Musee d'Orsay

I don't know if families with kids get to use a separate entrance on days other than the 1st Sunday, as I've never had a problem with lines like I did the time we tried to go on a 1st Sunday. (It was hours long!) With kids, and not being that in to museums, I'd recommend you skip the museum part of the Rodin museums and just stick to the gardens. If you have to priotitize, there are so many others that I would rate higher. But the gardens are worth it! I've tried responding to your itinerary post, but am getting a board error. Maybe I'll be able to PM my response to you.

I too suggest just visiting the Rodin gardens, particularly on a nice day, should be enjoyable for kids. There is a little snack bar out there. I think it is also free or very inexpensive. I think the Egyptian, Roman and Greek sections of the Louvre would also be great - lots of mummies, statues and other artifacts. Be focused if you go to the Louvre, don't wander through all the galleries, else it will be too much. While the Orangerie is nice, for viewing paintings, if you want to do this, I would do the D'Orsay. Start with the best. The Carnavalet is free and also a very nice museum - has nice paintings and lots of other historical Parisian artifacts - no big lines to get in.

Any chance you'll be there on the first Sunday of the month? Because the museums are free on the first Sunday of the month. The line for the Orsay is HUGE, but families with children get to use a separate entrance with no lines. I know nothing about the museum being free near closing time ,so maybe someone else will be able to answer that. Your children will be free, though. The admission to the Rodin gardens is cheap - 1€ for an adult and well worth the time. My kids really like the gardens and we've been there several times. I don't think order matters that much, unless you're trying to minimize walking/traveling. Or you want to use the gardens to break up the day. And don't overlook the Louvre. It's my kids favorite museum. There's a lot there, but it is manageable. Take a look at the "Thematic Trails" on their website. They are great to help you naviage through the museum and see the highlights. If you go, I recommend skipping the audio/multimedia guides. They can be fussy to deal with, and it can drag out the visit while you're fumbling with them and then the kids are bored/tired of it and you haven't seen half of what you wanted to see.

The cost issue aside, I highly recommend the Rodin and Orangerie. Both are small but with amazing works. Both have art and gardens that will interest the kids. And because they are small, you will not burn out and just as they kids are reaching boredom, you're done. I DO highly recommend both the D'Orsay and Louvre but you need to be flexible with them both. Hit the highlights and/or allow them to wander on their own in the D'Orsay which has a central hall and getting lost is not an issue. I'd look into a museum pass. Rodin and D'Orsay are close to each other. Orangerie is close to the Louvre.

Thank you both. Dina, nope, not there on the first Sunday of the month. With the Orsay, do families with older children such as ours, get to use a separate entrance?
Thanks for all your helpful tips. Douglas, thank you also.

If you aren't museum fans, then why bother dragging your entire family through 3 of them and spend the money on passes and the time waiting in lines? It's perfectly ok to go to Paris (or any other major city) and simply skip museums completely if it's not really your thing. With an 11 and 13 year old in tow, they might prefer to spend that time taking a boat ride down the Seine, visiting the Catacombs, or taking a day trip to Versailles where they can be outside to walk around the extensive gardens & the Hameau de la Reine.

I don't think you need to take kids to too many museums, but if you go into any museum in Paris - they are full of kids, mostly part of class trips -- learning about, sketching the art. It's good for them to be outdoors and get exercise, but introducing them to an appreciation of art is a good thing to do also, and not much better place to do it than Paris. Just realize you will not be able to cover an entire museum in one visit, and make visits fairly brief. One that kids particularly seemed to enjoy when i was there is the Quai Branley.

The impressionist wing in the Orsay was worth the price, in fact we are going back in September and will be there on the first Sunday and plan to just hit that wing of the museum or with the museum pass. But that is just us.

Thank you all so much. Really do appreciate your great tips. Ceidleh, you're helping me to re-think and re-prioritize our entire trip. Thank you. Since we're not HUGE museum fans - we may just do: * the Louvre ( just 1 or 2 parts - really only going there to see Mona Lisa, otherwise, I'd much prefer Orsay) * Versailles
* and possibly Orsay, as well as the Rodin Gardens. We would all prefer to see sights than museums, and shopping/cafes than museums.

If all you really want to see at the Louvre is the Mona Lisa, skip it altogether. Since you and your daughter love Impressionism, make a beeline for the Orsay. Linger over the Impressionists as long as you wish and then take a quick look at some of the other works. I assume you know that children under 18 are free at the Orsay, Orangerie, Rodin, Louvre, and Versailles.

Tim, I would love to skip it ... but I don't think the rest of the family would forgive me. We have a Mona Lisa refrigerator magnet, and I keep reminding them that that should be enough. They're not going for THAT idea ... Thank you for the reminder re: children under 18 being free at those places, including Versailles - forgot about that one. That really helps, since Paris is certainly not cheap.

Bets, thanks so much. Great tips.

Negin - the real Mona Lisa isn't much bigger or more impressive than your fridge magnet ;-) How many museums you visit depends on how much time you have. There are soooo many things to do in Paris and if your time is limited, don't spend it on museums if you don't really enjoy them. But that's why I recommend the smaller ones, you get a flavor without spending much time. The Orangerie has some pretty impressive Monet and Rodin, some of which used to be in the D'Orsay. If you all like that, then maybe you'll decide to hit the D'Orsay too.

Douglas, I started giggling at your comment about the real Mona Lisa's size! Now, if only I can convince my family to just go the Orsay instead. We'd rather see sights, shopping, cafes, and parks ...
Thank you for the reminder. I remember seeing the real Mona Lisa more than 30 years ago.

I know I'm not really answering your original question, but given that you are reconsidering your itinerary, I thought I'd put in my 2¢. We took our kids, then 6, 9 and 12, to Paris during the summer. One of the best things we did was visit Giverny (rented bikes across from the train station and rode there - kids loved that) a few days before our visit to the D'Orsay (and the Orangerie water lilly room). It made the museum so much better for them. The D'Orsay also has a tour for kids only, in English, that they enjoyed. As for the Louvre - we all were overwhelmed there. I made a deal with them - if I could see 3 things I wanted to see at the Louvre without whining, we could then walk across to the ferris wheel, take a ride and get a nutella crepe. Everyone was happy! The single best thing we did was take a bike tour of the city with the kids the first day we were there with BikeAbout Tours. Excellent orientation to the city and unbelievable picnic on the Seine. We still talk about it.

Thanks, Heidi. Great tips. We're not bike riders, but I like the bribing/Louvre idea! :-) I just realized that Degas's Dancer sculpture is at the Louvre. We have a book on that and so, we'd love to see that also. Thanks again, everyone.

Here's one more possibility. Unless your daughter will be heartbroken if she doesn't see the Mona Lisa, you and she could go to the Orsay while your husband takes your other child to the Louvre. Since the Orsay is closed on Mondays and the Louvre is closed on Tuesdays, this "divide and conquer" plan won't work on those days.