I will be reserving the Musee D'Orsay, but hoped to keep a bit of flexibility in our 3 days in Paris. I'm wondering if the Orangerie Museum and Ste. Chapelle are less busy enough during the first week of December that we could get in without reservations? Thank you! (I know that 3 days is not enough time in Paris, but we are celebrating our son's college graduation with a Spanish major with 4 days each in Madrid & Barcelona, so I just had to add a little time in Paris:)
Posted by
L'Occitanie, France
11478 posts
Lower tourism weeks before Christmas break, but it’s risky nonetheless. First two weeks of December are relatively slow, but the last two weeks are high season again.
Posted by
Paris
11101 posts
Paris is always busy. If you want to be sure not to miss something, I would recommend reserving in advance.
Posted by
Atlanta, GA, USA
1010 posts
To add on, I appreciated being some of the first people into both Saint Chapelle and the Orangerie, and I doubt that would happen without reservations.
Posted by
Seattle, WA & Bordeaux, France
553 posts
If it's helpful, I just purchased my L'Orangerie ticket for week of Nov 9th. I noticed that the only dates filled were within the next week. So, you may want to purchase ahead but you may not need to purchase that far ahead. I'd keep checking the site every few days. Though...the website will be down for a few days first week of November (check website for complete details.)
Posted by
OP
3 posts
I appreciate your replies and I will book ahead to be sure. Thank you!
Posted by
16 posts
December is historcally low season, especially during 1st week of december. You should be fine.
Posted by
New Jersey
71 posts
A couple of weeks ago we really wanted tickets to L’Orangerie and they were sold out. In person, you can buy combination tickets with D’Orsey that give you access to both. Cannot be bought on line. It worked really well for us.
Here is an earlier thread on the topic. https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/france/combo-tickets-for-orsay-and-orangerie
Happy travels.
Posted by
OP
3 posts
Thanks to all who replied!