The 10 Most Visited Museums In Paris

Paris is one of the cities with the greatest diversity of museums in the world! One hundred or so Parisian museums showcase paintings, sculpture, photography, contemporary art, science and collections on a whole range of subjects. These is The 10 Most Visited Museums In Paris:

Musée du Louvre

Every trip to the capital deserves a visit to the Louvre to discover the wealth of treasures it contains. The museum houses western works of art dating from the Middle Ages to 1848, in addition to collections of ancient oriental, Egyptian, Greek, Etruscan and Roman civilizations, as well as graphic and Islamic arts. From room to room, the former royal palace reveals its masterpieces to the public: the Mona Lisa, The Raft of the Medusa, the Venus de Milo, and The Winged Victory of Samothrace. In total, there are 35,000 works to be discovered or re-discovered! With its eight hundred year old history, the Louvre has been influenced by numerous architectural trends, from the medieval fortress of the 12th century to the glass pyramid by Pei (1989). The latest addition, housing the Islamic arts section, was designed by architects Mario Bellini and Rudy Ricciotti. The undulating glass canopy covers the Visconti courtyard, flooding the 2,800 m² new wing with light. A visit to the museum is particularly pleasant at night: the Louvre is less crowded and visitors can enjoy stunning night-time views of Pei’s glass pyramid, the Cour Carrée and the Seine.

Musée d'Orsay

Internationally renowned for its rich collection of Impressionist art, the Musée d'Orsay also displays all Western artistic creation from 1848 to 1914. Its collections represent all expressive forms, from painting to architecture, as well as sculpture, the decorative arts and photography. You're sure to be dazzled by the beauty of the place: a train station that looks like a palace, inaugurated for the 1900 Universal Exposition.

At the end of 2011, the museum reopened all of its entirely renovated spaces as well as some new rooms: an additional 400 m² for the Pavillon Amont, Post-Impressionist artists at the heart of the museum, the redesign of the Impressionists gallery, a new temporary exhibition space, plus a new 'aquatic' decor for the Café des Hauteurs, designed by Brazilian designers, the Campana Brothers.

Cité des sciences et de l'industrie

At the heart of the largest landscaped park in Paris, there is an original and spectacular place. You just have to step foot inside to explore the countless secrets of science, to multiply unusual experiences, to dive into the infinite possibilities of image...

At the Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie, curiosity brings children and adults to thousands of joys of discovery. The Cité des Enfants offers two exhibitions (2-7yrs and 5-12yrs) to learn whilst playing: you can build a house, play with water fountains and much more in the recently renovated Cité. Even parents will find it hard to leave!

Musée du quai Branly - Jacques Chirac

Located on the banks of the Seine, near the Eiffel Tower, the Musée du Quai Branly - Jacques Chirac exhibits 3,500 works of art from Africa, the Americas, Asia and Australasia. This important collection makes it a key place for arts for non-Western cultures.

Its original and imposing architecture was designed by Jean Nouvel, and its garden makes it a wild and pleasant place.

Extend your visit with a meal at the Les Ombres restaurant with its panoramic view, or with a snack at Café Branly.

More than a museum, this is a living place, and is one of Paris's four largest museums.

Fondation Louis Vuitton

The Fondation Louis Vuitton, situated in the Bois de Boulogne, a stone's throw from the Jardin d’Acclimatation, opened its doors on 27 October 2014. The Foundation's exceptional contemporary art collections (permanent and temporary) are exhibited in an architectural gem designed by the American Frank Gehry.

This visionary architect has revolutionised the use of glass and created previously unimagined shapes to produce a unique and innovative light and airy building. In addition to the artistic and architectural richness of the Fondation Louis Vuitton, the visitor is also afforded wonderful panoramic views from the various terraces of the building.

Grévin Paris

Like to have a one-to-one with Louis XIV, Mozart or Jean Reno? Are you a Ronaldo fan? Have you fallen for Ryan Gosling or are you fascinated by curvaceous Marilyn Monroe?

Meet all these celebrities on a tour full of surprises in outstanding themed settings!

Musée Grévin, a unique and unmissable venue in Paris, invites you to strike a pose next to over 200 figures past and present who have left their mark on history!

Enjoy this fantastic experience with family or friends and get up close to major personalities in French history, sports legends, political figures and film stars!

Grande Galerie de l'Évolution - Muséum national d'histoire naturelle

Under the subdued light of an enormous glass roof, you can enjoy a spectacular display of life-like animals, which look almost as if they are moving! This permanent exhibition educates visitors about the diversity of the living world, the evolution of different organisms and man’s impact on the environment.

Grand Palais

The Grand Palais is one of the most iconic Parisian monuments. Built for the 1900 Exposition Universelle, it is recognizable by its large glass dome flanked by the French flag. This architectural masterpiece of stone, steel and glass has been listed as a historical monument since 2000.

It comprises 3 major sites: the Nave, the National Galleries and the Palais de la Découverte. The majestic nave, 240 m long, welcomes a wide variety of major national and international events: (horse riding, contemporary art, fairground, etc.). The national galleries organize large-scale exhibitions on artists that have marked the history of art (Picasso, Hopper, Renoir, etc.).

The Palais de la Découverte is a museum and cultural centre dedicated to science, where children can learn whilst having fun, through permanent collections and temporary exhibtions. A 3-in-1 site that's not to be missed, close to the Champs-Elysées.

Musée de l'Armée - Invalides

The Musée de l'Armée, created in 1905, is located in the prestigious setting of the Hôtel National des Invalides. It was created in 1905 just after the World Fair and is the result of the merger of the Musée d'Artillerie, opened in 1796, and the old Musée de l'Armée created 100 years later.

It extends over 8,000 m² and is made up of a museum and two churches with some 500,000 objects. This makes it the largest museum of military history in France, and one of the leading ones in the world.

The permanent collections are presented chronologically in 'historical' collections representing time periods, from Antiquity to the end of the Second World War, and rounded off with objects belonging to a certain theme (emblems, paintings, military decorations...). These thematic collections are either presented in the historical exhibitions, or grouped together in specific areas.

The Dome Church (designed by Jules Hardouin-Mansart), with its 107-metres-high lantern and huge fresco painted by Charles de La Fosse, had its dome given a new coat of gold leaf in 1989 for the bicentenary of the French Revolution (requiring 12 kg of gold). It was the fifth time it has been restored since it was created.

The church is a real military pantheon, with monumental tombs containing Vauban's heart, the remains of Turenne and the heart of La Tour d'Auvergne; the Dome is also home to the tombs of the Emperor Napoleon I, his brothers Joseph and Jérome Bonaparte, his son, the King of Rome, generals Bertrand and Duroc and marshalls Foch and Lyautey.

Petit Palais - Musée des Beaux-Arts de la ville de Paris

The Petit Palais is an architectural gem dating back to 1900, situated on the avenue des Champs-Elysées. The building, which like the Grand Palais opposite it, was built for the Universal Exposition and houses the Musée des Beaux-Arts de la Ville de Paris. The 1,300 works in the museum (sculptures, paintings, tapestries, art objects, icons) offer a large artistic panorama. Ancient and Medieval collections are displayed alongside works from the French and Italian Renaissance and Flemish and Dutch paintings.

Visitors can discover a collection of paintings from major French artists of the 19th century: Delacroix, Monet, Sisley, Renoir, Toulouse-Lautrec, Courbet, etc. A small inner outdoor garden, which you can stroll around, adds to the charm of the establishment.