The Musée d'Orsay marks its 40th anniversary with a free weekend and a Boum put on by Thomas Jolly.

The Musée d’Orsay is celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2026 and unveiling a spectacular anniversary program in Paris’s 7th arrondissement, featuring a free weekend and, as the centerpiece, a Boum 1986 imagined by Thomas Jolly in December.

The Orsay Museum marks its 40th anniversary throughout 2026, and the institution in the 7th arrondissement of Paris has just unveiled, on June 29, the details of its birthday program. The highlight? A Boum 1986 designed by Thomas Jolly, the mastermind behind Paris 2024’s Olympic ceremonies, scheduled for December 12 in the grand nave. The celebration also includes a free weekend, light projections on the façade, and several exceptional events around Courbet, Monet and Mary Cassatt.

We’ve traversed this grand vessel of stone and glass along the banks of the Seine, and we never tire of it. Housed in a former station inaugurated for the 1900 World’s Fair, the museum opened to the public on December 9, 1986. Forty years on, it’s blowing out its candles in style, under the guiding thread of a Verlaine couplet chosen to frame the year: “Let us dream—it's time!”.

When is Thomas Jolly's Boum 1986 at the Musée d'Orsay taking place?

Thus, on December 12, 2026, in the week of the opening anniversary, Boum 1986 will take over the great nave. The stage director Thomas Jolly envisions a night of dance and collective joy threading through the museum, conceived as a celebration of the venue itself: its architecture, its history, the experience of moving through it.

“Orsay is a dream backdrop for a stage director,” the artist said, promising a lively and bold evening. Capacity is capped at 1,500 people and the event will be free, with tickets allocated by lottery. So it’s worth keeping an eye out for the season’s kickoff, when reservations open on the museum’s website.

What are the other highlights in the 40-year history of the Musée d’Orsay?

The celebration isn’t confined to a single night. On December 5 and 6, the museum is staging a week-end populaire and ouvre gratuitement its doors to everyone, with artistic offerings and events designed for the general public. A chance to (re)discover the collections without spending a dime — a smart plan to note in your calendar.

On the masterworks front, August 5 marks the completion of a long-awaited restoration, that of Un enterrement à Ornans by Gustave Courbet. The monumental canvas will then be rehung in a museum gallery after fifteen months of work carried out under the public gaze, a rare operation that has allowed observers to follow, step by step, the revival of this emblematic realism painting.

The year 2026 also marks the centenary of the death of Claude Monet (1840-1926). To mark the occasion, the museum, which houses 251 works and documents by the master, presents a new route designed to illuminate his technique. A welcome immersion into the workshop of one of the fathers of Impressionism, celebrated in collaboration with the Musée de l'Orangerie.

Which exhibitions to see at the Musée d’Orsay for its 40th anniversary?

Come autumn, it’s time for Mary Cassatt, a central figure of Impressionism and a long-overlooked name in France’s national museums. The exhibition Mary Cassatt. The Choice of Independence, running from October 6, 2026 to January 31, 2027, brings together nearly 80 paintings, pastels, and prints to restore full recognition to this free-spirited, determined American who spent almost sixty years in France.

On the same October 6, the museum opens a second exhibition, this time focusing on the maquettes and drawings of a renowned theatre and opera production designer. A behind-the-scenes look at the craft of stage creation that extends the museum’s interest in the links between visual arts and performing arts.

Another luminous rendezvous: the American artist Jenny Holzer will occupy the Seine-facing façade with nocturnal projections during the inauguration week of her exhibition in October. Her installation I Saw, on view from October 20, 2026 to February 21, 2027, brings together fragments of artists’ letters and period writings with the museum’s collections. In December, finally, new spaces devoted to the decorative arts of the second half of the 19th century will open, showcasing around 200 works.

Since opening, the Musée d'Orsay has welcomed 140 million visitors, staged 240 exhibitions, and expanded its collection by 55,000 works, bringing the total to 167,000 pieces today. “At forty, we have a strong history and identity, but there is still a lot to build,” said president Annick Lemoine. The full program and ticketing are available on the museum's official site: site officiel du musée d'Orsay.

If you’re into these grand cultural celebrations, you should also check out the October 2026 exhibitions in Paris and Île-de-France, which are packed with fascinating discoveries.