Paris's Top Fifty Museums

GEO Magazine released a special edition this year of Paris's fifty most beautiful museums. If you read French, beg, borrow, or steal a copy of this special edition. The list surprisingly excludes some which may be your favorites: (You’ll note that some favorite museums didn’t make the GEO magazine’s top fifty cut such as the Grand Palais, and the Musee de la Vie Romantique, however the Musee de la Vie Romantique did receive ‘honorable mention’ as one of Paris’s charming museums dedicated to writers.) Sorry to say, the Erotic Museum received no mention whatsoever, not even as being unusual. I’m not quite sure why the Grand Palais was not even mentioned although it has had some showstoppers (recently Courbet, and now the Marie Antoinette show). Paris Blog would definitely add to this list - La Fondation Cartier, Grand Palais, Musee Maillol, Musee Zadkine, Musee Montparnasse, Jean Sans Peur Tower. >> More on Museums Louvre Museum Decoratif Arts Museum Orangerie Museum Carnavalet Arts et Metiers Picasso Musee du Judaisme (Jewish Art & History Museum) Beaubourg (Centre Pompidou) Institute of the Arab World Middle Ages Museum (Musee du Moyen Age) Delacroix Luxembourg Invalides (Military Museum & Napoleon’s Tomb) Musee d’Orsay Quai Branly Rodin Cernuschi Jacquemart-Andre Palais de la Decouverte Petit Palais Musee de L’Homme Musee de la Marine Musee Marmottan Opera Garnier Grevin Wax Museum Musee du Montmartre Gustave Moreau History of Immigration Modern Art La Villette (Cite des Sciences et de l’Industrie) Musee de la Musique Bourdelle Palais de Tokyo Cite de L’architecture Galliera Guimet Cinematheque Francaise Gobelins Musee de la Poste Outside Paris: Musee de Versailles – Chateau de Versailles Mac/Val – Vitry-sur-Seine Musee Pierre Cardin – Saint Ouen Musee de l’Air et de l’Espace – Le Bourget Musee des Annes 30 Boulogne Musee Albert-Kahn – Boulogne Billancourt National Ceramic Museum- Sevres Atelier Jean Arp – Clamart Robert Doisneau Photography - Gentilly Musee Paul Delouvrier Honorable Mention: Museums dedicated to writers Balzac Victor Hugo Musee de la Vie Romantique Auguste Comte Boris Vian Unusual Museums Arts Forains (fairs) Musee de Contrefacon (Counterfeit Museum) Freemasonry Museum Smoker’s Museum Police Museum Musee de la Monnaie (Coin Museum) Listed According to Arrondissement: First Orangerie www.musee-orangerie.fr Jardin des Tuileries Admission: 6.50 Euros Closed Tuesdays. Metro: Tuileries The Louvre www.louvre.fr Place du Carrousel Admission: 9 Euros Closed Tuesdays. Metro: Louvre/Palais Royal Musee des Arts Decoratifs https://www.lesartsdecoratifs.fr 107 Rue du Rivoli Admission: 8 Euros Closed Mondays. Metro: Palais Royal Third Musee Carnavalet https://www.carnavalet.paris.fr 23 Rue de Sevigne Admission: Free Closed Mondays Metro: St. Paul Musee d’Art et d’Histoire du Judaisme https://www.mahj.org Hotel de Saint-Aignan 71 Rue du Temple Admission: 6.80 Euros Closed Saturdays Metro: St. Paul Musee des Arts et Metiers (Arts and Crafts) https://www.arts-et-metiers.net 60 Rue Réaumur Admission: Free Closed Mondays Musee Picasso Hotel Salé https://www.musee-picasso.fr 5 rue de Thorigny Admission: 7.70 Euros Closed Tuesdays Fourth Centre Pompidou (aka Beaubourg) Place George Pompidou https://www.centre-pompidou.fr Admission: 8 Euros Closed Tuesdays. Fifth Musee du Moyen Age (Middle Ages Museum) 6 Place P. Painlevé https://www.musee-moyenage.fr Admission: Free until June 30th ‘08 Closed Tuesdays. L’Institut du Monde Arabe 1 Rue des Fosses-St Bernard Place Mohammed V https://www.imarabe.org Admission: 7 Euros Closed Mondays Museum of Natural History Jardins des Plantes 36 Rue Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire www.mnhm.fr Admission: 8 Euros Closed Tuesdays Musee du Luxembourg 19 Rue du Vaugirard Luxembourg Gardens www.museeduluxembourg.fr Admission: 11 Euros Open every day. Musee Eugene Delacroix 6 Rue de Furstenberg https://www.museedelacroix.fr Admission: 5 Euros Closed Tuesdays Seventh Hotel des Invalides (Military Museum, Napoleon’s Tomb) 129 Rue Grenelle www.invalides.org Admission: 8 Euros Open Every Day except the first Monday of each month. Musee d’Orsay 1 Rue de la Legion d’Honneur www.musee-orsay.fr Admission: 8 Euros Closed Mondays. Musee du Quai Branly 37 Quai Branly www.quaibranly.fr Admission: 8.50 Euros Closed Mondays. Metro: Bir Hakeim Musee Rodin 79 Rue de Varenne www.musee-rodin.fr Admission: 6 Euros Closed Mondays. Metro: Varenne Eighth Musee Cernuschi 7 Avenue Valesquez www.cernuschi.paris.fr Admission: Free Closed Mondays. Palais de la Decouverte Ave. Franklin Roosevelt www.palais-decouverte.fr Admission: 7 Euros Closed Mondays. Metro: Franklin Roosevelt Musee du Petit Palais Avenue Winston Churchill www.petitpalais.fr Admission: Free (except for special exhibits) Closed Mondays Metro: Champs Elysees. Musee du Grand Palais (not listed in GEOs top fifty but definitely worth visiting!) 3 Ave du Gen Eisenhower www.rmn.fr Admission: 10 Euros Only temporary exhibits. Closed Tuesdays. Metro: Champs Elysees. Ninth Musee de L’Opera Place de L’Opera www.bnf.fr/pages/collections/coll_bmo.htm Admission: 8 Euros Open every day (except during shows). Metro: Opera Musee Grevin (The Paris Wax Museum) 10 Blvd. Montmartre www.grevin.com Admission: 18.50 Euros Open every day except two weeks in January(Winter School Break). Musee Gustave Moreau 14 Rue de la Rochefoucauld www.musee-moreau.fr Admission: 5 Euros Closed Tuesdays. Twelfth Cinematheque Francaise 51 Rue de Bercy www.cinematheque.fr Admission: 5 Euros Closed Tuesdays. Metro: Bercy La Memoire du Musee de l’Immigration (Immigration Museum) (used to be the Oceanic and African Arts museum before Quai Branly Museum opened) Palais de la PorteDoree 293 Ave Dausmenil www.histoire-immigration.fr Admission: 3 Euros Gobelins Tapestry Makers 42 Ave des Gobelins www.mobilier-natinal.culture.gouv.fr Admission: 6 Euros Closed Mondays. Fifteenth Musee de la Poste 34 Boulevard de Vaugirard www.museedelaposte.fr Admission: 5 Euros Closed Sundays. Metro: Montparnasse Musee Bourdelle 16 Rue Antoine Bourdelle www.bourdelle.paris.fr Admission: Free (except for special exhibits) Sixteenth Musee de L’architecture (Cite du patrimoine de l’architecture) Palais du Chaillot www.citechaillot.fr Admission: 7 Euros Closed Tuesdays. Metro: Trocadero Modern Art Museum (Musee de l’Art Moderne) 11 Avenue Woodrow Wilson www.mam.paris.fr Admission: Free except for temporary exhibits. Closed Mondays. Metro: Trocadero Palais de Tokyo 12 Ave. Woodrow Wilson www.palaisdetokyo.com Admission: 6 Euros (Everland Hotel capsule until 31 Dec ’08) Closed Mondays. Metro: Trocadero Musee de la Marine Palais du Chaillot 17 Place du Trocadero www.musee-marine.fr Admission: 9 Euros Closed Tuesdays. Metro: Trocadero Musee Guimet 6 Place Iena www.museeguimet.fr Admission: Free (until June 30’08) Closed Tuesdays. Musee Galliera 10 Ave Pierre 1 de Serbie www.galliera.paris.fr Admission: 7 Euros Closed Mondays Musee de L’Homme Palais du Chaillot 17 Place du Trocadero www.mnhn.fr Admission: 7 Euros Closed Tuesdays Metro: Trocadero Musee Marmottan 2 Rue Louis Boilly www.marmottan.com Admission: 8 Euros Closed Mondays Eighteenth Musee du Montmartre 17 Rue Cortot www.museedemontmartre.fr Admission: 7 Euros Closed Monday AND Tuesday. Nineteenth Musee de la Musique 221 Ave Jean Jaures www.cite-musique.fr Admission:7 euros Closed Mondays La Villette – Cite des Sciences et l’Industrie 30 Ave Corentin- Caropi www.cite-sciences.fr Admission: 8 Euros Closed Mondays Outside Paris: Chateau de Versailles Versailles 78000 www.chateauversailles.fr Admission: 13.50 Euros Closed Mondays. 1930s Museum (Musee Annees 30) 28 Ave a. Morizet Boulogne 92100 www.annees30.com Admission: 4.35 Euros Closed Mondays Musee de l’Art Ceramic (Sevres Porcelain) Place de la Manufacture Sevres 9230 www.musee-ceramique-sevres.fr Admission: 4.50 Euros Closed Tuesdays "An often overlooked room in Musee d'Orsay" Photo by Chris Card Fuller ©2008