Musee d' Orsay in Paris

Their website has all the info:
https://www.musee-orsay.fr/en/visit/welcome.html

We purchased ours from the concierge at our hotel. I believe you can also do so online ahead of time. Go to the museum's website.

Two tips for visiting the museum (1) pay the extra for audio guides in English as the signage there is marginal and (2) try not to hit it near lunch time. There is a snack bar and a sit down restaurant in the museum. We stood in line at the snack bar for 15 minutes without moving close to the ordering counter and the sit down restaurant was worse. Ended up leaving and finding a ham sandwich from a vendor out front.

If they are Monet enthusiasts and you have the time:

Orangerie museum in the Tuileries, designed to showcase huge canvases of Monet's waterlilies.
Marmottan museum a little further out in Paris which has a fine collection of Monet and his contemporaries.

Lines for these two are shorter than for Musee d'Orsay. You can also get a combo ticket for Orsay+Orangerie. Marmottan is NOT covered by the Paris Museum Pass but well worth the admission fee.

One tip is to buy the Orangerie-Orsay combo ticket at the Orangerie Museum where the line is shorter. Armed with the ticket ahead of time, you can use Door C at the Orsay, reserved for ticket holders. Another is that the Orsay has evening hours, which are sometimes less crowded, on Thursdays.

When my husband and I visited the museum back in August 2017 we booked https://sightseekersdelight.com/tours/orsay-only-the-best/ which included tickets. We were the only 2 people on the tour which included highlights of the museum and we were able to stay after the tour ended. Not inexpensive but I think we got a lot more out of what were were seeing learning about the background of the artists and the pieces.

There is no such thing as a 'front of the line pass' -- all this 'skip the line ticket' stuff pushed by web sites is just nonsense. They don't have special products different from your just buying a ticket. With ticket in hand at the Orsay you use a different door than those who don't have tickets and usually but not always there is little or no line at that door. it is around to the right of the building from the main line for those without tickets. Never approach the Orsay without ticket in hand (or Museum Pass) as it is one of the most reliably long lined places in Paris.

Or where museums or exhibits have timed tickets are 'skip the line tickets' -- this doesn't mean you won't wait in line with those who also have those tickets. We waited at least half an hour in line last spring for every special exhibit we had timed tickets for.

I'll concur with what Laura B says. The Marmotten is a wonderful museum for Monet and other impressionists. And it is much more intimate—which is what I prefer in museums. The Musée de l'Orangerie is also smaller in scale, and has wonder impressionist paintings. Including not only Monet's water lilies in full size, but also other painters form this era downstairs.

Depending on what else you're planning to see in Paris, the Paris Museum Pass may be the best option. This won't necessarily get you to the "front of the line", but at least you won't have to stand in a queue to buy tickets. I've used that in the past and it's worked well as the line for ticket holders seems to move faster.

The best source of information to plan your trip will be one of the Rick Steves guidebooks. You may also find THIS website to be helpful and also THIS video.

If you normally use daypacks or whatever when you're touring cities, be sure to read this information on the applicable restrictions at the Musée d'Orsay on THEIR website.

Since the ticketing issue has been covered, I'll add some advice that you didn't ask for.

• If you go with a Museum Pass, don't go to d'Orsay on a Tuesday. It's the day the Louvre is closed so lines are very long even for the Museum Pass entrance.

• If your main goal is the Impressionists galleries in d'Orsay, after you enter the doors where your tickets are scanned, walk straight back thru the sculptures in the center of the big hall. As you near the back, veer to the left around the small cafe and then find the escalators which are hidden behind a wall. These take you directly to the 5th floor which is your area of interest. BTW this was one of the best tips from my Rick Steves Best of Paris tour guide!

• If you like, when you get off the escalators (they only exit at 5) go to the left and go out onto the balcony area that overlooks the whole grand hall. To me you really get a sense of how this must have been when it was a train station with this view!

• There is a new gallery featuring the Post-Impressionists like Van Gogh and Gauguin. This was opened this summer and is also on the 5th floor. I didn't think it was very well signed but it's on the west end of the museum so you'll work thru the Impressionists galleries to get to it.

• There are no bathrooms on 5. If anyone needs a comfort stop, after you head straight back thru the ground floor, there are bathrooms on the lower level before you go around alongside the cafe to find the escalators. The ones on 5 are actually at the West end and you have to go up a flight of steps to them.

Have a wonderful time. What a great experience for the girls!

We purchased the Paris Museum Pass and it worked wonderful for us. We didn’t have to wait in line to buy tickets, so we saved a lot of time. Musee d’Orsay is my favorite museum in Paris.

OP. your daughters will have free entry and should just accompany you at the door for those with tickets; get your own ticket on line in advance if you don't have museum passes. They should have ID at their age to prove they are 17 or younger assuming you are American; if EU residents, they only have to prove they are 25 or younger.

And I agree that if they have a strong interest in the impressionists yu will want to go to the Marmottan ( it is not on the Museum Pass) where Impression Sunrise the Monet painting that named Impressionism is housed as well as many other Monets. You may want to get a twofer ticket Orangerie/Orsay in order to see the water lillies at the Orangerie.

I really appreciate all the valuable feedback. It will save us both time and money.

Steve