This guide of best museums in Paris It will help you to know an important part of the cultural offer of one of the most beautiful cities in the world.
With more than 150 museums of different themes, with collections and pieces of incalculable value, in Paris it is important to choose well the museums that you are most interested in and that complement the other tourist attractions of Paris in order to make the most of your time.
In addition it is also important to know that in the most of the most visited museums in Paris form long lines, especially on weekends and in summer, so it is advisable to book tickets in advance or have a tourist card. Another option, to save you the price of admission, is to square your visit with the first Sunday of the month, when most museums have free admission, including The Louvre, although it is precisely this day that you will find more queues in the Most museums
Based on the experience of our three visits to this romantic city, during the last one we wrote this guide of tips for traveling to Paris, we have made this selection of the ones we believe are 5 essential Paris museums. We start!
1. Louvre Museum
The Louvre, the best museum in Paris and the most visited in the world with more than 8 million tourists a year, it has some of the most important paintings and sculptures in history.
Inaugurated in 1793, in this immense space located in the Royal Palace of the Louvre, there are works from the French monarchy, archaeological campaigns, military victories during the Napoleonic wars and subsequent purchases, which continue to this day increasing its collection of 445,000 pieces, of which 35,000 are on display.
Among the most important works of the museum are: "La Gioconda" by Leonardo da Vinci, the "Venus de Milo", "The Scribe Sitting" of ancient Egypt, "The Wedding of Cana", the "Hammurabi Code", "Victory Samothrace", "Freedom guiding the people" and the paintings of the Rubens Hall.
In addition to touring its interior and seeing the views of the Louvre Square from the windows of the upper floors, we recommend you approach at night to see illuminated the large glass pyramid located in the center of the square, which acts as an entrance, which We assure you it is one of the most unforgettable images of Paris. Remember that in addition to the main entrance, the museum has two other less known accesses: the Gallery du Carrousel and the Porte des Lions.
In addition, to save you the long lines that form in the accesses, which can exceed two hours, it is essential to book your tickets here in advance. Another great way to skip the lines and learn more about the history of the most important pieces is to book this visit with a guide in Spanish, an expert in art and history.
If you do not want to take a guided tour, at the entrance you can take a small brochure with a route through the main works of each floor or rent an audio guide in Spanish, which will show you the best works of the museum.
Another point to keep in mind is that the average duration of the visit is about three hours, although if you are an art lover you can invest all day, recovering strength in the interior restaurants.
If you are going to visit most of the city's tourist attractions it may be profitable to buy the Paris Pass, which allows free access to more than 60 points of interest in the city such as this museum.
Visiting hours: Monday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday from 9 am to 6 pm; Wednesday and Friday from 9 a.m. to 9:45 p.m. and Tuesday closed.
The Louvre, the best museum in Paris
2. Orsay Museum
Another of the most essential museums to visit in Paris is the Orsay Museum, located in an old train station built for the 1900 Universal Exhibition.
Inside this pinoteca, which highlights its huge clock and a large glass and steel vault that illuminates the interior with natural light, you will find the largest collection of impressionist works in the world made between 1848 and 1914.
Among the most famous paintings are "Lunch on the grass" from Manet, "The Harvesters" from Millet, "The Star Night" and several self-portraits of Van Gogh, "Women of Tahiti" from Gauguin, "Poppies" from Monet and "The card players" by Paul Cézanne, among many others.
Visiting hours: from Tuesday to Sunday from 9:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. (Thursday until 9:45 p.m.). Entrance included in the Paris Pass.
Orsay's Museum
3. Pompidou Center, one of the best museums in Paris
The National Center of Art and Culture Georges Pompidou, located in the Les Halles neighborhood, has one of the most important collections of modern and contemporary art in the world and is another of the best museums in Paris.
Built in 1977, this museum impresses at first sight for its amazing industrial architecture where the conduits, pipes and stairs painted in bright colors are located outside.
Among the most important pieces of the Pompidou are: "The fountain" by Marcel Duchamp, "Double portrait with glass of wine" by Marc Chagall, "Harlequin" from Picasso, "Portrait of the journalist Sylvia von Harden" from Otto Dix, "Frame with black bow" of Kandinski and the "The rotten ass" from Dalí, among others.
In addition to the museum, inside the building there is a spectacular library and an original terrace with fantastic views of Paris.
After leaving the center we recommend you to go through the Stravinsky Fountain, located a few meters away, which has 16 original works of sculpture in motion that represents the work of the composer Stravinsky.
Visiting hours: every day from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. (Thursday until 9:45 p.m.). Entrance included in the Paris Pass.
Pompidou Center, one of the best museums in Paris
4. Rodin Museum
Another of the best things to do in Paris is to see a large part of Auguste Rodin's work in the beautiful palace and gardens of the Hotel Biron. This famous sculptor with more than 6,500 sculptures and about 10,000 drawings, lived for a long time in this hotel and donated his work and personal collection in this museum, which opened in 1919.
Among the most famous sculptures are "The Thinker", "The door of hell", "Balzac", "The kiss", "The Bourgeois of Calais" or "The creation", among other.
A cheaper way to make the visit is to buy the ticket only for the gardens, which we believe is the most beautiful part, and where several of his most important works are located.
Visiting hours: Tuesday to Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Entrance included in the Paris Pass.
Rodin Museum in Paris
5. The Orangerie
The Orangerie Museum is located on the banks of the River Seine in a small building that Napoleon III built to protect the orange trees of the Tuileries Garden. Among all his works, in two of his oval rooms you can see the huge impressionist paintings Water lilies by Claude Monet, one of the great masterpieces of 20th century art history.
In addition to Monet's paintings, there are works by Renoir, Cézane, Gauguin, Picasso and Matisse, among others.
Visiting hours: from Wednesday to Monday from 9am to 6pm. Free entry with the Paris Pass.
All these museums are in the usual tourist routes, which you can prepare following these optimized guides, depending on the days you have:
Others Interesting museums to visit in Paris They are the Picasso Museum, Quai Branly, Petit Palais, Natural History Museum, Guimet Museum, Nissim de Camondo, Cluny Museum and the Grévin Museum.
If you feel like helping us complete the list of the 5 best museums in Paris, add yours in the comments
