Muse Des Arts Et Mtiers
A museum housed in what used to be the Benedictine priory of St-Martin-des-Champs, Arts et Métiers literally translates to arts and crafts.
This name is still quite misleading, though, because this one is actually the oldest Science museum in all of Europe.
It was established in 1794 and was originally intended to help educate the countrys manufacturers in practical scientific techniques. It officially became a museum in 1819 and is home to a diverse and impressive collection.
Check out a variety of weather instruments, astrolabes, clocks, and even scale models of buildings and machines.
Other museum highlights are Cugnots 1770 Fardier and a huge television set from 1938.
Muse Dorsay 7th Arrondissement
Opening Hours: Tuesday Sunday & Thursday Closed on Monday
Situated in the heart of the city, Musée dOrsay is one of the best Paris museums for art connoisseurs.
Housing an extensive collection of paintings by 19th and 20th-century artists like Van Gogh and Berthe Morisot, this museum is renowned for its impressive collection of Impressionist and post-Impressionist paintings the largest in the world, actually.
Interestingly, the museum building was originally a railway station called Gare dOrsay and has been meticulously restored to the glory of a museum.
You will also be fascinated by the stunning Art Nouveau architecture and the giant clock on your visit.
This museum is equally famous, so be sure to book this skip-the-line in advance to beat the queues, or better yet join this guided tour to get the most out of your visit.
National Museum Of Natural History
The Museum of Natural History started its life back in the early 1600s, when it served as King Louis XIIIs royal garden for medicinal plants. During the French Revolution, it became the first version of the museum it is today though much of its collection was added a few years later thanks to Napoleon, who traveled to Egypt with more than 150 scientists and brought back a large number of specimens for the museum.
Today, the museums collection includes over 67 million specimens, including 7.5 million plants, over 1000 skeletons retracing evolution , cultural artifacts and archaeological remains, and even meteorites. The museums insect and mineral collections are also very large.
In addition to the main museum building, there are 13 other sites holding specific collections that are part of the museum, including the anthropologic Museum of Mankind, the Pataud Shelter , the Harmas de Fabre , and four scientific sites. Three zoological parks and three botanical gardens are also run by the museum.
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Musee De Larmee At Les Invalides: Europes Premiere Military Museum
If youre a lover of French history or antique weapons, then Paris Musée de lArmée is a must see site in Paris. The Army Museum is one of Europes best military museums.
Its housed in the Les Invalides complex in the 7th arrondissement. Military buffs and history geeks will be in heaven.
The impressive museum has seven collections and over 500,000 pieces of art artillery, weapons, armor, uniforms, and paintings from antiquity to the 20th century. You can even find Napoleons stuffed horse and one of Hitlers notebooks.
I liked the contemporary department, which focuses on WWI and WWII, the best. The department uses photos, maps, videos, and a few artifacts to trace the Blitzkrieg that overran France, D-Day battles, the concentration camps, the atomic bomb, and the eventual Allied victory.
It also comes with a handy documentary film telling war stories.
Napoleon on his Throne
Museum visitors might also be surprised to discover some high quality artwork in the museum, such as Ingres 1806 Napoleon on his Imperial Throne and Paul Delaroches Napoleon I at Fontainbleau. I love Delaroche, a rather melodramatic Salon painter, particularly his underrated Young Martyr painting at the Louvre.
If you want the full scoop, Ive written a guide to visiting the Army Museum. Click here to book a ticket.
Louis Vuitton Foundation: Contemporary Art
The Louis Vuitton Foundation was inaugurated in 2014. It was designed by Frank Gehry and houses the collection of Bernard Arnault.
Its a chic little museum tucked into a stunning Frank Gehry designed glass building. Its located in the Bois de Bologne. The Foundation houses modern and contemporary art from the 1960s to the present.
The museums permanent collection showcases Pop, Expressionistic, and Contemplative pieces. Youll find masterpieces by the likes of Egon Schiele, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Jeff Koons, Henri Matisse, and Ellsworth Kelly. The foundation hosts temporary exhibits as well.
Click here to pre-book a ticket.
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Guide To The Best Museums In Paris From Superstars To Secrets
Listen up, culture vultures. Heres my guide to the best museums in Paris.
Ive been to many Paris museums, both large and small, in my numerous visits over the years. Paris is an epicenter of museums, with superb collections. Its a veritable paradise for art lovers.
The sheer number of museums in Paris can be overwhelming though. Theres visual art in all forms in Paris classical, Renaissance art, contemporary art, fashion, and shrines to Monet and Picasso.
There are major must visit museums, with world renowned collections in architectural landmarks like the Louvre, the Musee dOrsay, and the Pompidou Center.
But what if youre done with the Louvre and worlds most recognizable enigmatic smile?
Thats the time to delve into Paris small intimate museums. They include single artist showcases, private collections, and secret hidden gem galleries.
Many of these unique smaller collections are housed in grand palace-homes with world-class troves. This is where you can escape the crowds. You can admire high quality fine art and have a serene museum experience.
Ive compiled a list of 32 museums that you should consider putting on your itinerary for a visit, or repeat visit, to Paris.
Ive grouped them into large/most famous museums and small/more secret museums, beginning with the heavy hitters.
I give you an overview of the museums and their must see masterpieces, so you can select museums that suit your personal museum-going taste.
Zadkine Museum: Cubist Sculpture
Two blocks from the lush Luxembourg Gardens, in the heart of Montparnasse, lies the secret Zadkine Museum. You can blink and miss it, its so well hidden.
Its situated behind an industrial building that seems inconsistent with anything artistic. But just to the left is a small seemingly private driveway. If you follow it, you arrive at the Zadkine Museum. Voila!
The intimate museum occupies the first floor of a two story house and has an impressive sculptural garden. It was formerly Zadkines home and studio, where he lived and created his atelier for 40 years.
Entering the museum, youll find a procession of small well-lit rooms with glass ceilings and white walls. The museum presents all periods of Russian expat Zadkines work in roughly chronological order.
It traces the primitivism of his first sculptures in wood or stone, to the strict geometry of his Cubist works, to his more expressionistic works, and finally to the pared down neoclassicism of his final years.
The heart of the museum, much like the Rodin Museum, is the lovely garden, dotted with terrific sculptures. There, youll find Zadkines Torso of a Destroyed City, a smaller scale version of his most famous piece, The Destroyed City, in Rotterdam. Other seminal garden works include Orphee, Rebecca, and The Human Forest.
The elegant little Zadkine Museum is well off the beaten path. But its definitely worth an hour or two of your time, especially if you like sculpture.
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Muse De La Vie Romantique 9th Arrondissement
Opening Hours: Tuesday Sunday Closed on Monday
The Musée de la Vie Romantique is a must-see for anyone interested in the romantic period.
Located at an 18th-century house, it recreates what life might have been like back then with paintings and furnishings that span across centuries from George Sands studio on the ground floor that exhibits artifacts dating back to the 18th century to Ary Scheffes gorgeous rooms upstairs that include her incredible paintings!
In case you get hungry, the amazing Rose Bakery in the delightfully tranquil garden where you can enjoy delicious snacks will be your savior.
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Hi, Im Christine a full-time traveler and career woman. Although Im from the Philippines, my location independent career took me to over 40 countries and lived in 4 continents in the last 10 years, including France. A self-proclaimed Francophile, I love everything France.
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Museum Of Decorative Arts
Housed in one of the wings of the stunning Louvre, the Museum of Decorative Arts holds the largest collection of its kind in Europe. In addition to furniture, tapestries and carpets, and porcelain, the museums permanent collections also focus on glassware and even toys. Some of the pieces go back to the Middle Ages, but modern objects are also well represented in the museum.
The museums most popular exhibits are its period rooms, which include the 1752 Gold Cabinet of Avignon, sections of the 1920s home of haute couture fashion designer Jeanne-Marie Lanvin, and the 1800s bedroom of courtesan Lucie Delabigne, which might have been the inspiration for Emile Zolas most famous novel, Nana.
More modern pieces include designer furniture, toys from the 60s, and stained glass windows recovered from buildings. There are also beautiful examples of Lalique glass, Sèvres porcelain, and Aubusson carpets.
Guided tours and temporary exhibits are available, and the museum also has its own auditorium where conferences, courses, and special photographic projects are presented.
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Free Museums In Paris That You Must Visit
Are you looking for the best free museums in Paris?
Museum hopping is easily one of the best things to do in Paris if you enjoy arts and culture or simply want to learn more about the citys history.
Museum visits can be costly, but you can always go to the free ones in the city of lights to see the permanent collections.
You can visit interesting museums in Paris, ranging from the arts to history and science, without breaking the bank.
Some of these museums are well-known to the general public, while others are hidden gems. We compiled a list of the best free museums in Paris. These are free all year and provide access to permanent collections and, in some cases, the entire museum.
If youre planning a trip to Paris soon, include a few of these free attractions on your itinerary so you can see that theres much more to see than just the Louvre and the Orsay.
Things you’ll find in this article
Muse Dart Moderne De Paris16th Arrondissement
Photo by Jean-Pierre Dalbéra/ Flickr
Opening Hours: Tuesday Sunday & Thursday Closed on Monday
The Musée dArt Moderne de Paris is a museum dedicated to modern art in the East Wing of the Palais de Tokyo.
The building was initially constructed for the 1937 international exhibition, however, the museum was opened in 1961.
Its rich collections, named La vie moderne, with more than 15,000 works, illustrate the artistic themes of the 20th and 21st centuries.
Also famous for its grand exhibitions, they allow visitors to discover the work of significant figures in contemporary art, such as Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, and Andy Warhol.
Undoubtedly, it is an integral part of Paris cultural heritage and a must-visit museum for everyone.
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Victor Hugo Museum: Quirky House Museum
If youre obsessed with Victor Hugo and the grandeur of Les Miserables, visit the writers former pied-à-terre, the Musée Victor Hugo. Its a quirky off the beaten path destination in Paris. The museum is on the second floor of the Hôtel de Rohan-Guéménée at 6 Place des Vosges.
Hugo lived there from 1832 to 1848. The museum is an impressionist form of academic preservation. The house is reconstituted from several of the writers residences and that of his mistress, Juliette Drouet.
Still, its a romantic place, like the swashbuckling and romantic author. And, surprisingly, it reveals that Hugo was not only a prolific writer and womanizer, but had a sub-speciality in interior design.
The museum is intended to give visitors a sense of what Hugos daily existence might have looked like. Thematic rooms are arranged with furniture and works of art that Hugo created or are from his personal collections.
Youll see first editions of his books, family portraits, photographs, sheet music, and 350 drawings by Hugo, as well as paintings and sculptures that were created in his honor.
A Treasure Chest Of Discoveries
From the vast Musée du Louvre and its some 38,000 works of Western art and ancient civilizations to the greatest Impressionist masterpieces Water Lilies by Claude Monet, Luncheon on the Grass by Edouard Manet, Portrait of the Artist by Vincent Van Gogh on show at the Orangerie and Orsay museums The exceptional galleries of French Italian and Flemish paintings at the Musée Jacquemart-André, the rich collection of military history at the Musée de lArmée, the 5 millenia of Asian art at the Musée Guimet and the fine arts exhibited at the Petit Palais An incredibly vast array of collections that is sure to impress all art enthusiasts!
As for the unusual Musée Grévin, this waxworks museum features the greatest French and international stars. The Cité des Sciences et de l’industrie and the Palais de la Découverte take visitors into the realm of science. And finally, the Picasso and Rodin museums highlight the lives of the works of major artists Pablo Picasso and Auguste Rodin.
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Le Muse Des Arts Dcoratifs
Located between the Tuileries gardens and the Place du Palais Royal, Les Arts Décoratifs is the conservatory of the genius of craftsmen and artists. The museum house one of the most important collections in the world, presents, from the Middle Ages to the present day, an unparalleled panorama of the history of furniture, glass, ceramics, silverware, jewellery, design, textiles and fashion, graphics and advertising.
With a dedicated Fashion & Textiles department, this collection is made up of costumes, accessories, textiles but also a large collection of photographs and graphic art. Now integrated into the Decorative Arts Museum, and one of the main departments, the collection today boasts more than 152,800 works including costumes, accessories, and textiles from the 3rd century to the present day. The names of the greatest designers included range, from Paul Poiret, Popy Moreni, Madeleine Vionnet and Christian Lacroix.
Upcoming exhibition Thierry Mugler: Couturissime, from September 30, 2021 to April 24, 2022
The large-scale exhibition traces the work of the creator with the singular imagination who revolutionized fashion, Haute Couture and perfume. Includes, ready-to-wear and haute couture silhouettes and accessories, stage costumes, photographs, videos and unpublished archives, dating from 1973 to 2014.
La Cit De Larchitecture Et Du Patrimoine
Regarded as among the best museums in Paris, La visit to Cité de lArchitecture et du Patrimoine is like walking through a thousand years of French history.
Dedicated to architectural and monumental sculptures, this museum was established in 1879 by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc.
A truly fascinating museum with an impressive variety of displays, the items housed here are divided into two categories.
Theres the collection from Middle Ages up to the 19th century and the other from the Industrial Revolution up to the present day.
Some of the items youll find in La Cité de lArchitecture et du Patrimoine are portals of cathedrals and replicas of murals and stained glasswork.
There are also reproductions of various French and international architectural pieces from 1850 to the 21st century.
Make sure to visit the on-site cafe where youll get to enjoy not just coffee but one of the best views of Eiffel Tower as well.
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