Time needed in Paris museums

When is your Paris trip? The Cluny now is closed until at least mid July.

the Musee Rodin has a lovely garden cafe- plan to have lunch there. We spent a leisurely 2 1/2 hrs there - could have been 3. If the weather is not good , allow less- many of the statues are outside.
We did not go to the Invalides museum, but Dad and son did- spent 3 hours - could have spent more

I think your timing sounds good, so far. My feet will always give out before my interest level.

The Rodin is small museum but the best of Rodin is there and can be done with the Musee de l'Armee. I would allow most of the day but not all. Time to walk over to the Effiel Tower and see the park. Invalides is where Napoléon is and that building is interesting inside and beautiful outside, with all sorts of things to see and then the connecting building is Musee de l'Armee is the army museum which I went to once and saw all the army uniforms and exhibits. I make sure I see Invalides each time but the army museum is great to see once.

I would save the D'Orsay for a day in itself as it is very large and has at least three floors as it was a huge train station ( can't remember how many floors). But do start at the top floor as that gets the most crowded and that is where the best french impressionist paintings are located. But do go to the very end of the back of the building on the ground floor and do the rooms there as there are some french impressitionst paintings there that will blow you away! It is my fav museum in Paris.

The Cluny is small but still allow a few hours for it if it is open. The d'Orsay does have an elegant cafe. You don't mention the Musée de l'Orangerie which is near the Lourve, and is a must see. It too is small and has two floors but has all the huge water lilly paintings by Monet on the top floor. A must see. I spend more time in the D'Orsay and the L'Orangerie than in the Lourve or Cluny. I keep going back to those museums each time I go to Paris more than the others.

I too am someone who wants to see everything in a musuem. The Lourve, see the main stuff, Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo and then pick one wing that interests you ( see Napoleon's apartments) and go further into the Lourve where there maybe less crowds.

Out of all the museums, if the Cluny is closed when you go, there are a few other museums that are very much worth seeing. PM if you want me to list them. Or spend more time at the other museums.

I think you have it covered and know what you want to see. there are other museums that the pass covers you don't mention and I have been to that is worth seeing if time permits.

Have a great time. Love Paris!!

I agree that the Musee de l'Armee and Rodin can be done on the same day but I suggest you time limit yourselves in the Army Museum. I got carried away and spent about 5.5 hours there (just in the Museum part - not even the Napoleon's tomb part!) and finally ran out of power before I had gotten to it all. The galleries for WWI and WWII are excellent. I would start there and leave some of the other floors for next time!

I have also overdone at d'Orsay, lol (can you sense a theme here?). If you are interested in the Impressionists, I suggest you go directly to the far end of the museum, take the escalators up to the 5th floor and start with that collection. Work your way down and then be ready to leave when you are getting tired. IF there are some artists you are looking for, take a look at the floor plan and work them in. I'm good for 3-4 hours then I need to do something outside. I ~can~ do the Orsay in the AM, walk across to the Tuileries, have something to eat, enjoy the garden, have some gelato at the Amorino stand and then do the Orangerie late in the day or back to Orsay on their open late evening!

The Rodin is small but the gardens are lovely. The Invalides has so much content, various uniforms and kits that the different soldiers carried that I spent a lot of time looking at that. They also have lovely gardens to sit for a spell.

The Orsay, is my fave, so at least 2.5hours as the gift shops need a bit of time too! Enjoy.

The Cluny museum is closed through July 2018.
Just for FYI.

Well, my husband is the kind of person that has to read everything in a museum and we've been to the Army museum 3 times now because we always visit in the afternoon, and he's never been finished by the time they close . He still hasn't "finished" it. No, I'm not at all annoyed by this.

I suggest either alotting at least a half day for the Army museum OR limit your time and see Napoleon's Tomb first.

Thanks everyone for your input; there are obviously kindred spirits here on the travel forum. My son and I were in Paris for the first time for the RS Paris and the Heart of France tour, and those few days just whetted our appetite for more. I have been determined to go back and spend more time at the Musée d’Orsay (my favorite too, June!), so have allotted it a day of its own. I was so tired by the time we made that stop on the tour (fell asleep on a bench, lol) that I could only concentrate on the impressionist section. We will definitely revisit the Musée de l'Orangerie (I agree Ann, a must-see even if one has already been), and will be there in September so the Cluny will be open. It seems like I should allow a good amount of time for Les Invalides—my son has a history and political science background, and I have been studying WWI quite a bit. My overall strategy for the itinerary is to outline a schedule for the first couple of days in detail, when we are tired and jet-lagged and having trouble making decisions, and on following days schedule one large or a couple of small museums. Then I have a list of potential activities to choose from for any remaining time. (These include hot chocolate sampling and café sitting!) Our final day has nothing scheduled, so that we can revisit any place where we feel we need more time, or pick from what’s left on the list. I think we will even pay extra for the 6-day pass so we can slow down, spread things out, and have more flexibility.

Just giving a "thumb's up" to all replies. The Rodin café is lovely. I always purchase six day museum passes while in Paris. I don't really care about the extra money it may cost me. I can have a flexible schedule and visit a museum more than one time. And, while it may sound strange, you have more access to clean, free restrooms in Paris.

The time of opening is from March 1st to about mid-July 2018.
But that may change.

Michele, I rarely call something a must see but if you are a student of WWI you must do that gallery at the Army Museum! I did not know the story about the Army comandeering the Parisian taxis to take soldiers to the front lines at the Marne until I saw the taxi displayed in the Army Museum. I've read some other things that tell a slightly different story but whatever the truth was doesn't lessen the whole idea. Taxis for troop transport!

Here is a neat short summary. There are pictures of soldiers loading up on the Esplanade des Invalides which is between Les Invalides and the Seine.

http://www.worldwar1.com/heritage/marnetaxis.htm

Michele, I, too, was trying to figure out how much time to allot for each of the museums/churches so I could plan our itinerary and I couldn't find answers in the Best of Paris book (maybe I missed it??). In addition to the wisdom above, you could go to TripAdvisor and the pages for each sight shows "Suggested Duration" and gives a rough time range. Just in case you need to get an idea for other sights!

We just returned from a week in Paris. As others have said, the Cluny is closed right now. We did the Rodin (loved it!) and Les Invalides in one day, along with the Arch de Triumph. The Rodin was a couple of hours and we had breakfast in their café. Very nice. We did not go through the army museum at Invalides (no interest), but our daughter did and was done in an hour or so. It is not a far walk at all. We used the Rick Steves' guide for the Louvre and saw the highlights using that. It was a perfect amount of time. We also went on the Metro and entered from the downstairs. Not bad at all. We also did the Orsay (my favorite) and the Orangerie in one day. The Orsay took the longer time and it is a wonderful museum. A nice mix of different types of art. The impressionists on the third floor were wonderful paintings and I enjoyed seeing some Van Gogh paintings for the first time. The Orangerie is a short walk. Other than Monet's Water lilies, we did not find much there of interest.

And if you don't mind paying for something not covered by the Museum Pass, the Marmatton is lovely for even more Monet.

Another very enjoyable museum is the Jacquemart Andre. It is a grand mansion filled with many paintings. It's near Parc Monceau and the two department stores, one of which has a rooftop cafe.

Any comments on the Picasso Museum? We are trying to decide if we want to visit there.

I second Pam's recommendation at the Musee de l'Armee--depends on your interest, of course--but starting with WWI and II worked for me as well, very detailed exhibits and I spent perhaps a good 3 hours there before walking over to the Rodin where I spent 2 hours. I didn't feel it was too much, that day included an early morning trip up the Eiffel tower, then a visit to the Marmottan and lunch in that neighborhood. I really loved the Marmottan, you might consider that since the Cluny is closed.

The D'Orsay was good for 3-4 hours as well, I must say it was my favorite of all the art museums in Paris.

I call myself a museum mouse (akin to a bookworm) and I sense kindred spirits. I am not much interested in things military and I still spent about 2 hours in the Musée de l’Armée, not counting N's tomb and courtyard. I found the best way to attack the Louvre is through their "thematic trails," which you can find (and download) on the official website. Choose what interests you most and focus on that. I used the "From Palace to Museum" trail which, oddly without mentioning any of them, took me past all the highlights of the museum (Winged Victory, Mona Lisa, Michelangelo, Egypt, etc.). If you are going to split your time at the Orsay, I suggest you visit the top floor (Impressionist paintings) and the rest of the museum separately. The top floor is usually very crowded - IMO they've simply put too many works into too small a space and it seems the most popular collection in Paris to boot. If it's packed the first time, see the rest and hope it's better on your return.

Are you going to be in Paris on the 3rd weekend of September? If so, you need to plan specially for that!

I guess I'm good for two museums per day, one morning and one afternoon.

If it's crowded that can wear you out sooner.

Cynthia--I enjoyed the Picasso museum a lot, though I got pleasantly lost trying to find it, seemed to have gone in a big circle when it was really just a few blocks from the metro. I spent about 2 1/2 hours there, good mix of his various sculptures as well as paintings.

Christa - Thanks for sharing your feelings about the Picasso Museum. I like most of his paintings, so I think we will definitely include it.