Free museums in Paris
Quick answer
2 museums in Paris offer always-free standard admission, including Musée Carnavalet, Petit Palais. 3 offer free or reduced entry under conditions. Check each museum's rules and official website before visiting.
Visitor information last reviewed 30 June 2026. Check the official museum site for current details.
Always free (2)
Musée Carnavalet
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 standard admission
Always freePetit Palais
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 permanent collection (special exhibitions ticketed)
Free or reduced entry with conditions (3)
Rules may depend on the day, visitor age, or residency. Check the official website before visiting.
Musée d'Orsay
Under 18 free · EU/EEA citizens and long-term EU residents aged 18–25 free · First Sunday of each month free for all (time-slot booking required) · Disabled visitors + 1 companion free
€16 online; €14 at the museum; Thursday late entry from 6 PM €12 online
Conditions applyMusée Guimet
Free first Sunday of each month · Under 18 EU free
€14 standard admission
Conditions applyThe Louvre
Under 18 free (all nationalities) · EEA citizens and residents under 26 free · Everyone free on the first Friday of the month after 6 PM (not July or August) · Bastille Day (14 July) free · Disabled visitors + 1 companion free
€22 for EEA visitors; €32 for non-EEA visitors (since 14 January 2026)
Which museums are free in Paris?
Musée Carnavalet, Petit Palais — 2 museums in Paris with always-free standard admission. Special exhibitions may charge separately.
Which Paris museums offer conditional free or reduced entry?
Musée d'Orsay: Under 18 free · EU/EEA citizens and long-term EU residents aged 18–25 free · First Sunday of each month free for all (time-slot booking required) · Disabled visitors + 1 companion free · Musée Guimet: Free first Sunday of each month · Under 18 EU free · The Louvre: Under 18 free (all nationalities) · EEA citizens and residents under 26 free · Everyone free on the first Friday of the month after 6 PM (not July or August) · Bastille Day (14 July) free · Disabled visitors + 1 companion free
Are special exhibitions also free at Paris's free museums?
Usually not — always-free admission covers the permanent collection, while blockbuster temporary exhibitions typically require paid, often timed, tickets. Check the official site linked from each guide.