Don’t Miss These 14 Museums in Paris
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Art and history museums, writers’ houses, artists’ studios… The Paris Musées network brings together 14 museums and heritage sites with exceptional collections right in the heart of the French capital.
1. THE CATACOMBS OF PARIS
A veritable labyrinth in the heart of underground Paris, the Catacombs have been set up in the galleries of former quarries 20m underground and contain the remains of several million Parisians, transferred between the end of the 18th and the middle of the 19th century, as the capital’s cemeteries were closed.
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2. MUSÉE CARNAVALET – HISTOIRE DE PARIS
Housed in two private mansions in the heart of the Marais, the Musée’s collections include nearly 3,800 works. Paintings, sculptures, decorative art and historical objects, photographs, drawings, and posters, allowing visitors to travel from prehistory to the present day.
3. MUSÉE DE LA LIBÉRATION DE PARIS– GÉNÉRAL LECLERC – JEAN MOULIN
The museum takes visitors in the footsteps of Jean Moulin (1899-1943) and General Leclerc (1902-1947) through a journey of 300 original objects and documents, photographs, archive videos and testimonies. It allows us to discover their commitment, but also the voices and stories of those who resisted, in the heart of a world at war. 20 metres below the museum, there is an opportunity to visit a unique site: Colonel Rol-Tanguy’s Command Post during the liberation of the capital.
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4. ARCHAEOLOGICAL CRYPT OF THE ÎLE DE LA CITÉ*
Located under the forecourt of Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral, the Archaeological Crypt of the Île de la Cité presents a unique panorama of the evolution of the island. Digital devices bring to life the ancient, medieval and classical past.
*Closed for renovation from June 2026
5. VICTOR HUGO’S HOUSE
This apartment, occupied by Victor Hugo from 1832 to 1848 sits in today’s Place des Vosges. It retraces the writer’s life and has an exceptional collection of drawings, paintings, photographs and sculptures.
6. PETIT PALAIS – MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS
Built for the 1900 Universal Exhibition, the Petit Palais is Paris’s Fine Arts Museum. Featuring sumptuous décor, its collections of paintings, sculptures, furniture and objets d’art span from Antiquity to the beginning of the 20th century and include masterpieces by the likes of Rembrandt, Cézanne and Rodin.
7. MUSEUM OF MODERN ART
In its emblematic Art Deco building, the Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris houses an exceptional collection of 15,000 works covering a period that extends from 1900 to the present day, including masterpieces by the likes of Matisse, Soulage and Modigliani.
8. PALAIS GALLIERA – FASHION MUSEUM OF PARIS
The Renaissance-inspired Palais Galliera is home to the Musée de la Mode de la Ville de Paris. Its collection is made up of nearly 200,000 pieces and tells the history of fashion from the 18th century to the present day.
9. MUSÉE CERNUSCHI
On the edge of Parc Monceau, the Cernuschi Museum presents 5,000 years of Asian art, including nearly 15,000 Chinese, Korean, Japanese and Vietnamese treasures from bronzes to ceramics to lacquerware.
10. MUSÉE COGNACQ-JAY
Inaugurated in 1929, the Cognacq-Jay Museum houses the collection bequeathed to the City of Paris by Ernest Cognacq and Marie-Louise Jay. With great admiration for 18th-century, the collection is comprised of decorative art, furniture, sculptures, paintings and miniatures, and includes masterpieces by Boucher, Fragonard, Tiepolo and Canaletto.
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11. MUSÉE BOURDELLE
Within walking distance of Montparnasse, the Bourdelle Museum combines the charm of its studios with the poetry of its sculpture gardens. The layout of the museum takes visitors through the variations in Antoine Bourdelle’s sculptural work. The museum is equipped with an educational area, where visitors can learn about the techniques and craft of sculpture.
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12. MUSÉE ZADKINE
Dedicated to the work of the Russian-born sculptor Ossip Zadkine, a master of direct carving, the museum, nestled in the greenery of its garden populated by sculptures, was the artist’s living space and studio.
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13. MUSÉE DE LA VIE ROMANTIQUE
Located in New Athens disctrict, this residence, with its courtyard, garden and two artists’ studios, has retained all its charm. The painter Ary Scheffer received the Tout-Paris during the July Monarchy here: Delacroix, Rossini, Sand, Chopin and Dickens. Admire paintings by Scheffer and his contemporaries, as well as memorabilia belonging to writer George Sand, including furniture, objects, paintings and jewellery.
14. BALZAC’S HOUSE
Balzac’s house in Passy invites visitors to discover and reread La Comédie humaine. Its unspoilt garden and its view of the Eiffel Tower add to the attraction of this inspiring place.
For more information, visit www.parismusees.paris.fr
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