24 museums to visit in Paris (and neither the Louvre nor the Pompidou are on the list)

Paris is one of the cities with the most museums in the world, it has more than 200, from the very famous ones, such as the Louvre or the Musée d'Orsay, which you have to reserve in advance to enter, to dozens of small, almost unknown museums that In any other place they would be top of the line, but in the French capital they are overshadowed by the large institutions.

The latter are a great alternative if you can't get a ticket to the big museums, and discovering them can also be, in itself, a good excuse for new city breaks.

Even in a place as touristy as Paris there are places that almost no one visits.

Maybe they are not the option for a first contact with the city, but for some reason this is a destination to which you always return.

For example, a wonderful, simpler option than the Musée d'Orsay for Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art might be the Musée de l'Orangerie, where Monet's gigantic

Water Lilies

hang , or the charming Musée Marmottan Monet, in the former hunting lodge of the Duke of Valmy, with the world's largest collection of the painter.

There are also paintings by this and other artists in the Musée des Beaux-Arts de la Ville de Paris at the Petit Palais, as well as Renaissance objects.

To see romantic art, instead of seeing the works of Eugène Delacroix in the Louvre you can go to the beautiful Musée National Eugène Delacroix or to the church of Saint-Sulpice to see his frescoes.

In a mansion with a garden, the Musée de la Vie Romantique is a wonderful ode to that era.

More information in the Lonely Planet Paris guide and at lonelyplanet.es.

Instead of going to see modern and contemporary art at the Center Pompidou (which will close for renovations starting at the end of 2024), you can opt for smaller museums, such as the municipal Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris;

or focus on specific artists in places like Dalí Paris, with more than 300 works by the surrealist genius;

or the Giacometti Institute, with sculptures, paintings and drawings by Giacometti.

If contemporary art is your thing, digital art is projected at the Atelier des Lumières.

Paris is also a fabulous blank canvas for graffiti and street art, a specialty of Galerie Itinerrance, which can recommend walks to discover examples through the streets.

More information

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1. City of Architecture and Heritage, France in models

In the east wing of the Palais de Chaillot, opposite the Eiffel Tower, the Cité de l'architecture et du patrimoine is dedicated to French architecture and heritage and is quite a trip without leaving Paris.

In its rooms illuminated with natural light, 350 plaster casts taken from the best monuments in the country are exhibited, which began to be made after the desecration of many buildings during the French Revolution.

Some of the originals from which molds were extracted were later destroyed in various wars and allow us to see a France that no longer exists.

Bronze statue of Apollo in front of the Cité de l'architecture et du patrimoine, in Paris.Alamy Stock Photo

Walking through such a splendid collection of church porticos, gargoyles, saints and sinners from all over France is an incomparable experience.

On the upper floors, reproductions of murals and stained glass windows of some of the most important monuments in France are displayed.

One of the most beautiful is the dome of the Saint-Étienne cathedral, in Toulouse.

2. National Museum of the Middle Ages, home of the Lady with the Unicorn

One of the six tapestries of 'The Lady with the Unicorn', exhibited in the National Museum of the Middle Ages, in Paris.Alamy Stock Photo

The National Museum of the Middle Ages has recently been renovated and contains true medieval treasures, from statues, stained glass and artistic objects to the famous series of

The Lady with the Unicorn

tapestries (1500).

Two of its jewels are a 15th century mansion, called Hôtel de Cluny, and the

frigidarium

(cold room) of enormous Roman baths.

Designed by architect Bernard Desmoulin, the renovation has given it a modern layout, with improved explanation panels and interactive exhibitions, and has regained access to the first floor of the Hôtel de Cluny with its late Gothic chapel, the Chapelle de l'Hôtel de Cluny .

And, if that were not enough, outside it preserves beautiful medieval gardens.

3. La Pinacothèque, discover unexplored artists

One of the rooms at La Pinacothèque, in Paris.JACQUES DEMARTHON (AFP via Getty Images)

On the Place de la Madeleine is the main private museum in Paris, opened less than twenty years ago at the initiative of the art historian Marc Restellini.

The Pinacothèque has gained fame for the extraordinary temporary exhibitions it organizes three or four times a year specializing in little-explored periods or artists and in unexhibited works, ranging from archeology to contemporary art, and from Mayan masks to retrospectives of artists such as Edvard Munch.

You should also not miss its permanent collection displayed thematically.

4. Marmottan Monet Museum, the magical world of an artist

A painting by Pierre-Auguste Renoir in the 'Monet Collectionneur' exhibition, 2017, at the Marmottan Monet Museum, in Paris.AFP Contributor (AFP via Getty Images)

Located in the former hunting lodge of the Duke of Valmy (actually a Parisian mansion west of the Seine), this intimate museum brings together the world's largest collection of paintings and sketches by Claude Monet.

Visiting the Marmottan Monet Museum gives a sample of his work, starting with paintings such as

Impression, Rising Sun

(1873),

Walk near Argenteuil

(1875) and numerous studies of water lilies, before moving on to the rest of the collection, much more abstract. from the early 1900s. Among the masterpieces in his collection are

The Corvette

(1887),

Rouen Cathedral

(1892),

London, Parliament

(1901) and the various

Nymphaeas,

many of them smaller-scale studies of the works today exhibited at the Musée de l'Orangerie.

And all this completed with some paintings by Renoir, Pissarro, Gauguin and Morisot.

5. L'Orangerie and the Jeu de Paume, the Jardin des Tuileries and its museums

The Tuileries Garden, a typically Parisian park filled with fountains, classical sculptures and magnificent views around every turn, was designed in 1664 by André Le Nôtre, who also created the gardens of Vaux-le-Vicomte and Versailles.

The western end of the park was occupied by the Tuileries Palace (home of Napoleon, among others), from the 16th century until 1871, when it was destroyed during the Paris Commune revolt.

What you see today is the old Orangerie and Jeu de Paume.

The complex is part of the area on the banks of the Seine declared a world heritage site by UNESCO in 1991.

Monet's water lilies in the oval room of the Musée de l'Orangerie, in the French capital.Alamy Stock Photo

Located in a 19th-century orangery, the Musée de l'Orangerie is a marvel.

The star is the two oval rooms on the upper floor, where eight enormous and ethereal Monet Water Lilies

are displayed

, bathed in natural light.

Below is the private collection of art dealer Paul Guillaume (1891-1934), with works by the great names of early modern art: Cézanne, Matisse, Picasso, Renoir, Modigliani, Soutine and Utrillo.

It is advisable to arrive early because, although it is less known than the Musée D'Orsday (entrance is joint), there is always a queue.

The other museum in the Tuileries is the fantastic Jeu de Paume, located in the palace's former royal tennis court, which hosts innovative photographic exhibitions.

6. Museum of Romantic Life, a trip with Chopin and George Sand

Exterior of the Musée de la Vie Romantique, in Paris.Bruno DE HOGUES (Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)

Entering this mansion with green shutters can be a trip to another era, to romantic Paris, when George Sand (Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin), Chopin (Sand's lover), Delacroix and other intellectuals frequented the halls of today's Musée de la Vie Romantique .

In this house, in a cobblestone courtyard at the end of a tree-shaded alley, lived the Dutch painter Ary Scheffer.

The objects on display create a completely period atmosphere and there are interesting temporary exhibitions.

You can end the visit enjoying tea and cakes in the beautiful summer garden.

And if you visit between November and June, it may coincide with a classical music concert.

7. The Petit Palais and the Museum of Fine Arts, the echo of the Universal Exhibition

The Petit Palais in Paris, Unesco world heritage.Alamy Stock Photo

Le Petit Palais is an architectural marvel that was built for the 1900 World's Fair and is home to the Musée des Beaux-Arts de la Ville de Paris.

He specializes in artistic objects

medieval and Renaissance works, as well as 19th-century French painting and sculpture.

It also brings together paintings by artists such as Rembrandt, Colbert, Cézanne, Monet, Gauguin and Delacroix.

8. Museum of Modern Art of the Villa de Paris, a journey to the avant-garde

Exterior appearance of the Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris, in May 2022.Alamy Stock Photo

The permanent collection of the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris (MAM) exhibits works representative of almost all the great artistic movements of the 20th and 21st centuries, with works by Modigliani, Matisse, Braque and Soutine.

The real gem is the room where canvases by Raoul Dufy and Pierre Bonnard hang.

It is advisable to visit its avant-garde temporary exhibitions and download the multilingual application to take the guided tour.

9. Yves Saint Laurent Museum, a haute couture show

One of the rooms of the Parisian museum dedicated to the designer Yves Saint Laurent.Alamy Stock Photo

The studio of legendary designer Yves Saint Laurent (1936-2008) is now a museum offering retrospectives of YSL's avant-garde designs, from early sketches to finished pieces.

The temporary exhibitions reveal the creative process by which a haute couture collection is designed and the history of fashion in the 20th century.

Through the original atmosphere of a haute couture house, an attempt is made to recreate a world, that of those fashion salons, that practically no longer exists.

The building can only accommodate a small number of visitors so it is advisable to book

online

.

10. Édith Piaf Museum, two rooms full of memories

There are only two rooms, but admirers of the most emblematic French singer make a pilgrimage to see her house museum.

It is in Ménilmontant, just under two kilometers from Édith Piaf's birthplace and closer to where she is buried, Père Lachaise.

The Edith Piaf Museum (a private museum) reviews the singer's life and professional career through memorabilia, recordings, personal objects, letters and other documents.

Among the relics are her china and her porcelain vases, her large collection of size 34 shoes and some of her black dresses, so sober, as well as promotional photographs, letters from her admirers and all kinds of objects that she collected along the way. of their life.

And the best: listen to some of her songs within the four walls of this humble house-museum.

11. Nissim de Camondo Museum, the mansion of a Sephardic family in 18th century Paris

The Grand Salon of the Nissim de Commando museum, in Paris, with furniture and works from the 18th century.Alamy Stock Photo

Another of the mansions in Paris that takes the traveler back in time, and to the aristocratic luxury of the 18th century, is the Nissim de Comando museum, built between 1911 and 1914. It is the reconstruction of a private aristocratic house that is inspired by the Petit Trianon of Versailles.

Inside, everything is reproduced as it would have been at the time, from the living rooms to the kitchens.

There are furniture, coffered ceilings, tapestries, porcelain and art objects collected by Count Moïse de Camondo, a Sephardic Jewish banker who moved from Constantinople to Paris at the end of the 19th century.

It is a very special place to travel to a lifestyle and learn about a family history that died with World War II.

12. Cernuschi Museum, ancient oriental art

One of the sculptures exhibited at the Cernuschi museum, during its reopening in March 2020.Alamy Stock Photo

Reopened in March 2020 after nine months closed for renovation, the Cernuschi Museum has a unique and excellent collection of ancient Chinese art (funerary statues, bronzes and ceramics).

Much of the collection predates the Tang dynasty (618-907) and there are several Japanese pieces.

The Milan banker and philanthropist Henri Cernuschi (1821-1896), who settled in Paris before the unification of Italy, assembled this collection on a trip around the world from 1871 to 1873.

13. Eugène Delacroix National Museum, an artist's studio

'Saint Michel et le Dragon', fresco by Eugène Delacroix in the Saint-Sulpice church, in Paris.PHILIPPE LOPEZ (AFP via Getty Images)

The Eugène Delacroix Museum, in a courtyard next to a square shaded by a pretty tree, was Delacroix's romantic home and studio when he died on August 13, 1863. It contains a collection of his oil paintings, watercolors and drawings, including

The Education of the Virgin

(1842) and his paintings from Morocco.

In Paris, there are more works by this artist in the Louvre (the famous

Liberty Leading the People

hangs on its walls ), the Musée d'Orsay and there are also frescoes in the Église Saint-Sulpice.

14. Dalí Paris, journey to Dalinian surrealism

One of Salvador Dalí's sculptures exhibited in the museum dedicated to the artist in Monmartre (Paris).Alamy Stock Photo

This museum and art gallery, in a basement west of Place du Tertre, displays more than 300 works by Salvador Dalí (1904-1989).

The private Dalí Paris collection includes some rare sculptures (mostly reproductions), lithographs, many of his illustrations, and his furniture, such as Mae West's famous lip-shaped sofa.

15. Dapper Foundation Museum, Africa and the Caribbean in the heart of the French capital

The largest collection of African and Caribbean art in the world is installed in a magical setting.

The Fondation Dapper is a small museum, but when you leave it is as if you came back from an incredible trip.

The exhibitions rotate throughout the year, but there is also a large permanent collection of ritual and festive masks and costumes.

Its active auditorium hosts cultural events year-round, from concerts to storytelling and movies.

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16. Perfume Museum, discover with smell

Exhibition of antique perfume bottles at the Fragonard Perfume Museum, in Paris.Alamy Stock Photo

This thematic museum installed in a beautiful mansion can be a curious choice to discover other worlds and other arts.

The Fragonard Perfume Museum proposes an original olfactory journey in the heart of Paris, very close to the Opera Garnier, through a collection of copper distillation tanks and antique flasks and tests your sense of smell with several basic essences.

In a didactic way, it shows all the stages that give life to this legendary luxury item.

The second part of the museum reviews the history of perfume, from ancient Egypt to the 20th century.

It is managed by the Fragonard perfumery, founded in 1926 in Grasse, one of the most iconic essence manufacturing houses in France.

17. Maillol Museum – Dina Vierny Foundation, a private collection

Sculptures by Aristide Maillol, in the Maillol Museum, in Paris.Alamy Stock Photo

This is a splendid small museum focused on the work of sculptor Aristide Maillol (1861-1944), although it also includes works by Matisse, Gauguin, Kandinsky, Cézanne and Picasso.

They all come from the private collection of Dina Vierny (1915-2009), born in Odessa and a Maillol model for 10 years, since she was 15. The museum is in the sensational Hôtel Bouchardon, an 18th-century building.

18. Carnavalet Museum, the entire history of Paris

Courtyard of the Hôtel Carnavalet, where the homonymous museum dedicated to the history of Paris is located.Alamy Stock Photo

This museum is one of the best surprises in the city.

It is almost hidden in two important mansions: the Hôtel Carnavalet, from 1560, and the Hôtel Le Peletier de St-Fargeau, from 1688, which house the Paris history museum, all displayed in a veritable labyrinth of period rooms in which There are more than 600,000 pieces of art, artifacts and historical objects.

You can easily spend half a day enjoying its permanent collection (free) and temporary exhibitions (fee).

The Hôtel Carnavalet is a Renaissance-style mansion where Madame de Sevigné lived in the 17th century and preserves some of her belongings, as well as many pieces of art and objects that evoke Paris in the 17th and 18th centuries.

It also exhibits documents, paintings and objects from the French Revolution, and things as curious as Marcel Proust's cork-lined bedroom, where he wrote

In Search of Lost Time.

19. Giacometti Institute, an artist in his workshop

Recreation of Giacometti's studio, at the Giacometti Institute in Paris.Alamy Stock Photo

Opened in 2018, this museum occupies the former workshop of the artist Paul Follot, inside an

art deco

mansion with golden tiles (listed as historical heritage), and is dedicated to the Swiss artist Alberto Giacometti (1901-1966), who lived and worked in the neighborhood.

The 350 square meter space shows a reconstruction of Giacometti's workshop and 350 sculptures, 90 paintings and more than 2,000 drawings.

You have to book

online

in advance to be able to visit it.

Every year three or four temporary exhibitions are organized, which are an excellent opportunity to visit a museum outside the circuit of large art galleries.

20. Henri Cartier-Bresson Foundation, immersion in great photography

Founded by the couple formed by the famous French humanist photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908-2004) and the portrait photographer Martine Franck (1938-2012), the Henri Cartier-Bresson Foundation exhibits their works and organizes exhibitions of French and international photographers .

Cartier-Bresson was a pioneer of artistic photojournalism, created a photography department for the resistance and co-founded the Magnum collective agency.

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21. Cognacq-Jay Museum, life in the times of the Enlightenment

Portrait of Marie Anne de Bourbon-Condé (1678-1718), Duchess of Vendôme, part of the collection of the Musée Cognacq-Jay (Paris).Heritage Images (Heritage Images via Getty Images)

Inside the Hôtel de Donon, the Musée Cognacq-Jay displays oil and pastel paintings, sculptures,

objets d'art,

jewelry, porcelain, and 18th-century furniture collected by Ernest Cognacq (1839-1928), founder of the Musée department store Cognacq-Jay, and his wife Marie-Louise Jay.

Although Cognacq understood little of his collection and even boasted of never having visited the Louvre and of collecting only for social status, the pieces on display give a good idea of ​​the tastes of the upper class during the Enlightenment.

22. Atelier des Lumières, the digital art museum

Visitors to the immersive exhibition 'Marc Chagall, Paris - New York', in February 2023, at the Atelier des Lumieres in Paris.Chesnot (Getty Images)

A former foundry from 1835, which was responsible for supplying iron to the railways and the French Navy, houses the first digital art museum in Paris.

Located in La Halle, and with a space of 1,500 square meters, dazzling light projections flood the bare walls of Atelier des Lumières.

The long programs (approximately 30 minutes) are based on works by historical artists;

but there is also a shorter contemporary program.

The projections are continuous.

In the Le Studio space, emerging and established digital artists can be discovered.

23. Galerie Itinerrance, graffiti and street art

Urban art in the 13th arrondissement of Paris.Alamy Stock Photo

Galerie Itinerrance is another visit for lovers of the avant-garde.

A testament to 13e's current creative renaissance, this cool gallery showcases graffiti and street art.

Advises on self-guided and guided tours of the street art of the Parisian neighborhood.

The exhibitions and events change, so the visit always tastes like something new.

24. Jacquemart-André Museum, alternating with 19th century Parisian high society

The stairs of the Jacquemart-Andre Museum, a private museum in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, currently closed for renovation.Alamy Stock Photo

It is the second most important private museum in Paris along with La Pinacothèque.

At the end of the 19th century, Parisian high society met for lavish evenings in this mansion owned by art collectors Nélie Jacquemart and Edouard André, designed in the fashionable eclectic style, combining elements from different periods: Roman and Greek antiquities, Egyptian objects , period furniture and portraits of Dutch masters.

Currently closed for renovation, when the Jacquemart-André Museum reopens its doors—scheduled for September 2024—it will allow the lifestyle and tastes of the city's upper classes to be revived, from the library with Rembrandt paintings to the wonderful Jardin d'Hiver, a glass conservatory with a magnificent double staircase as a backdrop.

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