PARIS.- The public institution that brings together the Musée d'Orsay and the Musée de l'Orangerie closed 2025 with 4.9 million visitors, confirming the enduring appeal of two of France’s most visited museums—even in a year shaped by construction work and temporary closures.

In total, 4,914,345 people passed through the doors of the two museums last year, a figure that is virtually unchanged from 2024, dipping by just one percent. Behind that overall stability, however, the picture is more nuanced.

The Musée d’Orsay edged upward, welcoming 3.78 million visitors, a modest but notable increase of one percent. The Musée de l’Orangerie, by contrast, saw attendance fall by six percent to 1.13 million visitors, largely due to a five-week closure early in the year for improvements to visitor reception—work that will continue while the museum remains open through March 2026.

Blockbuster exhibitions and steady favorites

Exhibitions once again played a central role in drawing audiences. At Orsay, Caillebotte. Painting Men stood out as a major success, attracting nearly 588,000 visitors and ranking as the seventh most visited exhibition in the museum’s history. Shows devoted to Harriet Backer, Christian Krohg, and Art Is in the Street also posted strong numbers, confirming sustained interest in both 19th-century painting and socially engaged themes.

Two major exhibitions that opened in autumn—John Singer Sargent. Dazzling Paris and Paul Troubetzkoy. Sculptor—were still on view at the end of the year and had already drawn hundreds of thousands of visitors by December 31.

At the Orangerie, the exhibition dedicated to collector Heinz Berggruen and his legendary holdings of Picasso, Klee, Matisse, and Giacometti proved especially popular. With 445,258 visitors, it became the museum’s second most attended exhibition in the past 15 years. In the Blur, exploring art since 1945, also entered the Orangerie’s top ten most visited shows.

A largely international audience

The two museums continue to attract a predominantly international public. At Orsay, 64 percent of visitors came from abroad, led by the United States, Italy, the United Kingdom, and Germany. Japanese visitors entered the top ten nationalities for the first time. The Orangerie showed a similar pattern, with 69 percent foreign visitors, and notable growth from South Korea and Canada.

Young audiences remain a strong presence: visitors under 26 accounted for roughly one-third of attendance at both museums. Free admission also played a significant role, benefiting more than 1.7 million people across the two institutions in 2025.

Education, families, and behind-the-scenes access

One of the clearest shifts in 2025 was the surge in school visits to the Musée d’Orsay. Following the launch of a new online booking system in late 2024, the number of school groups jumped by 72 percent, bringing more than 173,000 students into the museum. Visits from social-sector groups and visitors with disabilities also rose sharply.

Family programming continued to expand. The Holidays at Orsay initiative welcomed over 50,000 visitors, opening the museum to families throughout the school year, including for the first time during the summer holidays. At the Orangerie, the Family Space—designed for children and caregivers—attracted more than 21,000 visitors in its second year.

Public interest extended even to conservation work. All spots filled for free guided visits to the ongoing restoration of Courbet’s A Burial at Ornans, which has been visible to the public behind glass walls since May.

Looking ahead

The institution is preparing for a major new phase of renovations. Beginning in March 2026, the Musée d’Orsay will overhaul its reception areas and restore its historic forecourt and canopy. Crucially, the museum will remain fully open throughout the works, which are scheduled to run until summer 2028.

Beyond Paris, Orsay’s nationwide initiative The 100 Works That Tell the Story of Climate brought masterpieces to 31 regional museums across France, boosting attendance and drawing new visitors—an effort set to return in 2026 with a focus on the theme of work.

Online, the museums’ reach continues to grow. Their websites, videos, podcasts, and social media platforms collectively reached millions of users in 2025, underscoring the role digital engagement now plays alongside physical visits.

Taken together, the numbers tell a clear story: even in a year shaped by scaffolding and scheduling challenges, Orsay and the Orangerie remain cultural anchors—places where large audiences continue to gather, learn, and return.