What are the 5 museums you absolutely must visit in Paris?
When planning a stay in Paris, the most difficult thing is to choose among all the tourist sites to visit. We must admit, it is impossible to see everything in just a few days. To help you choose the right addresses, we have selected 5 unmissable museums in Paris that you absolutely must visit.
The Louvre museum
It is impossible not to mention the Louvre Museum among the must-see Parisian museums. Known throughout the world, it is the most visited museum in the world. So, what will you find there?
This former royal palace has been part of French history for 8 centuries. The architecture in itself is therefore already a jewel, but inside, we discover a priceless treasure. Across 8 departments, visitors discover thousands of years of arts and history , from Antiquity to the 20th century. A collection of nearly 35,000 works reveal different cultures and their evolution over the centuries.
Of course, visitors do not leave the Louvre Museum without having seen the main works, such as the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo or the Raft of the Medusa.
Hours: every day except Tuesday, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. (late night until 9:45 p.m. on Thursday);
Access from the B55: RER B (35 mins).
The Orsay museum
Installed in a former railway station, the Musée d’Orsay offers an atypical and magnificent visiting setting. It is entirely dedicated to impressionist and post-impressionist art , and its vast collection brings together all the works of the greatest artists of this artistic movement: Van Gogh, Monet, Cézanne, Renoir…
Whether you are an art lover, or simply curious, the Musée d’Orsay is an opportunity to learn more about 19th and 20th century art , whatever its form of expression: painting. , sculpture, photography…
The Musée d’Orsay houses a permanent collection, but numerous temporary exhibitions are also regularly organized to highlight artistic movements or artists in particular.
Hours: every day except Monday, from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. (late night until 9:45 p.m. on Thursday);
Access from the B55: metro lines 6 and 12 (30 mins).
The Georges Pompidou Center
In the Marais district, the Center Pompidou is another Parisian museum not to be missed. From the outside, its astonishing architecture, with its colorful pipes and steel staircases, invites you to open the doors of this tourist site. Inside, we find an incredible collection of modern and contemporary works of art , including some masterpieces by renowned artists, such as Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol, Henri Matisse, and Salvador Dali.
From the Georges Pompidou center, you can admire a breathtaking view of the greatest monuments in Paris: the Eiffel Tower, the Sacré-Coeur basilica and Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral.
Hours: every day except Tuesday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.;
Access from the B55: RER B (30 mins).
The Grand Palace
Built for the Universal Exhibition of 1900, the Grand Palais stands out in the Parisian setting with its immense glass dome, on which the French flag waves in the wind. Combining glass, steel and stone, this building, classified as a historic monument, shines with its architecture broken down into 3 parts:
- The nave , where national and international events are organized;
- The National Galleries , where major temporary exhibitions are organized on artists who have left their mark on history;
- The Palais de la Découverte , where children learn about science while having fun.
Schedule: renovation work on the Grand Palais should end in 2024;
Access from the B55: metro lines 6 and 13 (30 mins).
The Museum of Arts and Crafts
In the 3rd arrondissement of Paris, the Musée des Arts et Métiers traces the evolution of working techniques in 7 areas, from the 16th century to today: mechanics, scientific instruments, construction, materials, communication, transport and energy.
This veritable time machine brings together nearly 80,000 objects and 15,000 technical drawings. There we also find the great inventions that have shaped our world , such as the first camera by the Lumière Brothers, the first calculating machine by Blaise Pascal, the ancestor of the automobile, or even the first plane that successfully took off.
Hours: every day except Monday, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (late night until 9 p.m. Friday).
Access from the B55: RER B (40 mins).
Not far from the B55 hotel , several Parisian museums are unmissable, but many other sites are also very interesting to discover: carnavalet museum , quai Branly-Jacques Chirac museum, Grévin museum , the Louis Vuitton Foundation… Most It’s always hard to make a choice.
