France · 14 museums · 2 free
The best museums in Paris are the Louvre, Musée d'Orsay and Musée du Quai Branly – Jacques Chirac. World Museum Guide covers 14 museums in Paris, France, with verified admission prices, opening hours and how long to allow for each. 2 are free to enter for everyone.
Visitor information last reviewed 30 June 2026. Check the official museum site for current details.
| # | Museum | Admission | Time needed | Closed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Louvre | €22 for EEA visitors | 3–5 hours | Tuesdays, 1 January, 1 May and 25 December |
| 2 | Musée d'Orsay | €16 online | 2–4 hours | Mondays, 1 May and 25 December |
| 3 | Musée du Quai Branly – Jacques Chirac | €14 | 3–4 hours | Mondays |
| 4 | Musée Picasso Paris | €14 | 2–3 hours | Mondays |
| 5 | Musée Rodin | €14 | 2–3 hours | Mondays |
| 6 | Bourse de Commerce – Pinault Collection | €15 | 1.5–2 hours | Tuesdays |
| 7 | Fondation Louis Vuitton | €16 | 2–3 hours | Tuesdays |
| 8 | Musée Carnavalet | Free | 3–4 hours | Mondays |
| 9 | Musée de Cluny – Musée National du Moyen Âge | €12 | 2–3 hours | Mondays |
| 10 | Musée de l'Orangerie | €12.50 | 1–1.5 hours | Tuesdays |
| 11 | Musée Guimet | €14 | 2 hours | Tuesday |
| 12 | Musée Marmottan Monet | €14 | 1.5–2 hours | Mondays |
| 13 | Petit Palais | Free | 90 minutes | Mondays |
| 14 | Centre Pompidou | Closed for renovation | — | Until reopening |
Standard adult prices, checked from 2026-06-30. Confirm on each museum's official website before you go.
Art Museum · Best for art lovers & history enthusiasts
The Louvre is the world's largest art museum and a historic monument in Paris, France. A central landmark of the city, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement.
€22 for EEA visitors · ⏱ 3–5 hours · Closed Tuesdays
Art Museum · Best for art lovers & first-timers
The Musée d'Orsay is a museum in Paris, France, on the Left Bank of the Seine. It is housed in the former Gare d'Orsay, a Beaux-Arts railway station built between 1898 and 1900.
€16 online · ⏱ 2–4 hours · Closed Mondays
Art Museum · Best for world culture enthusiasts & art lovers
Opened in 2006 at the initiative of President Jacques Chirac, the Quai Branly brought together the ethnographic collections of the former Musée de l'Homme and Musée des Arts d'Afrique et d'Océanie.
€14 · ⏱ 3–4 hours · Closed Mondays
Art Museum · Best for modern art lovers & picasso enthusiasts
After Picasso's death in 1973 his heirs paid France's inheritance taxes with works from his personal collection. That extraordinary trove formed the foundation of the Musée Picasso, which opened in the restored Hôtel Salé in 1985.
€14 · ⏱ 2–3 hours · Closed Mondays
Art Museum · Best for sculpture lovers & garden enthusiasts
Rodin gifted his entire collection to the French state in 1916 on the condition that it be displayed in the Hôtel Biron, the eighteenth-century mansion where he had been working. The museum opened in 1919 and remains one of Paris's most beloved small institutions.
€14 · ⏱ 2–3 hours · Closed Mondays
Art Museum · Best for art lovers & contemporary art
Opened in 2021, the Bourse de Commerce is the Paris home of the Pinault Collection. Tadao Ando inserted a 29-metre concrete cylinder inside the historic glass-domed rotunda, creating a striking dialogue between the old and new.
€15 · ⏱ 1.5–2 hours · Closed Tuesdays
Art Museum · Best for art lovers & first-timers
The Fondation Louis Vuitton opened in 2014 in a building designed by Frank Gehry — 12 immense 'sails' of curved glass suspended over a white structure, creating an effect that Gehry described as a cloud of glass. The building sits at the edge of the Bois de Boulogne and is widely considered one of the most beautiful contemporary buildings in France.
€16 · ⏱ 2–3 hours · Closed Tuesdays
Art Museum · Best for history enthusiasts & paris lovers
Founded by Baron Haussmann in 1880, the Musée Carnavalet occupies the Renaissance Hôtel Carnavalet and the seventeenth-century Hôtel Le Peletier de Saint-Fargeau. It reopened in 2021 after a major refurbishment.
Free entry · ⏱ 3–4 hours · Closed Mondays
Art Museum · Best for medieval art lovers & history enthusiasts
The Musée de Cluny opened in 1843 in the late-medieval Hôtel de Cluny, built atop the Gallo-Roman Thermes de Cluny. A major refurbishment completed in 2022 added a contemporary entrance pavilion.
€12 · ⏱ 2–3 hours · Closed Mondays
Art Museum · Best for impressionist art fans & art lovers
The Orangerie was built in 1852 to shelter the Tuileries Garden's orange trees. In 1927 Claude Monet's Nymphéas — eight vast canvases of water lilies — were installed in two specially designed oval rooms, an environment Monet called 'the illusion of an endless whole'.
€12.50 · ⏱ 1–1.5 hours · Closed Tuesdays
World Heritage & Culture · Best for art lovers & history enthusiasts
The Musée Guimet holds the finest collection of Asian art in Europe — 45,000 objects spanning India, China, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia, Central Asia, and the Himalayan region. Founded in 1889 by industrialist Émile Guimet, the museum moved to its present neoclassical building on Place d'Iéna in 1945 when France's Asian collections were consolidated under one roof.
€14 · ⏱ 2 hours · Closed Tuesdays
Art Museum · Best for impressionist art fans & monet enthusiasts
Originally the home of art historian Paul Marmottan, the museum opened in 1934. Monet's son Michel bequeathed his father's personal studio collection in 1966, transforming the institution into the principal Monet museum.
€14 · ⏱ 1.5–2 hours · Closed Mondays
Art Museum · Best for art lovers & first-timers
The Petit Palais — the 'small palace' — was built for the 1900 Universal Exposition in Paris, facing its grander neighbour the Grand Palais across Winston Churchill Avenue. Designed by Charles Girault, the building is a Belle Époque masterpiece of iron, stone, and mosaic, built around a semicircular courtyard garden that remains one of Paris's hidden oases.
Free entry · ⏱ 90 minutes · Closed Mondays
Art Museum · Best for art lovers & first-timers
Designed by Renzo Piano, Richard Rogers, and Gianfranco Franchini, the Centre Pompidou turned the museum building inside out — exposing pipes, ducts, and escalators on its colourful facade. It opened in 1977 and remains one of the most influential pieces of late twentieth-century architecture.
Closed for renovation
Paris has more world-class museums per square kilometre than any city on Earth. The Louvre alone draws 9 million visitors a year; the Musée d'Orsay, Centre Pompidou, and Orangerie complete the Left and Right Bank circuit. Most major museums require timed tickets in summer — book before you fly.
Day 1: Louvre (morning, Denon wing + Mona Lisa) → Tuileries walk → Orsay (afternoon Impressionists). Day 2: Centre Pompidou → Marais (Picasso, Carnavalet) → evening Seine walk. Day 3: Rodin Museum → Invalides → Fondation Louis Vuitton in Bois de Boulogne.
Shoulder season (April–May, September–October) for manageable queues. Wednesday and Friday late openings at the Louvre and Orsay. Avoid August when Parisians leave but tourists peak.
Visiting on a budget? See every free and discounted museum in Paris.
The best museums in Paris are the Louvre, Musée d'Orsay and Musée du Quai Branly – Jacques Chirac. World Museum Guide ranks 14 museums in Paris by visitor numbers and collection strength.
World Museum Guide covers 14 museums in Paris, France — 2 with free standard admission. Each guide lists admission, opening hours, highlights and how long to allow.
Free for everyone: Musée Carnavalet and Petit Palais. Free or reduced on certain days or for certain visitors: The Louvre (Under 18 free (all nationalities)), Musée d'Orsay (Under 18 free) and Musée Guimet (Free first Sunday of each month).
Closing days differ by museum: The Louvre closes Tuesdays, Musée d'Orsay closes Mondays, Musée du Quai Branly – Jacques Chirac closes Mondays, Musée Picasso Paris closes Mondays, Musée Rodin closes Mondays, Bourse de Commerce – Pinault Collection closes Tuesdays, Fondation Louis Vuitton closes Tuesdays, Musée Carnavalet closes Mondays, Musée de Cluny – Musée National du Moyen Âge closes Mondays, Musée de l'Orangerie closes Tuesdays, Musée Guimet closes Tuesdays, Musée Marmottan Monet closes Mondays and Petit Palais closes Mondays. Plan each day around at least one museum that is open.
Open on Mondays: the Louvre, Bourse de Commerce – Pinault Collection, Fondation Louis Vuitton, Musée de l'Orangerie and Musée Guimet. Closed on Mondays: Musée d'Orsay, Musée du Quai Branly – Jacques Chirac, Musée Picasso Paris, Musée Rodin, Musée Carnavalet, Musée de Cluny – Musée National du Moyen Âge, Musée Marmottan Monet and Petit Palais. Hours can change on public holidays, so check each museum's official website.
Late openings: the Louvre (Wednesday and Friday until 9:00 PM), Musée d'Orsay (Thursdays until 9:45 PM), Musée du Quai Branly – Jacques Chirac (Thursday until 10:00 PM), Bourse de Commerce – Pinault Collection (Friday until 9:00 PM) and Fondation Louis Vuitton (Friday until 9:00 PM). Evening visits are usually the quietest time to see the highlights.
For families, start with the Louvre and Musée du Quai Branly – Jacques Chirac. Each guide lists how long to allow and the best time to visit.
Three focused days cover the Louvre, Orsay, Pompidou, and one specialist museum. A week allows depth plus day trips to Versailles.
Worth it if visiting 4+ paid museums in 2–4 days. Does not skip Louvre or Orsay timed-entry booking — reserve slots separately.
