Musee d'Orsay, the collection of Impressionist art, is truly impressive and one attraction of Paris that is well worth a visit. Having nearly 2.5 million visitors each year come to see the largest collection in the world of impressionist artwork, Musee d'Orsay was opened in 1986 in a beautiful building which served as a train station until 1960's. The museum is dedicated to the period dating from 1848 to 1914 providing a bridge between the classical Louvre and the modern Centre Pompidou. The impressionists with numerous paintings by Renoir, Monet, Manet, Pissarro, Sisley are the main attractions of the museum. Included here are also the post-Impressionist Cezanne, Degas and Vincent Van Gogh.

Gare d'Orsay, the name of the building itself, was built for the World's Fair of 1900. It was used to welcome freed prisoners during the Second World War. By disuse of the train station (the Gare) and closure of the adjacent hotel in 1973, the building was threatened with destruction. However, instead, it was decided to change the building's function to house a collection of art from the second half of the 19th century. It was introduced in 1986 under the governance of François Mitterand. The principal gallery of the ground floor, 138 meters long (453 feet) and 32 meters tall (105 feet), is a reminder of the building's history. The scandalous Enterrement à Ornans by Gustave Courbet and the Glaneuses by Jean-François Millet are among the masterpieces in this gallery. On the 5th flor there are works by the greatest masters of this genre are hung in galleries 29 to 48. These include La Classe de danse by Degas, Still Lifes by Manet such as L'Asperge, Le Bal du Moulin de la Galette by Renoir, and La Gare Saint-Lazare, La Cathedrale de Rouen or the Nympheas by Claude Monet. Works by Van Gogh in gallery 35 and Cezanne in 36 follow, the small galleries 37 and 38 include pastels by Degas, and galleries 43-44 are devoted to Gauguin's paintings of Tahiti. Decorative arts are located a few flights down, worth visiting notably for the impressive collection of Art Nouveau. While on this floor, do not miss the terrasse Rodin, where L'Homme qui marche is located, and worth taking the time to appreciate.