Museums in Paris

 

Here are the best inconvertible Museums in Paris

1.) Louvre Museum

Louvre MuseumWe could rank the Louvre among the best museums of the world. While most tourists come to see Mona Lisa, you should know that it has much more to offer: The lower ground floor is renowned for its collections of Egyptian, Greek and Roman Antiquities. The ground floor contains one of the best collections of the XVI to XIX century Italian sculptures, and also features French sculptures from V to XVIII century. You will also find a rich collection of art from the Middle-Ages and the Restoration. On the second floor you will meet all kinds of Dutch, Flemish and German drawings and paintings. Each one of the Museum’s floors would easily be a world-class museum individually.

The Tuileries Garden, just near the Louvre, is also a very nice green space in Paris where you can have a wonderful view of the Place de la Concorde and then of the Arc of Triumph. You can learn about it in a right bank – Paris Landmarks Walking Tour.

2.) Orsay Museum

Musée d\'OrsayThe Orsay Museum is the link between the Louvre and the Beaubourg museums as its collections cover the chronological gap between those two museums. There you will admire the biggest Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art collection in the world (mid-XIX century to early XX). The Orsay Museum is probably one of the most appreciated by tourists. On the ground floor you will meet Degas, Delacroix, Manet, Monet and their pre-impressionist works. The middle floor has famous sculptures and paintings by Galle, Klimt, Munch, Denis, and other well-known artists. The upper level is where Impressionism and Post-Impressionism works really stand out. Degas, along with Cezanne, Gauguin, Manet, Matisse, Monet, Pissaro, Renoir, Seurat, Van Gogh and Whistler are presented there, and accessible, which is why tourists love the museum.

3.) The Pompidou Center – Beaubourg Museum

The Centre PompidouContinuing our chronological progression, this museum hosts modern and contemporary art in Paris. Normally, you won’t miss the colorful tubes and all kinds of pipes architecture almost shocking at first sight. If Dada and surrealism appeal to you, do not miss this museum. If not, go discover it. Throughout your visit, you will meet famous names like Warhol, Jackson Pollack, Rothko, Kandinsky, Miro and Picasso…

Peculiar Museums and Foreign Art

If you have children
The Cité des Sciences et de l’industrie:
It is the place where every curious child wants to go. In addition to very enriching temporary exhibitions for everybody, this museum has collections of machines and weird mechanisms that will teach you science in the most playful way. Children will learn about physics and chemistry playing with a water mill and will, therefore, produce electricity. They can also gaze at an artificial anthill to understand the organization of those insects…

Also, do not miss the Géode, which is the biggest spherical movie theatre in the world: Thrills are guaranteed!

The Grévin Museum:
Their motto is “Become the star you have always wanted to be: meet French and US presidents, football stars and great actors and singers”. How? It is a wax museum updated every year with new public figures. The technique and the result are very accurate and realistic: when people accidentally bump into a statue, they apologize to it!

Foreign Art
The Quai Branly Museum:
This recent museum housed in a brand new modern building opened in 2006. The collections are based on non-Western civilizations’ art: They contain artworks, costumes and artifacts from Africa, Asia and Oceania mostly. You must not miss the astonishing collection of musical instruments, which are displayed in a sort of glass tube that runs throughout the entire museum and have listening stations to hear what they sound like.

Musée des Arts Asiatiques Guimet:
There are art collections from 17 Asian countries in this museum. From Buddhist art to Himalayan archeological remains, you will go behind the scenes of the Silk Road or discover the less known Pakistani or Afghani arts.

Institut du Monde Arabe:
It is not only the first museum for Arabic Art but it also hosts an incredible bookstore (of all kinds of books from Arabic countries) and you can even attend some Arabic classes. Designed by Jean Nouvel, the south facade shows the historical themes of Arab geometry.

A peculiar museum
The Catacombes de Paris (Paris’ Catacombs):
This ossuary covers an area of 11 000m ² and has six million bones from the cemeteries of Paris gradually gathered in the ancient quarries of Montrouge in 1785. The length of the labyrinthine galleries is 1.7 km.

Facts about Museums in Paris

Paris hosts a large number of museums of all size and about almost everything. Parisian museums can be classified into three main categories:

National Museums:
National museums dependent on different departmental authorities or as part of autonomous public institutions (universities, other public institutions, public companies): Louvre Museum, Beaubourg Museum

The City of Paris Museums:
The City of Paris’ museums: the House of Balzac, the Carnavalet Museum.

Private Museums:
Armenian Museum, Grévin Museum…

Paris

If Paris is one of the most visited cities in the world, it may unmistakably be partly thanks to its museums. You will find almost 150 museums in Paris. But remember, museums in Paris aren’t what tourists usually think a priori: they are not boring art galleries. You will definitely experiment new sensations with the original displays and activities offered. Even Parisians never get tired of them, with their unbelievable and unseen temporary exhibitions.

Georges

Guide

How to get there

By Metro:
Louvre Museum:
Lines 1 et 7, Palais-Royal – musée du Louvre station

Orsay Museum:
Line 12, Assemblée Nationale, Solférino or Rue du Bac station

Pompidou Center – Beaubourg Museum:
Line 1, Hôtel de Ville station, line 11 Rambuteau station

By Bus:
Louvre Museum:
Bus: 21,24,27,39,48,68,69,72,81,95

Orsay Museum:
Bus: 24, 68, 69, 73, 84, 83

Pompidou Center – Beaubourg Museum
Bus: 21, 29, 38, 47, 58, 69, 70, 72, 74, 75, 76, 81, 85, 96

  • 13 million visitors a year 99%
  • Incredibly detailed 80%
  • Contains hidden mysteries 70%

Insider’s tips:

  • To avoid queuing up at Musée du Louvre, try entering by the Lions’ Gate, and go there in the morning (before 11 am) or for late-night openings.
  • Buy a “double ticket” for Orsay and Orangerie museums: 14€ for the most complete and breathtaking collection of impressionist works in the world.
  • Museums are free every 1st Sunday of the Month. If you’re under 26 and from E.U, it is free all the time.

Other Famous Museums in Paris

the-Paris-pantheon

1.) The Carnavalet Museum:
This museum hosts collections that intend to tell you the history of Paris. The highlights of the collections are the very realistic re-creations of period style rooms with house furniture and ornamental objects from a variety of time periods. If you want to know how Paris used to be, there is also a collection of drawings and pictures.

2.) The National Museum of Middle Ages (Cluny Museum):
This museum, which is dedicated to medieval art, is housed in both the beautiful Cluny Abbey built in the fifteenth century, and the Roman Baths built in the third century BC. The Lady and the Unicorn tapestries are not to be missed. The gardens are beautiful with the “Unicorn Forest”, a re-creation of a typical garden from the Middle-Ages.

Why they are worth visiting

  • The variety: From classical collections to the most unexpected modern art exhibitions in Paris.
  • The incontrovertible museums: The ones you cannot miss during a trip in Paris.
  • Activities for all ages: From 3 to 99 years old (or so!)