From grand palaces and converted railway stations to some of the most modern buildings you’ll see, these are the homes of some of the best museums in Paris. Divisive or not, Paris is one of the best places in the world to soak in your culture. It’s thought you could spend a lifetime digging into some of the treasures it has to offer and still not exhaust everything there. The collections are extensive, and unless you’re very familiar with Paris, it can get rather overwhelming. With that in mind, we guide you to some of the best museums on offer in Paris.
Things to know when visiting the best museums in Paris
When planning your visit, please note that most of the museums are closed on Tuesdays, and with large museums such as the Louvre or the Musee d’Orsay, you may be better off starting with a guided tour. Entrance to both museums is usually free on the 1st Sunday of the month. Otherwise, if you’re visiting for a few days, invest in a Paris Museum Pass, which offers unlimited entry over two or four days, depending on which one you get. It’s well worth it, and you can dip in and out whenever you like. Entrance to the permanent exhibition at the Musee Carnavalet is free.
Musee du Louvre
Without a doubt, one of the world’s most iconic museums, if not the most visited, the Louvre houses some of France’s most prestigious art collections. It’s Louis XIV’s former palace before he moved to Versailles, complete with a mediaeval moat. The former palace is home to over 30,000 works of Western civilisation, ranging from Greek, Egyptian and Roman antiques to European paintings from the 13th to the 19th centuries. If you have ever wondered where the French crown jewels are kept, you don’t have to look any further. The collections include antique furniture, Islamic art, and 18th-century Neoclassical statues and masterpieces. Of course, you’ll find some of the most famous paintings in the world, including Leonardo Da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa”, the “Venus de Milo” statue, and the “Winged Victory of Samothrace” (La Victoire de Samothrace), a Greek sculpture from the Hellenistic era.
It can get somewhat overwhelming, so apart from booking a guided tour (which by the way, helps you skip the queues), you can select a particular tour according to the amount of time you have. The Masterpieces Wing has the “Mona Lisa” and the “Winged Victory of Samothrace” statue and takes about 1h 30min to peruse. If it’s Egyptian history you’re interested in, one of the largest Egyptian collections is the Journey Along the Nile Wing, which also takes about 1h 30min. The museum also includes the Carrousel and Tuileries Gardens, an oasis in the heart of Paris.
Opening hours:
- 09:00 – 18:00 Mon, Wed, Thur,
- Sat & Sun. 09:00 – 21:45 Fri
Museedes Arts Decoratifs
For the lover of fashion and the finer things in life, then gorge your eyes at The Museum of Decorative Arts, in the West Wing of the Louvre. Indulge your cravings with a collection of over 150,000 items of decorative art, including mediaeval altarpieces, Renaissance wedding chests, and 18th-century tapestries. At the same time, the grandeur of the first empire tableware will fill any aspiring host with envy. The collection spans the Middle Ages to the art nouveau movement. Join the well-chilled and glamorous Parisians on the garden terrace at the very chic Loulou to indulge in a Mediterranean-French-Riviera-inspired menu by the side of the museum.
Opening hours:
- 11:00 – 18:00 Tue – Sun
Le Marais
While modernisation was sweeping the whole of Paris, it seems to have passed by Le Marais. Nevertheless, you get a feel of what Paris must have been like in mediaeval times, through its winding cobbled streets and narrow alleyways flanked by elegant mansions, hip boutiques and trendy cafes. Among these mansions, we find our next two museums that are a must-visit on your best of Paris museum itinerary.
Musee Carnavalet – Histore de Paris
Musee Carnavalet, the oldest City of Paris museum, is housed in two of the elegant mansions of the Marais: the 17th-century Hotel Peletier and the 16th-century Hotel Carnavalet (an example of rare Renaissance architecture in Paris), adjacent to each other in a quiet corner of this vibrant district. It is quite fitting, perhaps because the museum documents the history of Paris through a collection of approximately 3,800 pieces of items, including antiques, drawings, and photography. Amongst the collections are pre-historic artefacts and mediaeval relics, photographs of the student riots in 1960’s Paris, and photos of the tragic fire in 2019 that engulfed the Notre Dame Cathedral.
The museum has undergone extensive work and recently reopened for a more enjoyable experience with easier access, and it also includes a restaurant in the garden area. What’s wonderful about the museum is that entrance to the permanent exhibition is free and doesn’t require booking.
Opening hours:
- 10:00 – 18:00 Tue – Sun
Musee Picasso
In the centre of the bustling Marais neighbourhood, you’ll find the Musee Picasso, housed in the most elegant of buildings, the Hotel Sale. The museum is the only place in the world where you will find a collection of over 5,000 works and precise records of tens of thousands of archived pieces of Picasso’s complete works.
They’re depicted through sketches, drafts, notebooks, videos, and photographs, documenting the artist’s creative process. They can’t be exhibited anywhere else due to a proviso in his donation to the state. It’s a fascinating collection curated in an alluring manner, which will keep you engrossed for hours on end. The exhibition also shows some of his private collections, including works by Cezanne, Degas, Renoir and Matisse.
Opening hours:
- 10:30 – 18:00 Tue – Fri.
- 09:30 – 18:00 Sat & Sun
Musee d’Orsay
There is no shortage of museums exhibiting works of the masters of Impressionism. The magnificent Musee d’Orsay is housed in a converted railway station and displays works of some of the greatest impressionists, such as Boudin, Manet, Monet, and Renoir. The collection is presented in such a way that you can follow the movement’s progress all the way to post-impressionism, with works by Cezanne, such as the “Pommes et Oranges”, Gauguin’s “Femme de Tahiti” and around 27 of Van Gough’s paintings. We highly recommend taking a guided tour of the museum if you are a first-time visitor; again, it helps to skip the queues.
Opening hours:
- 09:30 – 18:00 Tue, Wed, Fri,
- Sat & Sun. 09:30 – 21:45 Thur
Musee Marmottan Monet
You’ll also find museums completely dedicated to the Impressionists’ individual works. In a former hunting lodge of the Duke of Valmy, you’ll find the Musee Marmottan Monet, home to one of the largest collections of Claude Monet’s works.
The museum showcases up to 100 artworks depicting Monet’s progress as an artist and includes extremely rare pieces through its acquisition of Monet’s house at Giverny. It starts with his groundbreaking painting “Impression, Sunrise”, the painting that is thought to have given the Impression movement its name. You’ll also find such works as “Train in the Snow” and “Reflections on the Thames” in the collection.
Opening hours:
- 11:00 – 18:15 Mon, Tue, Fri,
- Sat & Sun. 11:00 – 20:15 Thur
Contemporary Art
As much as Paris is about the Impressionist movement and history, there is a fair share of contemporary museums too. Here we take a look at some unmissable ones.
Fondation Louis Vuitton
The Bois de Boulogne Park in the 16th arrondissement of Paris is home to one of the trendiest and newest museums in town, Louis Vuitton. The museum is a structural marvel made of more steel than you’ll find at the Eiffel Tower and over 3,600 window panels that light up its galleries. Here, you’ll find a collection of contemporary art from the 1960s to the present day, including pop art, abstract paintings, and video installations.
There’s also a rather grand restaurant, Le Frank, on the ground floor where you can indulge in some gourmet undertakings. The terrace on the rooftop provides incredible views of the park and the Eiffel Tower and offers a rather impressive view of the Paris cityscape in the distance.
Opening hours:
- 11:00 – 20:00 Mon, Wed & Thur.
- 11:00 – 21:00 Fri
Palais de Tokyo
Opposite the Trocadero, there is one of the largest centres for contemporary art in Europe, the Palais de Tokyo. If you head down to the basement, you will be rewarded with one of the largest collections of graffiti works in Paris. The museum also has interactive exhibitions and video installations and plays host to various visiting performing artists.
Opening hours:
- 12:00 – 00:00 every day except Tuesdays
Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemporain
Perhaps overlooked by most because of its location or in favour of the Fondation Louis Vuitton, the Fondation Cartier was and still is a museum and cultural centre for contemporary art.
Opening hours:
- 11:00 – 20:00 Wed, Thur, Fri, Sat & Sun.
- 11:00 – 22:00 Tues
Centre de Pompidou
Centre de Pompidou divides opinion, there are those who find it an eye-sore and those who find the modern industrial pipes and open glass structure inspiring. Whatever your thoughts, the centre’s collection of just about 100,000 pieces of contemporary art goes back to around 1905. The collections cover all categories of art, from film to media to paintings. There are visual installations of artistic films from 1902 to the 21st century and a drawing collection of remarkable graphic art by the likes of Henri Matisse. The contemporary selection includes works by Andy Warhol and other renowned artists born after 1920.
Up on the rooftop, you’ll find Georges; along with its gourmet offerings, you’ll get jaw-dropping views of the Parisian rooftops, including that of the Eiffel Tower.
Opening hours:
- 11:00 – 21:00 Mon, Wed, Fri, Sat & Sun.
- 11:00 – 23:00 Thurs.
- Please note that the museum is closed on the 1st of May.
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