The Louvre and the Orsay done properly — the one weekday both allow

Paris

1. 8:40 am1

   Carrousel entrance, twenty minutes before the slotParis

   The pyramid queue is the one in the photographs; the underground Carrousel entrance at 99 rue de Rivoli is the one to use, and Porte des Lions is the third when it is staffed. Tickets are online-only with a timed slot. The Louvre is closed Tuesdays and the Orsay is closed Mondays and open late only on Thursdays — which is why this day is a Thursday and cannot be anything else. Verified 2026-09-06: the Louvre is closed Tuesdays and open 09:00–18:00, with late nights to 21:45 on Wednesdays and Fridays and last admission an hour before closing. A timed-slot reservation is mandatory for every visitor, including anyone hoping to buy at the door, at least until 19 April 2026. The Orsay is closed Mondays and its only late night is Thursday to 21:45 — so a Thursday really is the one weekday this pairing works, exactly as claimed.

   4 min walk · 300 m
2. 9 am2

   Denon at opening: the Salle des États firstParis

   The first thirty minutes in front of the Mona Lisa are the only civil ones of the day — go straight there, then walk back through the Grande Galerie against the flow of everybody arriving. Do not try to see the Louvre; pick two wings and accept that you are leaving nine-tenths of it. Ticket around €22 booked online. Verified 2026-09-06: doors at 09:00 and the €22 online ticket is right; last admission is 17:00 and galleries clear from 17:30.

   3 min walk · 200 m
3. 10:20 am3

   Richelieu: the sculpture courts and Napoleon III's apartmentsParis

   Nearly everyone stays in Denon and Sully, so Richelieu is the quiet half of the same ticket. The glass-roofed Marly and Puget courts are full of light and empty of people, and the Napoleon III apartments upstairs are the closest thing to Versailles you can reach without leaving the 1st arrondissement.

   8 min by train or taxi · 3.3 km
4. 12:20 pm4

   Get out of the museum for lunchParis

   Eating inside the Louvre costs more and tastes like an airport. This is eight minutes' walk on rue de l'Arbre-Sec, it fills by 12:30, and same-day tables go if you ring at 11:00. Leeks vinaigrette and a pot of rillettes. CORRECTED 2026-09-06: the old advice to go "back in on the same ticket" is wrong and would have cost someone their afternoon — the Louvre's own FAQ says any exit is final and a standard ticket admits you once; only Amis du Louvre members can come and go. So lunch has to be the end of the Louvre, not a break in it. This day is already built that way: the afternoon is the Orangerie, and if you want a second Louvre visit it is a second timed ticket.

   8 min by train or taxi · 3.6 km
5. 2:10 pm5

   The Water Lilies at two, not at openingParis

   Two oval top-lit rooms at the Concorde end of the Tuileries, closed Tuesdays. Early morning is when the coach groups do it; by 14:00 they have moved on to the Orsay and you can sit on the bench in the middle of the second room for as long as you like. Buy the combined Orsay + Orangerie ticket here — it is cheaper than two singles and it covers tonight. Verified 2026-09-06: closed Tuesdays, open 09:00–18:00 with last admission 17:15 and rooms clearing 17:45, plus a Friday late opening to 21:00 during exhibition runs. The combined Orsay + Orangerie ticket is €20, cheaper than two singles, as claimed.

   4 min walk · 300 m
6. 3:35 pm6

   Across the Tuileries and over the footbridgeParis

   Twenty minutes on the green metal chairs by the round basin — moving one to where you want it is the local custom, not vandalism. Then the Passerelle Léopold-Sédar-Senghor to the Left Bank. If it is raining, the Jeu de Paume on the Concorde corner is a photography museum almost every Louvre visitor walks straight past.

   5 min walk · 400 m
7. 5:30 pm7

   Orsay's Thursday nocturne, level five firstParis

   Open until 21:45 on Thursdays and only Thursdays; last admission 21:00. After 18:00 the Impressionist floor empties out to the point where you can stand alone in front of the Van Goghs, which does not happen at any other hour in the year. Take the lift straight to level 5 and work down; entrance C is the pre-booked door. Verified 2026-09-06: the Thursday late opening runs to 21:45 with last admission 21:00 and galleries cleared from 21:15, so leaving level 5 by 20:45 as this day does is right. Closed Mondays, and timed entry is now mandatory — book the slot, do not turn up for it.

   3 min walk · 200 m
8. 9:15 pm8

   A late table booked before you went inParis

   Very little around the Orsay serves after 21:30 that is worth eating, and the streets behind it go quiet early. Book something on rue de Verneuil or rue du Bac in the morning, before the museum, because you will not get a table by walking out at 21:00 and looking around.