboutfrance
Have had this on my list since first seeing yiur post and finally am off to Paris in August for a night, hoping I may be able to fit in a visit #allaboutfrance
I can’t believe I have never been to the Orangerie! Definitely on my list for the next Paris visit. Loads of photos aren’t displaying for me, I don’t know if it’s a problem my end or a glitch but it’s frustrating to not be able to see all the beautiful images. Thanks for linking to #AllAboutFrance
I take it back, if my first comment worked, your photos are all displaying now! Must have been a glitch my end! Beautiful photos as always. Thanks for sharing with #AllaboutFrance
Hi Sharon: Thank you for taking me back to L’Oranferie with your photos. It is definitely one of my very favourite museums in Paris, or anywhere. #AllAboutFrance
We had planned to go here on our last trip to Paris but spent too long wandering around lovely Parisian streets and ran out of time – I’m a tad cross about that now, having seen your pictures!! #AllAboutFrance