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How to visit Paris Museum/Exhibitions Free

Submitted by: marie

A trip to Paris is always a special moment, once you have reserved your flight ticket and your vacation rental, you can focus on planning your visit. Paris has a reputation for high prices, but wise travellers will discover Paris' museums for free as describe below :

Le Petit Palais

Built for the Universal Exhibition of 1900, this museum presents works since Antiquity until end of the XIXth century. The collections are organised in two major parts : the ancient art fund (French, Flemish, Renaissance, XVIIIth century art) and the XIXth century French art fund (Doré, Delacroix, Monet, Pissaro, Sisley, Renoir, Toulouse-Lautrec...).

Le Petit Palais (Musée des Beaux-Arts de la ville de Paris)

5, avenue Dutuit - Paris 8

open: 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.

closed: Monday and bank holidays

Permanent exhibition FREE

late night opening: Thuesday (8 p.m.) during temporary exhibitions

Métro : Champs-Elysées-Clemenceau (lines 1/13) or Concorde (lines 1/8/12)

l'Atelier Brancusi (The Brancusi Workshop)

L'Atelier Brancusi is a reconstruction of the workshop, with original furnitures and tools, of the sculptor Constantin Brancusi. You can discover most of his sculptures (finished but sketches too) in their original spirit : Brancusi was preoccupied by the relation between sculptures and space.

L'Atelier Brancusi

Beaubourg Piazza - 19, rue Beaubourg - Paris 4

open: 2 pm to 6 pm

free entrance

closed: Tuesdays and May 1^st

Métro : Rambuteau (line 11) / châtelet les halles (RER)

Free entrance (in the permanente exhibition) first sunday of the month

Le Louvre

Most famous museum of Paris, and one of the largest in the world, Le Louvre presents a permanent collection of 35000 works (Archeology, Decorative Arts, Jewellery, Furniture, Painting, Sculpture, Textile, Graphic art...) since High Antiquity (-7000) until 1850.

Musée du Louvres

Pyramide - Cour Napoléon

34, 36 quai du Louvre – Paris 1

open:

Museum: 9 a.m. - 6 p.m.(except Monday, 1/01, 1/05, 8/05, 15/08) Pyramid: 9 a.m. - 10 p.m.

Closed : Tuesday, 1^st January, 1^st May, 8^th May, 25^th December

Museum late night : opening on Wednesday, Friday (10 p.m.)

Métro : Palais Royal – musée du Louvre (lines 1,7)

Musée Picasso

Located in a beautiful mansion : the «hôtel particulier» Salé, the Picasso Museum presents more than 3000 works of the artists including paintings, sculptures, drawings, ceramics etc.

Musée Picasso

Hôtel Salé - 5, rue de Thorigny – Paris 3

open :

Summer : April 1^st - September 30 : 9.30 a.m. – 6.00 p.m.

Winter : October 1^st - Mars 31 : 9:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.

closed: Tuesday, 01/01

Métro : Saint-Paul / Saint-Sébastien Froissart / Chemin Vert

Musée des thermes deCluny (Museum of medieval art)

The museum, located between the gallo-romans ruins and a medieval hotel, presents master works of the medieval art and in particular the famous tapestries called The Lady with the Unicorn («La Dame à la licorne»).

Musée national du Moyen Âge - Thermes et hôtel de Cluny

6, place Paul Painlevé - Paris 5

open : 9.15 a.m. - 17.45 p.m.

closed : Thuesday, 1^st January, 1^st May, 25 December

Métro : Cluny-La Sorbonne / Saint-Michel / Odéon

Musée d'Orsay

Originally a train station built for the Universal Exhibition of 1900, this museum is dedicated to all artistic production (Painting, Sculpture, Architecture, Furniture, Cinema, Photography etc) from 1848 to 1914.

Chronologically the collections presented in the Musee d'Orsay are before the one of the Louvre and after the one of the Musée d'Art Moderne Beaubourg.

Musée d'Orsay

62, rue de Lille – Paris 7

open : 9.30 a.m. - 6 p.m.

closed : Monday, 1^st January, 1^st May, 25^th December

late night opening: Thursday (9.45 p.m)

Métro : Solférino (Line 12)

Musée Rodin

This museum, located in a XVIIIth century mansion, presents sculptures (marble, bronze, plaster etc) but also drawins from the sculptor Auguste Rodin. In addition, works from others artists, coming from the personal collection of Rodin, a exposed too. Few master works (and especally the famous Thinker) are exposed in the garden.

Musée Rodin

77, rue de Varenne – Paris 7

Métro : Varenne, Invalides, Saint-François-Xavier

Open :

Winter (October - March): 9.30 a.m. - 4.45 p.m.

Summer (April - September) : 9.30 a.m. - 5.45 p.m.

Closed : Monday, 01/01, 01/05, 25/12

Musée des arts asiatiques-Guimet

Major center for the knowledge of Asian civilizations, this museem presents one of the largest collection in the world (45000 objects), of all types of Asian art and in particular an amazing collection of archeology and antics objects.

Musée des Arts asiatiques - Guimet

6, place d'Iéna - 19, avenue d'Iéna - Paris 8

open : 10 a.m – 6 p.m.

closed : Tuesday

Métro : Iéna (9)

Musée National d'Art Moderne (Beaubourg)

Well known for his curious architecture , the Pompidou Center is a great cultural Center. It contains the Musée National d'Art Moderne which presents works since 1905 until present time. The museem is divides in two majors sections : moderne art (since 1905 until 1960) and contemporary art (since 1960 until now).

Musée National d'Art Moderne

Beaubourg Piazza – Paris 4

open : 11 a.m. - 9 p.m.

closed : Tuesday, 1^st May

Métro : Rambuteau (11) / châtelet les halles (RER)

Le château de Versailles

Commissioned by Louis XV The Château de Versailles was the official residence of the royal court until the french revolution.

Considered as the high point of French art and architecture during the 17th and 18th centuries The Château de Versailles is the prototype of French classical art. The gardens, designed by Le Nôtre, represents the quintessence of the «jardin à la française».

Château de Versailles

open :

summer : April 3 - October 31 : 9 a.m. – 6.30 p.m.

winter : November 1^st - April 2d : 9 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.

closed: Monday, May 1^st, May 28^th, December 25^th

By train :

RER ligne C

direction Versailles-rive-gauche-château

from Montparnasse station

train SNCF direction Versailles-Chantiers

from Saint-Lazare station

train SNCF direction Versailles-rive-droite