Paris is the city of light but also the city of culture and art; it doesn’t get better than the French capital for all the art hunters out there. There is an extensive list of great museums but we’ve narrow it down to 5, here is our top selection:

1/ Palais de Tokyo
Two steps away from Trocadéro this colossal looking building is the shelter to the best selection of French contemporary art, the modus-operandi: a temporary exhibition that’s available to the public for several months, no permanent collection here; instead they want constant movement and evolution. The east wing belongs to the City of Paris and is home to the Modern Museum of Art; and the west wing belongs to the state and is the recently renovated Palais de Tokyo, know as “the biggest non-collecting contemporary art museum of Europe”. Bonus: this chic place is not only a museum, it’s a lifestyle, it also has a French-food/Japanese-allure restaurant (Tokyo Eat) and the brand new Nouveau Restaurant, a terrace facing the Seine with quality cuisine, cocktails and hype music (opens September 2012).

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Palais de Tokyo
13 Avenue du Président Wilson
Paris 75116
T.: +33 181973588
Opening hours: everyday’s except Tuesdays and holidays (January 1st, May 1st, December 25th) from noon to midnight
Admission: 8€ / reduced admission: 6€ (visitors under 26, numerous family, teachers, students seniors) / free for visitors under 18 and every first Monday of the month from 6 p.m.

2/ Musée Marmottan Monet
This private museum located near Bois de Boulogne, was originally a hunting lodge. In 1957 the museum received a large donation of impressionist works from Victorine Donop de Monchy, the daughter of the doctor to Renoir, Monet, Pissarro, Manet and Sisley (what an A-list bunch of patients!), and afterwards, Michel Monet, the son of the great painter donates his collection of paintings from his dad, what makes of this place the home to the biggest collection of Monet’s works. Besides Monet, you can find paintings from Berthe Morisot, Degas, Rouart and others. Talk about an impressionist temple!

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Musée Marmottan Monet
2, rue Louis-Bouilly
Paris 75016
T.: +33 144965033
Opening hours: everyday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Tuesdays until 8 p.m. (Closed on Mondays, January 1st, May 1st and December 25th).
Admission: 10€ / Reduced admission: 5€ / free for children under 7

3/ Musée d´Orsay
An ancient train station that was later abandoned because the new trains were to big to fit in there, is was saved from demolition and instead of building a big hotel complex, the best decision was made, and it became a museum that was inaugurated in 1986 by president François Miterrand. Also a place known for its impressionist and post-impressionist collection of masterpieces, it’s home to: paintings, sculptures, photography and architecture and decorative arts of household names like Gauguin, Van Gogh, Cézanne, Degas, Renoir, Monet, Corot, Courbet, you name it!

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Musée d´Orsay
62 rue de Lille
Paris 75007
T.: +33 145494703
Opening hours: everyday from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., Thursdays until 9:45 p.m., closed on Mondays.
Admission: 9€ /reduced admission: 6,50 € / exhibition ticket: 12€ / free from visitors 18 and under, and for UE members from 18-25

4/ Musée du Louvre
This quintessential Parisian museum is home to the most famous painting in the world, the one of an Italian lady that seems to be smiling, or maybe not, any thoughts???, well ok, we’ll tell you: the Mona Lisa!. It’s no surprise that this huge place is the most visited art museum in the world, it has 8 curatorial departments: paintings, Egyptian antiquities, Greek, Etruscan and roman antiquities, near eastern antiquities, sculpture, decorative arts, Islamic art and prints and drawings. Also, if you’re part of the Da Vinci fan group, then of course, this is the place to do a little code-breaking!

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Musée du Louvre
99, rue de Rivoli
Paris 75001
T.: +33 140205317
Opening Hours: everyday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Wednesdays and Fridays until 9:45 p.m., closed on Tuesdays and holidays (January 1st, May 1st and December 25th)
Admission permanent collection: 10€ / Admission Napoleon Hall exhibitions: 11€ / Full admission (permanent collection, temporary exhibitions and Eugène Delacroix Musée): 14€ / free for visitors under 18, EU members 15-25.

5/ Grand Palais
Built for the Exposition Universelle (or World Fair) of 1900, it has a signature glass-domed roof that we can spot from far away, it’s located just in front of its little brother, le Petit Palais, and the Pont Alexandre III, all three forming a beautiful ensemble made specially for the occasion. It serves as a public exhibition space and hosts a variety of events; it has 3 different and separated areas, each one with its own entrance: the Palais de la Découverte (a science museum), the Galeries Nationales du Grand Palais (an exhibition hall) and the Nef du Grand Palais (an event hall). Does seeing the largest ironwork and glass structure in the world interests you? I’m thinking oui!

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Grand Palais
3 Avenue du Général Eisenhower
Paris 75008
T.: +33 144131717
Opening hours: everyday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., closed on Tuesdays
Admission: depends on the exhibition and museum.

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