Orangerie Museum vs Orsay Museum

The Orangerie and the Musee d'Orsay are so very different and I am not sure I would recommend either for a typical 9- or 6-year-old . It really depends on what the children are into though. They could be precocious artists and enjoy either. If I had to pick one for a child, I would go with the Orangerie because it is less overwhelming. I took my daughter to the Oranagerie when she was 14. She wanted to go because she had just finished learning about Monet in school and the things she picked to see in Paris on that trip were The Orangerie and The Musee Marmottan. Her then 6-year-old brother was bored out of his mind after two minutes so my husband took him to the carnival in the Tuilleries. On the other hand two years later, my son thought the Army Museum was one the best things he had ever seen in Paris. His top picks in Paris when he was your children's ages were the aforementioned carnival, the Army Museum, the Statue of George Washington on Place d'Ilena, LaFayette's burial place, and the Musee Rodin. He was semi-obsessed with the American Revolution and the movie Night at the Museum back then.

L'Orangerie is smaller but a delight if you're a Monet fan. D'Orsay is the larger and has the more extensive collections, including many Impressionists and Monets. I think most people are going to favor D'Orsay over L'Orangerie and I would agree unless you want a smaller bite of Museum that day. Then pick L'Orangerie.
I enjoyed the Army Museum because I'm interested in that sort of thing but my wife not so much.
Edit: Sorry, I wasn't thinking of your children when I wrote this. They might enjoy the Sewer Museum and L'Orangerie. I don't think the Army Museum would be very interesting for them and D'Oray could be overwhelming.

I think the Army museum is a very good idea - kids would probably like it more than an art museum - plus it is not going to be nearly as crowded as the others, especially the Orsay which will be shoulder to shoulder; we were there last month, and it was frankly miserably crowded - glad we went, but it wore us out, detracted from the visit.

Also: in the large courtyard area between the entrance to the grounds and the entrance to the museum on the Seine River side of the complex, in the large grassy areas, we enjoyed seeing all the rabbits that live there...your kids might like it, too.

Children like the large statues and the giant paintings on the ground floor of the Orsay. Impressionism doesn’t make much of an impression, especially if there’s a crowd around the paintings.
Next month I’m taking my 9-year old granddaughter to the Louvre, an hour or less each morning because I have the right to multiple entry. Day 1 Egypt, day 2 Greece, day 3 Rome. This was her choice because that’s what she studied in school last year.

I first took her to a museum for 15 minutes when she was three. I take her yearly to the National Gallery in DC. Reward is the gelato in the cafeteria downstairs. Large statues, old Dutch masters is where her attention turns. Impressionism doesn’t do it at that age. They like objects, they like old stuff, you can discuss the size of the brush an artist used to paint the 17C lace so realistically, but the kids aren’t awestruck by the skill and details the way adults are.

This may or may not be of interest to your children, or you, but one of the gems in Paris is the Musée de Cluny, a museum of art from the Middle ages. Lots of carvings, gold objects, and the exquisite Lady and the Unicorn tapestries, on the left bank but south of the Orsay.

Excellent idea, Cyn.

I’m also taking my granddaughter to Arts & Metiers, first airplanes, Foucault pendulum, old cars, trollies, early science equipment. Carnavalet Museum is another good place with kids.
Cité de la musique is geared to children, too.
Rodin museum.

In the neighborhood of the d'Orsay museum is a fascinating shop/small museum that features all kinds of vintage taxidermied creatures--birds, beasts, insects, fossils, some of the animals are in amusing poses or wearing hats & clothes, it is truly a bizarre place to explore that you & your children may or may not find intriguing. Deyrolle has been in business since 1831, located at 46 rue du Bac.

I loved the Musee de l'Armee but it is quite vast, hard to say if children would enjoy it.

Thank you everyone for your comments and suggestions!!!!

The Orsay is huge, and I’ve consistently underestimated it. It poses a lot of the same challenges that the Louvre does in scale and crowds. I don’t feel like it would be an enjoyable experience. The Orangerie is much more manageable, and less an investment. I feel like you could buzz in, see the water lilies and read the room. If they’re into it, then there’s some other great and interesting works in the other galleries. Either way, you’re quickly outside and in the fresh air of the Tuleries garden if they get antsy.

The Army museum would be a great choice. Tons of displays, equipment, uniforms that I think they would find very engaging. The sheet scale of Napoleon’s tomb would probably be a lifetime memory.

We did the Sewer Museum a few years ago and enjoyed it. Never did anything like it before so it was interesting, especially the large "balls" they use to clear the blockages. I think your kids would be fascinated and happily grossed out!

Both my children loved the army museum , but they were 11 ) female and 13 ( male ) .

Honestly I don’t see any 6 yr old loving museums much - take them to Luxembourg gardens , I enjoyed that as a child myself of 6 .