The Best Museums In Paris
Some of the museums in Paris are known for appearing in various films, such as the Louvre museum on several occasions. This museum is also known for containing the famous work of the Mona Lisa and for the glass pyramid that can be seen outside. Even if you are planning your trip with the intention of visiting the cathedrals and churches, cafes or places of Cabaret, a rainy day can be used to visit a museum in Paris. If you are not a big art lover, in this article, we not only mention art museums, we also show you everything from perfume museums to the catacombs of Paris.
Below, you will find a list of the most famous and interesting museums in Paris, where you will find pictorial works by great artistic masters such as Rodin, Manet or Cézanne. Remember that in this list we not only show you the most typical museums such as the Rodin museum, but you will also find different museums such as the wine museum.
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Louvre Museum
The Louvre Museum is one of the most important museums in Paris and one of the mandatory tourist attractions to visit in the Parisian city, well known for its glass pyramid which has appeared in several series and movies. Important historical works such as Leonardo Da Vinci ‘s Mona Lisa are on display in the museum.
- Hours : open every day except Tuesday. The hours are from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. On Wednesdays and Fridays they close at 9:14 p.m.
- Rate : the rates vary if the ticket is purchased online or in person. On the internet it costs a little more but it has fast entrance in which there is less queue to enter. If you decide to buy the ticket there, you must go early as the access queues can be very long.
- Louvre official website: https://www.louvre.fr
Entrance to the Louvre Museum with schedule
Access the Louvre Museum in Paris with a special skip-the-line entrance ticket and enjoy more time to explore art masterpieces, such as Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, from one of the world’s greatest museums.
Pompidou Center
The Georges Pompidou center is known for its architecture where all the entrances such as stairs, elevators and corridors are outside, creating a sensation of mixing irons reminiscent of the chain creation of products in a factory. Each room is decorated in a different color, including the electricity, water and air circuits. Inside you can visit fabulous works of art from cubism, minimalism, surrealism, among many other artistic categories.
- Hours : open every day except Tuesday. The hours are from 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
- Fee : The price of general admission is €14, young people between 18 and 25 years €11. Under 18 free entry.
- Official website: https://www.centrepompidou.fr
Ticket to the permanent collections of the Center Pompidou
The Center Pompidou houses the richest national museum of modern art in Europe and is often called the European MOMA. Enter this contemporary building located in the heart of Paris.
Musée D’orsay
The Orsay museum was previously a train station called Gare d’Orsay. The main hall with a huge golden clock is still preserved from its past. The architecture itself is already a work of art to witness in this museum, but inside you can find a prestigious collection of impressionism, post-impressionism, among other categories. You will be able to appreciate the work of the card players by Cézanne or Olimpia by Manet, among other important works.
- Hours : open every day except Monday. The hours are from 9:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. On Thursdays it closes at 9:30 p.m. approx.
- Fee : Musée Orsay fees vary based on age, time of entry, and whether a combined ticket is purchased. We recommend you visit their website for more information.
- Official website: http://www.musee-orsay.fr
Musée d’Orsay: 1-Day Ticket with Reserved Access
Get reserved access to the Musée d’Orsay in Paris and enjoy more time to see the art masterpieces of one of the best museums in the world. He admires works by painters like Renoir and Van Gogh.
Musée De L’orangerie
Another of the best-known museums in Paris is the Musée de l’Orangerie. In this museum is the series of mural paintings by Monet called “The Water Lilies”, a set that surrounds two of the main rooms of l’Orangerie. Each room in the museum is dedicated to different artists such as Soutine, Cézanne or Renoir.
- Hours : open every day from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., except Tuesday, May 1 and the morning of July 14 and December 25.
- Fee : general admission €12, under 25s free admission.
- Official website: http://www.musee-orangerie.fr/fr
Orangerie Museum: Reserved Entry Ticket
Explore one of Paris’s fine arts museums at your own pace with an advance ticket to the Musée de la Orangerie. Avoid long waits and problems at the box office.
Picasso Museum
The Picasso museum has more than 200 paintings, sculptures, prints, drawings and ceramics that were collected after the artist’s death. These works of great importance appear as works donated to the State by the same family of Picasso. The works are arranged in chronological order and illustrate different techniques and stages of Picasso’s artistic creation.
- Hours : Tuesday to Friday from 10:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. On Saturdays, Sundays and holidays from 9:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
- Rate : The rates vary depending on whether you want an audio guide or not. It also has a reduced rate for those under 25 years of age. We recommend you visit their website for more information.
- Museum website: http://www.museepicassoparis.fr
Priority access to the Picasso Museum
Spend a whole day enjoying the collection of the Picasso Museum in Paris. The collection encompasses more than 5,000 works, in addition to tens of thousands of archival pieces. Skip the lines and go straight into the mansion that houses dazzling works of art.
Musee Rodin
The artist Rodin spent his final years as a guest of the French nation at the Hôtel Biron. When Rodin passed away, all his works were donated to the State and the mansion where he lived all his life was turned into a museum. In the Rodin museum you can see many of his famous works such as The Kiss, The Walking Man and the famous “The Thinker” by Rodin.
- Hours : every day except Monday. The hours are from 10:00 a.m. to 5:45 p.m.
- Fee : general admission costs €10. There are different reduced rates by age or by combination of museums. On their website you will find more information about rates.
- Official website: http://www.musee-rodin.fr
Musée Du Parfum Fragonard
If you are a perfume lover, and you fall in love with fragrances, you can visit the Paris perfume museum. The Fragonard perfume museum shows how perfume is made, its secrets are told and it also houses a fabulous collection of precious bottles dating from antiquity to the most modern.
- Hours : Monday to Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
- Fee : free.
- Official website: https://musee-parfum-paris.fragonard.com
Musée National Des Arts Asiatiques-Guimet
The national museum of Asian arts, or Guimet Museum, contains collections over five thousand years old and showcases the most important civilizations on the Asian continent. It highlights meticulously restored monumental works from Afghanistan and Cambodia.
- Hours : open every day except Tuesday. The hours are from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
- Rate : You can check the rates here.
- Museum website: http://www.guimet.fr
Museum Of Arts Décoratifs
This museum will delight those who love interior decoration. The museum is dedicated to interior design and decoration, with an exhibition of more than 150,000 items. The exhibitions are displayed in chronological order, so you will see how the rooms and interior decoration have evolved over the years.
- Hours : Tuesday to Sunday, closed on Mondays. Visiting hours are from 11:00 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. On Thursdays the rooms begin to close at approximately 8:30 p.m.
- Rate : The price of the rates varies if you want to visit, in addition, a temporary exhibition. In this link you will find information about the rates.
- Exhibition website: http://madparis.fr/musee-des-arts-decoratifs/
Marmottan-Monet Museum
The Monet museum is named after Paul Marmottan, who donated his house and art collection to the Institut de France. To his works were added more than a hundred paintings by Monet, donated by his son, and interesting works by contemporary artists such as Renoir and Pissarro.
- Hours : Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
- Rate : €10, €7.50 under 18s and free for under 7s.
- Official website: http://www.marmottan.fr
Musee National Du Moyen-Age
In this museum, also known as the Cluny museum, all forms of art from the Middle Ages are represented. The museum is located in the ruins of Gallo-Roman baths from the 3rd century, so visiting this museum will bring you closer to two types of art.
- Hours : every day, except Tuesday, from 9:15 a.m. to 5:45 p.m.
- Fee : the price of admission is €5 and admission is free for those under 26 who are members of the EU. The museum is also free on the first Sunday of the month.
- Museum website: http://www.musee-moyenage.fr
Louis Vuitton Foundation
The opening of the Fondation Louis Vuitton in 2014 is one of the biggest cultural events in Paris. It is a wonderful building of 12 thousand square meters located in the Bois de Boulogne built by the architect Frank Ghery in glass, steel and wood. The structure represents a large sailing ship with all its sails unfurled. It only houses transitory collections.
- Hours : the hours vary in each season and month of the year, it is better to consult the official website.
- Fee : the ticket price is €16.
- Museum website: https://www.fondationlouisvuitton.fr
Musée De L’armee Des Invalides
The Musée des Invalides Armada contains weapons from around the world, armour, uniforms and memorabilia of famous generals. The museum highlights the great exhibition on the Second World War.
- Hours : every day from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. From November to March the closing is at 5:00 p.m.
- Rate : general admission €12. For reduced rates we recommend you visit the website.
- Museum website: http://www.musee-armee.fr
Les Invalides: Napoleon’s Tomb and Army Museum
The Palais des Invalides houses one of the world’s largest art and military history collections and offers a unique perspective on French history. Explore its permanent collections, the Dome Church and Napoleon’s tomb.
Catacombs Of Paris
These underground tunnels, more than 300 kilometers long, were excavated mainly for the extraction of limestone. Due to an attempt to stop epidemics and diseases, in 1786 the bodies of different cemeteries and graves were transferred to these large tunnels. Today a small part of these huge catacombs can be visited. The entrance to this labyrinthine complex is located on Avenida Colonel Henri Rol-Tanguy nº1. The visit is not recommended for sensitive people, children and people with heart or respiratory failure.
- Hours : Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.
- Fee : the price of the tickets to the catacombs varies depending on whether you want to add an audio guide or add a visit to the archaeological zone. For more information on prices you can visit this link.
- Catacombs website: http://www.catacombes.paris.fr
Paris Catacombs: Skip-the-Line Ticket with Audio Guide
Skip the lines to the catacombs of Paris and discover the dark side of the City of Light. She descends into the depths of Paris and listens to explanations from an informative audio guide available in four languages.
Wine Museum
If you are passionate about wine, in this exhibition you will be able to see more than two thousand objects related to the cultivation and aging of wines. During the exhibition you can also do a tasting and buy the bottle that you like the most.
- Hours : Tuesday to Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
- Rate : €13.90 and a glass of wine is offered. They have rates for tastings and wine demonstrations.
- Museum website: http://www.museeduvinparis.com
Natural History Museum Of Paris – Gallery Of Evolution
This museum, located in the Latin Quarter, is one of the best museums to go to with children. The natural history museum is divided into different buildings and themes. In the Gallery of Evolution, some seven thousand species of animals are shown with which to learn about them from their diet to their life conditions.
- Hours : from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. every day except Tuesday when the museum is closed.
- Fee : ticket prices vary if you add the visit to temporary exhibitions or galleries dedicated to children’s learning. In this link you will find information about prices.
- Official website: https://www.mnhn.fr/gallery-evolution