One day in Paris, France

The Musée de l'Orangerie in the morning

Start at the Musée de l'Orangerie, in the Jardin des Tuileries on the Seine side, at the Place de la Concorde. It opens every day except Tuesday from 9:00 to 18:00, with the last entry at 17:15, and the rooms begin to close at 17:45. It is also closed on 1 May, on the morning of 14 July and on 25 December, and on Fridays during exhibition periods it stays open until 21:00, with the last entry at 20:15.

Monet gave the Water Lilies to the French State the day after the armistice of 11 November 1918, as a symbol of peace, and they were installed here in 1927, a few months after his death. He conceived a space of two elliptical rooms inside the museum for them, and the cycle is made up of eight compositions.

The Family Area at midday

Before lunch, families with children up to 12 can take a break in the Orangerie's Family Area, whose setting is inspired by the Water Lilies and by Monet's garden at Giverny. It opens during the museum's hours on weekends, on public holidays and in the school holidays, and entry is free with a museum ticket, as long as there is room.

It has activity centers for ages 2 and up and for ages 5 and up, a reading corner and sound nooks with podcasts about the works.

Pregnant women and visitors with babies have priority at the entrance. A lift takes strollers through the whole museum, and there are two baby-changing areas on level -2. Strollers and baby carriers are lent at the cloakroom in exchange for an ID, and bulky prams and baby carriers with a metal frame are not allowed inside.

The Musée d'Orsay in the afternoon

The Musée d'Orsay is on the Esplanade Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, 75007 Paris. It is open from Tuesday to Sunday from 9:30 to 18:00, until 21:45 on Thursdays, and it is closed on Mondays.

Children under 12 have an audioguide of their own to rent, in French or in English. The cloakroom lends strollers in exchange for an ID, and there is a baby room on level -1.

The Jardin du Luxembourg at the end of the day

End the day in the Jardin du Luxembourg, where entry is free. Its hours follow sunrise and sunset and change on the 1st and the 16th of each month: it opens between 7:30 and 8:15, and it closes between 16:30 in December and 21:30 at the end of June, so check the table before you go.

Chess, the sandboxes, basketball, bowls and skittles, and the concerts are free. The playground, the swings, the sailboats, the carousel, the ponies and the puppet show are paid.

Walking on the lawns is not allowed, nor are bicycles and scooters, and the garden has free public toilets.

Plan your one day in Paris

Because the Orangerie is closed on Tuesdays and the Musée d'Orsay on Mondays, plan this route from Wednesday to Sunday, and check the hours of each museum before you go. Both museums are free for visitors under 18, and on the first Sunday of each month they are free for everyone, with a reservation.

At the Orangerie, a timed ticket is recommended, even for visitors who enter free. In both museums nobody may run, touch the works, or eat and drink in the galleries, and photos are allowed without a flash or a selfie stick.

Metro lines 1, 8 and 12 stop at Concorde, the station for the Orangerie. For the Jardin du Luxembourg, take RER B to Luxembourg-Sénat or the Metro to Odéon, on lines 4 and 10.

Sources

• Official practical information page of the Petits M'O, the children's site of the Musée d'Orsay and the Musée de l'Orangerie: the address, opening times and closing days of each museum, who enters free, the timed tickets, the priority entry for pregnant women and visitors with babies, the children's audioguide at Orsay, the lift, the baby rooms, the loan of strollers and baby carriers, and the rules inside the galleries. — petitsmo.fr (checked 21 October 2026)
• Official rates page of the Musée de l'Orangerie: free admission for visitors under 18 and for everyone on the first Sunday of each month with a reservation, and the late opening until 9 pm on Fridays during exhibition periods, with the last admission at 8:15 pm. — musee-orangerie.fr (checked 21 October 2026)
• Official page of the Musée de l'Orangerie on Claude Monet's Water Lilies: the gift to the French State after the armistice of 1918, their installation in 1927, the two elliptical rooms Monet conceived for them and the eight compositions of the cycle. — musee-orangerie.fr (checked 21 October 2026)
• Official page of the Family Area of the Musée de l'Orangerie, for children aged 0 to 12 and their adults: its days, its free access with a museum ticket, its activity centers by age, its reading corner and its sound nooks. — musee-orangerie.fr (checked 21 October 2026)
• Official access page of the Musée de l'Orangerie: the Metro, bus and Vélib' stations, the car parks and the entrance for visitors with reduced mobility. — musee-orangerie.fr (checked 21 October 2026)
• Official practical information page of the Jardin du Luxembourg, which the French Senate manages: the free entrances, what the garden forbids, the Metro, RER and bus stops, and the free public toilets. — jardin.senat.fr (checked 21 October 2026)
• Official table of the opening and closing times of the Jardin du Luxembourg for every fortnight of the year. — jardin.senat.fr (checked 21 October 2026)
• Official list of the activities in the Jardin du Luxembourg, split into free ones and paying ones. — jardin.senat.fr (checked 21 October 2026)