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| Museums |
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| There are about 150 large and small museums in Paris. Fourteen of them are municipal, 20 are national and the remaining are private museums. Looking for a particular museum? Choose from an alphabetical list or a list by arrondissement (district). |
History
Until the end of the 19th century, Paris had only one museum, the Louvre, a national museum. The rest of the works of art that the city of Paris possessed was stored in depots or in other buildings, for example the Hôtel de Ville. In 1880 the Carnavalet museum was created, as the city council wanted a museum about the history of Paris. That was the first municipal museum.
 The second museum was the Petit Palais, built for the World Exhibition in 1900 in order to enable the population of Paris to see the city's art collection. After 1900 many art collectors left their collections to the city after their deaths. Henri Cernuschi for instance donated his entire collection of Japanese and Chinese art, including a building: the present Musée Cernuschi. In 1927 the city inherited the former home of writer Victor Hugo (now the Maison de Victor Hugo) and in 1929 the collection of 18th century works of art of Ernest Cognacq (now the Musée Cognacq-Jay).
Just after World War II the city founded the Musée national d´Art Moderne, later called the Musée d´Art moderne de la Ville de Paris. From that time on, the number of municipal museums increased. In 1949, for example, the home of writer Honoré de Balzac came into possession (now the Maison de Balzac) and later on the Musée de la Vie Romantique and the studios and art works of sculptors Bourdelle and Zadkine (now Musée Bourdelle and Musée Zadkine). In 1985 the costume collection of the Carnavalet museum became the separate Musée Galliera. |
Entrance
In municipal museums (marked *), access to the permanent collections is free (except for the Catacombes, the Musée Galléra and the Crypte Archéologique). If you want to visit an exhibition in one of these museums however, you have to buy a ticket.
In many national museums entrance is free on the first Sunday of the month. Moreover, since April 2009 entrance is free for people under 26. |
Opening hours
 The opening hours mentioned in the list of museums do not consider public holidays. Many museums are closed on January 1, May 1 and December 25. You can look at the list of weekly closing days and public holidays to find out if a museum is closed or not. More and more museums are open on a particular week night. On the websites of the museums you can find any information about ticket prices, facilities, discounts for seniors or children, and accessability for the handicapped. Ticket sales stop usually half an hour before closing time. Some exhibitions can only be visited on certain hours or if you book in advance. |
Accessibility
In museums that are accessible for the handicapped you will find one more of the following logos:
 wheelchair accessible
 hearing aids
 visual aids |
 Museum Pass or not?
The Paris Museum Pass allows you to visit the permanent collections of more than sixty museums and monuments for 2, 4 or 6 days. The advantage is that you can skip the queue, but it is wise to ask yourself how many museums you can handle in a couple of days… If you only visit one museum a day, the Pass is too expensive. At two or more museums a day the Museum Pass is a good buy. The Pass will cost 35, 50 or 65 euro and is on sale at affiliated museums and the offices of the Paris Tourist Office. Also, you can order it by internet.
Look here for a list of museums and monuments who participate in the Museum Pass. |
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| translation: Irene van den Reydt-Castle |
| Last checked
25-01-2012
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