Museums Paris

The museums and cultural offer of Paris is one of the largest in Europe, so much so that sometimes you need a guideline to avoid getting lost among so much variety and to be able to make a better selection. It is impossible to stay with just one, but as I imagine that your time in Paris will not be infinite, I leave you a list of the most important museums in the city so you can choose which one or which ones you dedicate your time to.

It needs no introduction; it is the museum par excellence of Paris and one of the largest art collections in Europe. I advise you to book tickets in advance and choose a time slot to visit the museum (the slot is only for the entrance, once inside there is no time limit).

Otherwise, you run the risk that the tickets for the Louvre will be sold out due to the influx of visitors and you will have to wait in long lines. Therefore, I recommend that you book the general admission to the Louvre without queues.

The Louvre collection is so immense that you can spend as much time as you want; in this museum you will find works such as La Gioconda by Leonardo Da Vinci, Liberty Leading the People by Delacroix, the Venus de Milo, The Marriage at Cana by Veronese, The Victory of Samothrace and an impressive collection of Egyptian art.

Skip the line entrance with audio guide

If you are interested in the Louvre, I invite you to read the guide I have written about the Louvre. Paris Louvre Museum Tickets and Tours: how to buy, prices and discounts. There is also the option of visiting the Louvre at your own pace with an audio guide, so that you can understand the details of what you see as you walk through the interior of the incredible building.

Guided tour

But there is undoubtedly one option that for me is the most recommended. To enjoy in depth the visual spectacle in front of you I recommend 100% a guided tour of the Louvre Museum; when a professional explains the main works of the museum you enjoy and learn twice as much and in half the time.

Family option

If you are traveling with your family and you are thinking about not visiting the Louvre with children: don't do it! It is true that if you visit the museum with them on their own they can get bored if they spend many hours inside, but you have the option of hiring a visit with a specific audio guide for children that will awaken their interest in art and culture.

Details of interest

I find it hard to be objective about this museum because, of all the museums in Paris, it is my favorite. The impressionist paintings of Monet and the plaster replica of Rodin's Gate of Hell are my favorite works and to these we must add the wonders created by artists such as Cézanne and Gauguin.

The dimensions of the museum, divided into two floors, and the lateral and orderly arrangement of the rooms allow you to enjoy it without stress and calmly. In addition, the light that bathes the main gallery and the tranquility that permeates the atmosphere make this place a very special place.

Guided tour

In my case, I prefer to enjoy it alone, but do not rule out the guided tour of the Musée D'Orsay that will give you the information you need both to fall in love with the museum itself and the works of art it contains.

Entrance with audio guide and cruise included

If you are visiting the museum for the first time, don't hesitate to take the audio guide. The works of art housed in the Musée D'Orsay have wonderful lessons behind them. A highly recommended option to extend the experience of visiting this museum, is to complete the day with a cruise on the Seine.

There is a combined option for both activities, the entrance to the museum with audio guide and cruise on the Seine, which will be very economical if you are interested in both activities.

Interesting details

The contemporary art museum in Paris is one of the most original museums you can see in Europe and one of the largest collections of contemporary art in the world. With a very particular architecture, the Pompidou Museum is divided into four floors (there are two others dedicated to temporary exhibitions) where you can see works by Duchamp, Kandinsky, Picasso and Matisse.

Contemporary art lovers will enjoy key works, but those less familiar with this discipline will also enjoy this essential reference in Paris for the originality of the collection.

Organize your visit

The spaciousness of the rooms of the Pompidou Museum allows you to experience a visit away from crowds. If you are traveling with children and you have to choose only one museum to take them to, choose the Pompidou; the contact with art will be much more fun and closer than in "conventional" museums and will awaken their curiosity.

Although it is not usual to find long queues at the Pompidou, you can also buy tickets in advance on their website.

Useful details

Whether you are familiar with Rodin's work or have never seen one of his sculptures, you have to go to this museum. The collection of 400 works collected inside a historic mansion of the eighteenth century is mixed with the exposed in wonderful gardens where you can stroll without crowds or rush.

As always, I recommend you to get your ticket to the Rodin Museum in advance to simply arrive and enjoy.

Why I like this museum

The Rodin Museum is a haven among the museums of Paris; a breath of fresh air in which the green of nature is mixed with sculptures such as the Gate of Hell, the Balzac, The Burghers of Calais or The Thinker. When you leave this visit you will not feel like big crowds; the Eiffel Tower is within walking distance, I recommend you to go there and lie down to contemplate the surroundings on the Champs de Mars.

Interesting details

If you like impressionist painting, it is in this museum where you can delight yourself with impressionist and post-impressionist works by Matisse, Picasso, Renoir or Cézanne. Located near the Louvre, in the Tulleries garden, the Orangerie is a small and specialized museum (you will recognize it by its appearance of Greek temple), but still remains one of the most visited in Paris and one of the most prominent in the city.

You may have seen Monet' s painting of the water lilies (the one he painted up to 250 times in search of perfection); eight of those works are in this museum. To make sure you don't miss out, be sure to buy your ticket to the Musée de l'Orangerie in advance.

Details of interest

The Spanish artist, a reference in cubism, always had Paris as his second home. If you take a guided tour of the Montmartre district, you will discover the places he frequented during his stay in the French capital and more than one anecdote about the artist. For this reason, there could not fail to be a museum dedicated to his figure in Paris, specifically in the Marais district (a neighborhood that, by the way, is worth visiting).

Although it is not the largest existing collection of this artist, the works and documentation collected in this museum are still a window into the life and work of the Spanish genius. In addition, with your ticket to the Picasso Museum you can also admire pieces by Matisse, Miró, Derain or Cézanne that were part of the artist's own collection.

Details of interest

You have to move away from the center of Paris to see this museum dedicated to the First World War, but if you are especially interested in this part of history will be worth buying the ticket to the Museum of the Great War, being able to see a total of 70,000 objects and historical documents.

The collection began thanks to a private historian, Jean-Pierre Verney, who was gathering for 50 years the objects that were later bought by the community of Pays de Meaux, which currently houses the museum. One of the advantages of this museum is that it is adapted so that children can also visit it and, in an interactive way, learn a little more about this important period in the history of Europe.

Details of interest

Not all the works of art in Paris are displayed on a pedestal or in a frame. The cultural legacy of the city is also something worth admiring and within this legacy is framed the French wine tradition. In this museum you will learn more about wine, its production and its importance in the French capital. The entrance to the Wine Museum also includes wine tasting.

The wine museum is located in the surroundings of the Eiffel Tower and its galleries are built on the old quarries of Passy.

Details of interest

France is a country that attaches great importance to its military history whose achievements are embodied in the figure of Napoleon. On a visit to the Musée des Invalides, located in the hotel of the same name, you will learn about the European political landscape while viewing the collection of armor, war paintings, weapons and other objects related to the French Revolution and World War II.

The visit also includes the Dome Church where Napoleon's tomb is located.

Details of interest

Impressionist painter Auguste Renoir lived in what is now the Montmartre museum and so the stunning gardens surrounding the museum (overlooking a secret vineyard) still bear his name. This museum is dedicated to nostalgia; nostalgia divided between Renoir's life and the essence of the Montmartre neighborhood that inspired the artist during one of the most relevant artistic periods of his career.

In the Montmartre museum the most important thing is not the works of art (which are also there) but the history of a neighborhood and an era, the history of the artistic bohemia of Paris. If you fell in love with the stories of this place and those who inhabited it, I recommend you to visit the Montmartre Museum and take some time to assimilate all that this museum has to tell you.

Interesting details

The Petit Palais building, at the beginning of the Avenue des Champs Elysées, houses works of art ranging from antiquity to the early twentieth century whose set is known as the Museum of Fine Arts of the city of Paris.

Admission to the permanent collection is free, but the most interesting in this museum are the temporary exhibitions. It is also advisable to take a look at the building itself and walk through the placid central garden.

Interesting details

All major cities have a wax museum in which are represented the great personalities that are part of the history of the city. Paris was not going to be less and also in his case, the wax museum (Grevin Museum) is quite successful and enlivened with the show you'll find in the Mirage Gallery.

Ryan Gosling, Marilyn Monroe, Louis XIV or Mozart are some of the figures represented in the museum. This is one of the most fun visits to do with the family, but I recommend booking tickets to the Grevin Museum in advance to avoid the queues that form at the entrance.

Interesting details

In this museum you are not going to see works of art or learn about history. In this museum you will have a good time and you will be amazed at what your own senses can deceive you. The museum of illusions is, as its name suggests, focused on optical phenomena and intellectual challenges.

This experience, which can also be enjoyed in cities such as New York, Shanghai, Toronto or Dubai, is ideal to share with friends or children. If you want to take a break between visits on your trip to Paris, book your tickets to the Museum of Illusions and enjoy a different experience.

Details of interest

You better not go hungry to this museum, because you run the risk of catching a sugar rush. The visit to the Paris Chocolate Museum includes a tasting of all the chocolate you want and will help you learn about the history of what is one of France's most renowned confectionery and, of course, how it is made.

With a one and a half hour audio-guided tour that you can book online, your mouth will be watering during this visit.

Details of interest

There are gastronomic museums, art museums, museums of the history of those who inhabited the city, war museums... Of course, there had to be one that tells the evolution of the city of Paris itself from its birth to the present day.

This is the Carnavalet Museum, is located in the Marais district and houses all kinds of works of art, models, furniture and other objects related to the history of the French capital. A recommended visit for all those who are curious to know how the City of Light has become what it is today.

Interesting details

Don't let the name confuse you; in this museum you will not learn about the history of Japan, but you will still experience key pieces of modern and contemporary art similar to those of the Pompidou Museum. The Palais de Tokyo houses a smaller collection than its big brother, but equally interesting.

The Palais de Tokyo museum flees from the traditional to become a center of artistic creation in which the visual arts, fashion or music have a place. One of the most original and necessary visits for those art lovers looking for something new and out of the norm.

Details of interest

Access to the permanent collection of this museum, in one of the wings of the Palais de Tokyo, is free. The Museum of Modern Art focuses on 20th century painting and therefore on trends such as surrealism, Dadaism, Fauvism or Cubism by artists such as Modigliani, Picasso, Matisse or Braque.

The Museum of Modern Art usually goes unnoticed by most, but I assure you that it is worth a visit.

Details of interest

Paris is the great capital of the arts, so it has many cultural centers where you can enjoy knowing the heritage of its artists. If in addition to visiting its monuments you have proposed to make your visit a real experience on French art and culture, I leave below other exhibitions to complete your cultural agenda:

• Louis Vuitton Foundation in Paris: just to see the building that houses this museum is worth a visit. Its architecture emulating a ship will impress you inside and out and inside you will enjoy a collection of modern and contemporary art.
• La Bourse Commerce - Pinault Collection in Paris: discover the contemporary works of the collector Francois Pinault in this space of more than 2,800 square meters that was in the eighteenth century the building of the Paris Stock Exchange.
• The World of Banksy exhibition in Paris: the mysterious graffiti artist Banksy has a large number of murals around the world that leave no one indifferent. In this immersive exhibition about his work you can learn more about the satire and social activism that this well-known British artist tries to convey.
• Marmottan Monet Museum in Paris: if you like Monet's work, this is your museum. It is the largest collection of paintings by the impressionist artist. Among all the paintings housed in the museum you can explore the mythical 'Impression, rising sun'.
• Jacquemart-André Museum in Paris: near the Champs Elysees is this house-museum with an important collection of private art where you can see Italian sculptures of the fifteenth and sixteenth century and you can also explore the rooms that evoke the Italian palaces.
• Quai Branly Museum - Jacques Chirac in Paris: it is a collection of works of art from all over the world that show the cultural diversity of the five continents. From masks to weapons through musical instruments or tapestries, a suggestive collection that will surprise you.
• Hotel de la Marine in Paris: although it is not a museum as such, this iconic monument of the eighteenth century that preserves the impressive decoration of the time, also has a collection of works that shows the evolution of art from ancient civilizations to the present day...

If you are a museum lover and after reading this list you have already jotted down several in your travel plan, I recommend you invest in the Paris Museum Pass, a city pass that includes free admission without queues to all museums for 2, 4 or 6 consecutive days depending on the mode you choose.

Organize yourself according to the time you have to see the city (the museum offer is only a part of what there is to see in Paris), the size of the museums you want to see and the areas in which each one is located. Once you are clear on this, I think the Paris Museum Pass can compensate you if there are several museums on your list to see during your visit.

Ana's Traveller Tip

In Paris, museums are usually closed on Monday or Tuesday. Keep this in mind when planning your visit.

If in addition to the cultural offerings that Paris has to offer, you feel like completing your visit to the City of Light with some other more relaxed attraction, a good icing on the cake is always to climb the Eiffel Tower and enjoy the incredible views of the city from the top. I leave you this article I wrote about Eiffel Tower Tickets: how to buy and prices so you can read all the details you need to know when planning your visit.

If on the other hand you feel like relaxing while you see the most incredible buildings of the city, taking a cruise on the Seine will be a great option. I have also written a guide on Seine River Cruises in Paris to tell you everything you need. Bon voyage!