Musee d’Orsay Tour with Saint-Germain-des-Prés Neighborhood
Why a Musee d’Orsay tour and Saint-Germain-des-Prés tour together? Because we believe that this is an optimum combination for those who are interested in arts and architecture. The tour is done by a fully licensed guide who is passionate about Art and History who will make you travel back in time from the 19th-century French revolution in painting to the 6th century early Merovingian middle-age.
Sculpture representing famous painter Eugène Delacroix in the Jardin du Luxembourg. Delacroix is a strong link between the two parts of the tour: Musée d’Orsay and Saint-Germain-des-prés. Jardin and Palais du Luxembourg, too, were where the “Living Artists Museum,” the ancestor of musée d’Orsay, was housed.
Private Tour Musee d’Orsay and Saint-Germain-des-prés neighborhood Essentials
From 240 € for 1 to 2 people + 55 € per extra person
- +/- 4 hours guided tour in English
- Genuine private tour = your party only (6 people max.)
- Postgraduate (MPhil) certified French national guide
- Flexible schedule
- Not available on Sundays & Mondays
- Museum tickets non included
- Timed tickets to buy online (16 € per adult)
Warning: Guided tours in Orsay are forbidden on Sundays and during public holidays (bank holidays).
Public holidays 2024 (January 1th; April 1th, May 1th, 8th, 9th, 20th; Jully 14th; August 15th; November 1th, 11th; December 25th).
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Your Private Tour Guide in Paris
Certified French national guide
BA, Magna Cum Laude, Heritage Development & Preservation
from Conservatoire des Arts et Métiers (Grande Ecole established in 1794)
Postgraduate from Paris Dauphine-PSL University
Why a Private Tour of MusEE d’Orsay and Saint-Germain-des-Prés Together?
Because Musee d’Orsay and Saint-Germain-des-Prés neighborhood, which are probably the most famous Paris left bank (“Rive Gauche”) attractions, are conveniently situated beside each other. So it is a good idea to join them together.
Also because you will discover that there are many links between Musee d’Orsay and the Saint-Germain-dès-Près district in the streets, but also in the Saint-Germain-dès-Près and Saint-Sulpice churches, and in the Luxembourg Garden at the end of the tour.
The Musee d’Orsay tour is not only about arts, it is also about civil architecture, as the Germain tour is not only about sacred architecture but also about art.
And last, because our Licensed guide lecturer is history and history of arts passionate, he will do his best to share with you his passion for Paris.
Discover the 19th-century French revolution in art in Orsay and the spirit of Saint-Germain-des-Prés in a single 4-hour private tour!
How the Private Tour of Orsay Museum & Saint-Germain-des-Prés Works?
Organization of the Tour
The tour is organized in two parts
- 1. A Musee d’Orsay Tour
- 2. A Saint-Germain-des-Prés neighborhood Tour
- The duration of the tour is equally split between both parts of the tour.
- The tour starts at Musee dOrsay.
Spirit of the Tour
As with all our guided tours, the Orsay & Saint-Germain-des-Près private tour route is optimized to maximize your time with your guide. Meaning :
- Optimized tour route
- Adaptative tour route (flexibility in case of any obstacle)
Flexibility and adaptability are the main ideas in such a four-hour private tour. So your guide will be happy in function of your wishes to adjust :
- The relative duration of the two parts of the tour
- Content of the two parts of the tour
Just ask your guide.
Skip-the-line tickets clarification
Some agencies communicate about skip-the-line tickets speaking about the timed tickets purchased online for a specific schedule (day/time slot).
So yes, you don’t line up with those who come to Orsay without a ticket, but you definitively line up with all the others who have purchased their tickets online in advance, like you, for the same schedule! Your guide will line up with you.
Warning about the crowded days at Musee d’Orsay
Crowds mean a lot of time lost to enter the museum and a non-optimum experience, more specifically in the van Gogh paintings rooms. If there is a popular Orsay exhibition during the period you plan to come, you better choose your day of visit very carefully. Generally, avoid high season, French bank holidays, the first Sunday of the month (Orsay is free for all), or Thursdays, as the Louvre is closed. More people usually come to Orsay on Thursdays.
Musee d’Orsay Tour Content
- Before Impressionism
- Impressionism
- After impressionism
You will see masterpieces of the period’s most famous painters, such as Delacroix, Ingres, Courbet, Millet, Manet, Monet, Renoir, Cézanne, Degas, Van Gogh, and Gauguin.
You can find more information about the content of the Orsay part of the tour on our dedicated Orsay Museum Private Tour page.
The main difference here is that we normally insist more on Eugène Delacroix because of the strong link with the second part of the tour in Saint-Germain-des-Prés.
View The main hall of the Musee d’Orsay. The Orsay is a former train station transformed into the world-famous museum it is now at the end of the 20th century. The main hall is dedicated to sculpture; meanwhile, paintings are installed in lateral rooms protected from direct daylight. Impressionist paintings are installed on the last floor of the museum.
Saint-Germain-des-Prés Tour Part Content
The walking tour in Saint-Germain-des-Prés is quite flexible. It can be basically oriented in two ways:
As a dense architecture and history of art tour mostly based to Saint-Germain and Saint-Sulpice churches.
Or more as an open stroll to catch the atmosphere of the famous left bank (rive gauche) district.
The tour can normally include the next themes which can be more or less extended depending on your interests.
Some of the Best Views of Paris Monuments along the Seine River
- Orsay Museum facade
- Le Louvre
- Bouquinistes etc.
and more.
Delacroix Related Places
- Delacroix last house in place de Fürstenberg
- Delacroix Master pieces in Saint-Sulpice church
Saint-Germain-des-Prés Abbey Church
- History of the Abbey of saint Germain-des-Prés
- History of the abbey church from the Merovingian period till most recent archeological excavations and impressive restoration.
- Newly restored 19th-century Flandrin masterpieces on the wall of the church
- Architecture of one of the most famous Romanesque and early Gothic constructions.
Saint-Sulpice Church
- History of the biggest church in Paris after Notre Dame Cathedral
- Neo-Classical, Classical, and Jesuitic Architecture
- Know why there is no pediment in Saint-Sulpice facade
- Know what is the Saint-Sulpician Style
- Link of the church with one of the most famous cities in North America.
There are also plenty of masterpieces in the church, not only by Delacroix but also by many others, such as the famous sculptor Pigalle, from whom the famous “Place Pigalle” was named.
Literary Cafes
Places frequented by famous artists such as Prévert, Hemingway, Sartre, Picasso, Camus, Zhou Enlai, Joyce, Maurras, etc., as :
- Café de Flore
- Café des Deux Magots
Palais and Garden of Luxembourg
- History since Queen Marie de Medicis
- Place of the former royal collection of paintings
- History of the “Musée des Artistes Vivants” (Museum of living artists), ancestor of the Orsay Museum
If you want to know more about the Luxembourg Garden, see our dedicated blog page.
View of the seine river from the left bank
More Points of Interest
- Marché Saint-Germain
- House of famous architect Victor Baltard
- Hôtel de Fürstenberg, hôtel Mahé de la Bourdonnais
- Art nouveau building etc.
- Place where was living painter Fantin-Latour, who painted the Musée d’Orsay group portrait with himself, Delacroix, Manet, etc.
Tour End
The tour normally ends somewhere around Luxembourg or even around the Pantheon, depending on what was done or not before.
More Arts Private Tours in Paris
- Louvre Museum discovery tour and highlights
- Louvre French painting tours from the 16th to the 19th centuries
Things to know before Booking
Meeting Point
In front of the Orsay Museum by the rhino statue, Esplanade Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, 75007 Paris, France. Access: Métro Line 12 station Solférino. RER C station Musée d’Orsay.
Attention Points
- Tour on foot, so good health & comfortable shoes are mandatory
- Photos are authorized but without flash. Selfie sticks are not allowed.
Orsay Museum Tickets
Museum tickets are not included in the tour price.
- Online Orsay tickets: 16 € per adult
- Buy you timed tickets on Orsay Museum web site.
- Print your tickets or at least upload them before coming to Orsay Museum (last-minute problem uploading tickets may spoil the tour)
- Timed ticket means a ticket bought online for a specific day/time slot; nevertheless, you must still line up for security and sanitary controls.
Restrictions
- Private tour means a tour for you & your party only, not that Orsay museum is privatized.
- Tour duration & content are purely indicative, they may vary due to contingencies.
- In case of unexpected closed galleries you accept to follow a substitution content.
- Museum tickets: Orsay tickets are not included.
- Prices do not include transportation, food, drinks or any other extra services.
- Refund: If, for any reason, we are not able to do the tour, we refund the tour but not the tickets.
- Entrance in churches is never warranty.
Book Your Musee d’Orsay & Saint-Germain PrIvate Tour
Just request the date, time, and number of people you want for your Orsay + Saint Germain tour in our calendar and follow the below four steps online easy process.
(1) Receive our OK email (free reservation valid 48 hours)
(2) Buy your Orsay tickets on line (compatible schedule)
(3) Once you have your tickets pay your tour on line
(4) Receive our
confirmation (email)
- Nota bene : Step (1) free reservation is lost if no step (3) payment received after 48h.
- A full price online Orsay ticket is 16 €. Free for all kids under 18 years old, free under 26 years old for the European Union residents – Check last updated info and only buy your tickets on Orsay Museum web site.
Choose below your tour: You will then be asked : -> choose the number of people, date & hours of visit -> after our validation-> pay on line.
Orsay & Saint-Germain-des-Prés Private Tour
Extended tour (4 hours)For 1 to 2 people + 50 € for any extra person
A group of maximum 6 people exclusively yours
English language
Tickets not included
Saint-Germain-des-prés bell tower. The four lower levels were built around 1000. The church is an exceptional example of Romanesque and early Gothic architecture in the heart of Paris. In the lower foreground is a sculpture by Picasso © Broaden Horizons.