Uncover the beauty and culture inside the museums in Paris

Some museums are synonymous with Paris itself, vast, glittering institutions that draw millions each year. While these sites are a must-visit when exploring the city, their reputation as being the most important museums in Paris means that booking in advance is essential to avoid crowds.

To begin, there is nowhere more quintessential than the Louvre Museum in Paris, a palace-turned-museum whose enormity makes it feel almost like a creative universe spanning the history of art. Of course, the main draw for many is Leonardo da Vinci’s famous painting of the Mona Lisa, which is more a pilgrimage than a pleasure. Venus de Milo and Winged Victory of Samothrace are also stand-out masterpieces. However, those with time on their hands will enjoy floating through the quieter galleries where sculptures carved into limestone come to life with the shifting shadows. With so much to take in, a strategic approach or a guided tour is essential. No wonder the Louvre is one of the best art museums in Paris, and a true cornerstone of the city’s cultural identity.

Across the river, located at the end of the Jardin des Tuileries, the Orangerie Museum in Paris brings art lovers together for its showcase of Monet’s Water Lilies. Housed in the famous oval rooms, the Water Lily paintings encircle visitors, bathing them in a gentle, impossible stillness, revealing their beauty slowly like hours passing on a lake. Outside this oasis of calm, this Parisian museum also features works by Cézanne, Matisse, and Picasso. The best time to visit is early in the morning when natural light floods the rooms and there aren't yet many visitors. It's one of the smaller museums in Paris, but a true must-see for art lovers, especially fans of Impressionism.

For Impressionist devotees who prefer intimacy and calm, the Musée Marmottan Monet, in the 16th arrondissement, is a hidden treasure. Of all the museums in Paris, this one has become a pilgrimage site for Monet fans eager to explore the largest ensemble of the artist’s work, including his early experiments and late abstractions. It feels almost illicit, as if you’ve entered the artist’s private archives. Beyond Monet, the museum houses exquisite pieces by Morisot and Renoir, making it one of the best museums in Paris for lovers of 19th-century art.

Housed in a former Beaux-Arts railway station, the Orsay Museum’s soaring glass roof shelters the world’s most important Impressionist and Post-Impressionist collection. Monet, Manet, Renoir, Cézanne, Van Gogh and Degas, you’ll find them all here, gathered in one single breathtaking sweep. Here, all late 19th-century art movements are represented with world-famous masterpieces on show, including Auguste Rodin’s sculpture “The Gates of Hell”. Few Paris art museums offer such an impact in such an elegant setting.

If grandeur is what you seek, the Petit Palais offers it with ease. This architectural gem, originally built as an exhibition pavilion for the 1900 Universal Exhibition, houses the Musée des Beaux-Arts de la Ville de Paris (Fine Arts Museum of the City of Paris). Its sweeping staircase, mosaic floors and sunlit courtyard embody the aesthetic confidence that Paris does better than any other city on Earth. However, this museum’s charm comes from its unpredictability. Inside, visitors can browse collections spanning medieval icons, Belle Époque portraits and gilded objects from bygone eras.  Among the best art museums in Paris, this is where you can enjoy the art on display without queues or large crowds.

The museums in Paris are not only custodians of beauty, but they also act as a laboratory of fresh, new ideas that push creativity and people’s perception to new limits.  For lovers of contemporary art, Paris’s burgeoning art scene is an electric hub and these are the key places where it unfolds. 

Paris is at the forefront of the contemporary art scene and nowhere is this more apparent than at the Centre Pompidou, the boldest silhouette in the Marais. Love it or not, its colour-coded exposed pipes and industrial bones signal a cultural institution unafraid of risk and making a statement. Inside, the galleries house Europe’s most important collection of modern and contemporary art from Kandinsky to Duchamp and Warhol, making it a leading modern art museum in Paris.

The rooftop terrace, with its panoramic view of the city, adds yet another reason to linger. Plus, on a summer’s night, you may even catch street performers entertaining crowds outside on the terrace. It is worth noting that this museum in Paris will be shut for a major 5 year renovation project from late 2025, reopening in 2030.

For travellers who relish art that pushes the boundaries and challenges your assumptions, the Palais de Tokyo is the real siren call. It is one of the boldest Paris art museums, a place where the city’s creative subconscious is given free rein. Its temporary exhibitions are typically highly original and avant-garde. Nothing here is static; everything feels in motion, including the viewer. One thing that sets this apart from other museums in Paris is its extended opening hours, until 10 pm, which makes it an ideal pit stop before an evening stroll around the Trocadéro towards the Eiffel Tower. If you're there in the summer, be sure to visit the terrace, where you can enjoy a breathtaking sunset.

While the Pompidou may feel like the city’s brain and the Palais de Tokyo its pulse, the Picasso Museum is its sketchbook. Housed in an emblematic hôtel particulier in the Marais, the museum feels deeply personal and is an intimate look at the artist’s life through ceramics, drawings, prints, sculptures and notes. 

Originally from Málaga, Picasso is known for his influence over the Cubist movement and spent a significant part of his life in Paris. In fact, many of his works were bequeathed to the French state after his death. Wandering through the rooms of this museum is both a deeply personal and exhilarating experience, reminding us that genius is often messy, contradictory and eclectic. 

The Picasso Museum offers a direct glimpse into the daily life of the creative genius behind some of the world’s greatest works of art. But it is not the only place in Paris that offers such an intimate portrait of the artist behind the work. Explore these museums where art becomes something personal, emotional and tactile. 

Some museums in Paris are less about the spectacle and more about silent reflection. The Rodin Museum, housed in an elegant 18th-century townhouse, is one of them. Visitors are greeted by sculptures set among rustling trees and gravel paths, sunlight shifting across marble shoulders. Wandering through the mansion and the garden, it feels as if you have stumbled across Rodin’s dreamscape. Expect to find world-famous sculptures such as "The Thinker" and "The Kiss" here. It is the perfect place for a tranquil visit, where art and nature merge in an intimate and poetic atmosphere. Few art galleries in Paris feel this tender and ethereal. 

A different kind of intimacy awaits at the Musée Delacroix, a small gem tucked behind Saint-Germain-des-Prés. Housed in the former apartment and studio of this great French painter, this space has been preserved with remarkable restraint. Strolling through the rooms is to travel back to the 19th century. You see the writing desk, the brushes and the garden which once offered him respite. Admire the art on show and embrace the moments of calm and serenity that can be felt here. ​

For those seeking context, texture and narrative, the Carnavalet Museum in Paris (Museum of the City of Paris) offers a way to explore the deeper layers of the city. Located in Marais, this newly renovated museum chronicles the story of Paris from its beginnings to the present day. Expect everything from shop signs and Revolutionary artefacts to Belle Époque salons and Métro typography. This is Paris speaking in its own voice. Unlike the grand narrative of the Louvre, Carnavalet deals in human-scale stories: handwritten letters, personal possessions, fragments of daily life. One could easily lose a day here, constantly discovering something new among the countless objects on display. Among the museums to visit in Paris, it is one of the most revelatory.

Stroll through the Jardin des Plantes and enter the National Museum of Natural History, where the Grande Galerie de l’Évolution stages one of the city’s most poetic exhibits. Here, visitors are greeted by a procession of animals and the space even features some dinosaur skeletons, creating a sense of wonder unmatched by any gallery of paintings. 

Many major educational and research institutions are affiliated with this museum and its collection of over 55 million objects is the third largest in the world. Its importance is evident in the fact that it has established various branches throughout the country over time. Adjacent to the museum is the Ménagerie du Jardin des Plantes, a zoological garden perfect for exploring, especially if you are visiting with kids. When it comes to museums in Paris, this one is scientific, theatrical and strangely moving.