What are your favorite museums in Paris (not counting the biggies)

The Cluny for the tapestries and Middle Ages artifacts, as well as the building itself. And the Jacquemart-André museum, for its superb collections set in a beautiful mansion.

Jaquemart-Andre Museum is pretty cool, and pairs well with a stroll through nearby Parc Monteau. It’s not really a museum museum, you’re just walking through a beautiful grand house with fine art in it.

And it’s easily considered a biggie, but our visit to Marmottan remains very memorable. They have, among other things, a terrific collection of Morisot paintings. It’s not close to anything else, so it’s not as crowded and is a nice excuse to check out a different Parisian neighborhood.

Lastly, not a museum but I think Pere Lachaise counts. Incredible history, artful sculpture and scenery, and again it’s a different neighborhood than 90% of the other attractions.

We visited the Musee du Quay Branly on our last visit to Paris and loved it- fascinating collection of anthropological objects. I'm not sure it counts as a museum but I also loved Serge Gainsbourg's house (there is a small museum as well across the street). I really enjoying seeing where the people whose art I love lived and worked.

This is a hard choice....

Cluny - I agree with this one!

Marmottan - I agree with this one as well!

Carnavalet - A free museum of the history of the City of Paris. Very interesting!

Musee de l'Armée - Good WWII rooms if you are interested and for the first time last trip the museum of the legion of honor was open and got in there.

Basilica Saint-Denis - This should count as a museum!

Museum of the Liberation and Resistance - excellent free museum for those interested in WWII history

The Petit Palais - Very nice free collection and the paid exhibitions are usually very good

Others I have liked a lot based on the exhibitions they were having at the time.

The Marmotten Monet Museum is kinda popular but so worth it. For something small and off the beaten path, try the Wine Museum which is also in the 16th Arr. You could easily combine the two in a half day.

I added this on to your other thread but I enjoyed the BnF- Bibliothèque nationale de France last Fall. Very wide ranging collection from 10C BC papyrus to one of Edith Piaf's dresses. It felt like a mini-Louvre and much more doable with no crowds.

Musée des Arts et Métiers— fun, uncrowded and well done. Nice break from art too.

Happy travels.

Cognacq-Jay in the Marais for a glimpse of how wealthy Parisians lived in the late 1800's. The couple who owned the house were the original owners of the Samaritaine department store.

https://www.museecognacqjay.paris.fr/en

We enjoyed the museum of decorative arts. It just a few steps from the Louvre.

Hi,

Carnavalet, Monet Monmartton, and Musee Montmartre.

John Adams named my three favorites, but I’d also plug the Picasso Museum. I thought the exhibits were very well presented…I liked it much more than I expected to.

https://www.museeliberation-leclerc-moulin.paris.fr
Loved it. Worth 2+ hours.

I have two favorites that I rarely see mentioned on the forum. One is Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris — not as big or flashy as Musée d’Orsay, but it has a very nice permanent collection of modern art and worthwhile special exhibits. Bonus points for the Moderne since I’ve never been there when the collection galleries were crowded. And, double bonus, admission to the permanent collection is free.

The other favorite is Fondation Louis Vuitton. There is no “permanent” collection but a rotating collection and huge, out-of-this-world special exhibits. The Rothko retrospective 2 years ago brought me to tears. Minus the art, the spectacular Frank Gehry building alone is worth a visit. It’s a very popular museum but I don’t think it makes it onto the average North American tourist’s itinerary because it’s out on the edge of the city, in the Bois de Boulogne. Not all that easy to get there but worth it. This Spring, I’m looking forward to the big Calder exhibit

The museum of fakes/counterfeits is great fun.
https://musee-contrefacon.com/en/

Many good mentions here.

May I add: Musee Nissim de Camando?

Agree Arts et Metiers, by the subway stop of the same name. Note: not air conditioned.

The Bourse.

MEEP. Photography.

Yes, Picasso for sure.

Shoah Museum in the MarAis.

As always, check what is open ( days, hours, not under renovation, etc. ), what requires (annoying to me, timed tickets), what is on view. FWIW, I dislike The Louvre, way too crowded to enjoy.

Museum of Art and History of Judaism (MAHJ ) is very interesting and well done. Others have already been mentioned but definitely Cluny museum, Marmottan, Marie Curie on my list.

A number of those mentioned are on my list as being worth a second visit. But I like this place too: https://www.musee.minesparis.psl.eu/Accueil/

I'm really sad the dinosaurs in the Natural History Museum are closed for the year (or more).

@KGC - that Mineral museum at the School of Mines is a new one to me. Thanks for mentioning it. It's near the Curie Museum which I hope to visit this time as well. Both have limited opening hours/days.

I am a little curious that no one mentioned the Pompidou Center. Is that because it is currently closed for renovation or is it considered one of the biggies, or does no one else like it? I was there about 20 years ago. I thought the collection was very worth seeing and there were some great views from inside.

Not in the very center of Paris but I liked my visit to Musée de l’Air et de l’Espace at Le Bourget Airport. It was also at the time of the international airshow the week before it was open to the public and only open for the industry. Several aircrafts did demonstration flights to show their capabilities and good to see from the terrace just outside the museum. As a visitor of the museum this was an unexpected bonus.

Will also 2nd the Air museum at Le Bourget - an AF 747 you can go in, two Concordes, too! An A380 (closed when I went) and the building is a beautiful art deco specimen (also, was the airport that Mrs Harris (Mrs Harris goes to Paris) arrives at in the new movie).

I am a little curious that no one mentioned the Pompidou Center.

It closed last year and isn't expected to reopen until sometime in 2030. Presumably the OP will be travelling to Paris long before then.

The Army Museum with its expanded exhibitions on WW1 (since the centennial) and the section on Napoleon.

Another museum in Paris:

the National Archives Museum, situated a few minutes from the Marais when in early July 2025 a special exhibit on revolutionary music and songs were featured, eg. " Ah, ça ira" and the like, even a battle song based on the military victory at Fleurus, (prior to Napoleon) from the Revolution into the 20th century, a fantastic historical and cultural coverage of the music. Just by chance saw this as the bus went it by 2 days before its end, went back the next day , obviously, to see this singular exhibit thoroughly . Sample lyrics were also posted.

Just wondering, has anyone visited Cité de l'économie et de la monnaie museum?

I haven't been yet, but it will be the first one I visit during my next stay in Paris.

Thanks for all the posts. I was aware of some of these places but not others..

One that I noticed that no one mentioned is the Cite de l’architecture du patrimoiny, which we definitely plan on visiting (my son is graduating with a degree in Architecture).

"Cite de l’architecture du patrimony,"

I've been there a couple of times. I guess I would have been more interested if the artifacts on display were not from plaster casts of the original although that might be enough for your son.

The last time I went one of the forum members had told me that the statues from the Notre Dame spire were on display. They had been taken down for refurb before the fire so were spared and they were then on display at this museum so they were fabulous to see up close. Of course, they have been placed back on the new spire.

I do find this museum to be hot and stuffy. Either it is not well air-conditioned or the air handler does not change the air often enough or it's the south facing windows (view of Eiffel Tower) that collect the heat. I think both times I've gone it's been afternoon so hotter perhaps with the heat from the sun on its windows.

No need for a timed entry here as it's not a particularly busy museum.

Musée de l’Air et de l’Espace is fantastic! The best collection of pre-WWI flyers anywhere. I've been to a lot of aviation museums over the past 50 years, many of which no longer exist, but this place is special.

Two much less visited museums in Paris that we sort of stumbled upon our last visit:

https://philharmoniedeparis.fr/fr - specifically the Museum of Music:

https://collectionsdumusee.philharmoniedeparis.fr/?_gl=1*sosg5o*_gcl_au*MjMwNjY5NDE4LjE3NzE2MTU4Nzc.*_ga*MTMzODg4MTYzOS4xNzcxNjE1ODc3*_ga_B7TSD6KBY1*czE3NzE2MTU4NzckbzEkZzEkdDE3NzE2MTYwODEkajU0JGwwJGgw

A little outside tourists' Paris but a terrific collection of instruments as well as multiple opportunities to attend performances. A great museum for anyone interested in music.

A tiny, but very interesting museum in town is the Musee Curie, a small museum housed in Marie Curie's former laboratory. Free admission - https://musee.curie.fr/

We visited Musee de Moyen Age (middle ages) - inexpensive, wonderful tapestries.

Rodin museum - good cafe

The Philaharmonie is great- we went to an excellent exhibition there on Fela Kuti in 2023.

Sewers
https://musee-egouts.paris.fr/

History of Paris
https://www.carnavalet.paris.fr/

Cheese
https://musee-fromage-paris.com/

Decorative Arts
https://madparis.fr/en

I’m here in Paris just now ( can’t seem to stay away…. ;)
….) and went to the Archeological Crypt Museum under the open area in front of Notre Dame.
There were only 3 other folks in there while hundreds of them were up above outside, milling about and lining up for the Cathedral.
It’s fascinating to see remains of Roman walls, buildings, a hospital and a dock, plus artifacts found in the river.
Bonus: the descriptions are also in English and Spanish.
Later this week I’m going to check out the Police Museum.
I like little speciality exhibits.

S J, I would also like to visit the Archeological Crypt Museum. Do you need to buy tickets in advance? If not, can they be purchased on site? We will be in Paris mid June this year. Great topic, btw, davidfox.

Lindy:
I just walked right in to the Crypt Museum.
I’m not sure most people even know it’s there, as it’s not on the “popular” list .

Good to know! Did you purchase your tickets at the site?

Yes, you can buy tickets onsite for the Archeological Crypte. My experiences over the years have also been the same as SJ's....hardly anyone in there. NO pressure to move forward. Plenty of time to see what's what. Since it is a City of Paris museum, it is closed on Mondays.

editing to add: @ Lindy - I just looked at their FB page and apparently they have some replicas of Mammoth tusks on display in the crypt as 100,00-90,000 Mammoths roamed this area of the Seine. (The translation is not great,lol)

https://www.facebook.com/CrypteParis/

Thanks S J and Pam for the information. I try to be as "loose" as possible with timed tickets. Once the "biggies" have been experienced, it's so nice to visit the "lesser" sights when the mood or weather is just right.

I walked right into the archeological crypt under ND. No line for tickets (yes I bought a ticket but didn't have to wait). I really enjoyed it. October 2025.

Pastuer museum- unfortunately closed at this time.

In addition to many museums referenced above, we very much recommend The Musee des Plans-Reliefs located in the Invalides, upper floor. The displays are relief maps constructed to scale for military campaigns. The first is dated 1668, I believe.
A fun source for our trips to Paris has been "The Little (r) Museums of Paris" by Emma Jacobs.

Lots of great ideas here including the wonderful resistance underground bunker. IMHO the most underrated tourist site on the Paris metro is Basilica St. Denis with its well preserved tombs of the Kings of France. During the revolution the kings were dumped elsewhere and their remains may or may not not be in a common grave in the undercroft but some wise soul in the revolution declared the tombs works of art and preserved them. On the town square in St. Denis near the St Denis Basilique metro stop. Wonderful day trip.

We went with our daughter last spring and then to the huge Legion of Honor park nearby which was lovely and filled with flowers and picnickers in April. These snapshots were from a trip my husband and I took 15 years ago.
https://janettravels.wordpress.com/2010/10/26/confronting-mortality-at-st-denis/

I loved the Orsay, but I guess that's one of the main ones, so doesn't count.

Also really liked the Cluny. I got there early, was one of the first ones in the door when they opened, and I went right to the Lady and the Unicorn tapestries. Had them all to myself for about 10 minutes. And the rest of the museum was pretty great too.

Both the Cluny and the Picasso have been recently remodeled and are both much nicer experiences than they used to be.

In our experience the Louis Vuitton, which is a pain to get to and from, has exceptional exhibits. We have been to 3 or 4 and each has been exceptionally well curated and presented. We are not fans of David Hockney but even so had to really hand it to the museum for an outstanding presentation of his work. The building itself is wonderful with its terraces and you can get coffee or other drinks on the terraces while enjoying the view. As an added bonus your entrance to the museum gives you free entrance to the Jardin d'Acclimatation park and amusement park adjacent. We always walk through the gardens to get to the metro back to central Paris. If you want to go on any of the rides, there are ticket machines in the park. I recommend the deconstructed merry go round where the horses gallop through the field rather than go around in a circle. It is a park for young children but is a pleasant stroll and they have a lot of exotic birds along the way.

I have wanted to go to the Marie Curie museum; it has always been closed when we were neqrby. Had anyone gone and do you recommend it?

"I have wanted to go to the Marie Curie museum; it has always been closed when we were neqrby. Had anyone gone and do you recommend it?"

Yes, a forum friend went and said it was small but interesting.

Also, Kim in Paris alerted me to this exhibition at the Liberation Museum - Photographer Robert Capa and wartime photography.

https://www.museeliberation-leclerc-moulin.paris.fr/expositions/robert-capa-photographe-de-guerre

Janet Travels, my husband and I visited the Marie Curie Museum a bit over a year ago. The displays are very nicely presented and manageable. I've been interested in M. Curie from when I was a child in school since women just weren't featured (she'd won two Nobels, no less!) --she stood out and more than her husband--unheard of! It was of more interest to my husband who did his research for his Ph.D. in nuclear physics at a cyclotron lab, which M. Curie's research was the precursor of. I was more interested in her office from which she enjoyed the view of her garden through the window. Unfortunately, visitors cannot gain access to her office but could view it from outside the door--I really wanted to see back to the garden though! After we left, I made sure I went outside to the back, but, alas, no garden, only garbage cans. I wanted to be able to see what M. Curie saw that was so special to her. It's still worth a visit of about 45 minutes.

For those interested in her Office this Google (?) shows most of it with many photos.

https://artsandculture.google.com/story/marie-curie-s-office-mus%C3%A9e-curie/ygWhXOTiVVYvJg?hl=en

And this article may suggest why it's open so rarely:

https://www.iflscience.com/marie-curies-body-was-so-radioactive-she-was-buried-in-a-lead-lined-coffin-69080

[snip]
At the time, the French authorities wanted to move the Curies to the national mausoleum, the Panthéon, in honor of their contributions to science and for being icons in French history. The officials responsible for the exhumation contacted the French radiation protection agency with concerns about residual radiation and asked for assistance to protect workers in the cemetery.

When the exhumers approached their grave, they detected normal levels of radiation on the air, which then rose as the grave was opened (though not by large amounts). At first, Marie Curie’s coffin appeared to be made of wood, but when opened, they found it was lined with 2.5 millimeters (0.09 inches) of lead...

Less can be said about her equipment, however. After 100 years, many of her belongings, including furniture, cookbooks, clothes, and laboratory notes remain extremely radioactive. The latter are actually stored in lead-lined boxes at France’s Bibliothèque National in Paris. Upon requesting access to these objects, visitors are required to sign a liability waiver and to wear protective clothing to prevent exposure to radium-226.

Given that this particular isotope has a half-life of around 1,600 years, it is likely that these important documents will remain a harmful reminder of a powerful legacy.

I'm glad I visited the Marie Curie museum. I've always admired her. I have a biography of hers scheduled in my children's year 5. I'm also very interested in Polish history. It is small and they limit how many visitors are allowed in at once so you may have to wait outside for awhile. They have the lead container that she kept the gram of radium in that the American ladies fundraised for her to be given after it became too expensive for her to buy. She had a very interesting family including her children.