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/