Finding French Museums in Paris France

Europe has a great history and lots of different museums, and France is no exception where they are dotted all over the country, but there are an incredible amount of museums in Paris itself that you can visit.

Probably one of the most well known French Museums in Paris is The Louvre, which is famous for the Mona Lisa painting by Leonardo da Vinchi and this place can take at least a day or more to get round to see all the exhibits and you need a pair of walking shoes for this one!  But the popular Musee d'Orsay situated in the former Paris railway station on the left bank of the River Seine picks up where The Louvre leaves off and features mainly French art.

The Palais de Tokyo is another popular museum especially with the younger generation and situated in an art-deco palace holding only temporary exhibitions, it is open until midnight and has become known as the most creative and fun museum in Paris.

But you can also get to visit a traditional home of one of the famous artists or authors, like the home of Victor Hugo who wrote The Hunchback of Notre dame, or seeing Honor Balzac’s house where he made it a place of refuge and it even had an escape hatch to get away from the debtors that he owed money to, which is now part of the Musee du Vin wine museum.

Or for a completely different scene, why not visit the Musée Cernuschi with its collection of Asian art, or the more modern Fondation Le Corbusier who became a pioneer in modern design and dedicated time to plans for providing better living conditions for people living in crowded cities.

There are lots of museums that are dedicated to famous artists and sculptors such as Musee Rodin and the Picasso Museum, but to step back in time and get a feel for how some of them lived and worked a visit to the Musee Bourdelle or the Gustave Moureau museum is well worth the time.

However, just in the city of Paris there are lots of museums dedicated to specific topics, such as the Musée des Egouts or Paris Sewers Museum, where you go beneath the city to discover their history and how they work, or you have the catacombs, which are again underground.

But keeping above ground, there are other museums in Paris dedicated to specific themes like the Musée de la Musique, dedicated to music and musical instruments that even has a Stradivarius violin and the Musee de la Poste, dedicated to the French Postal Service.  Or perhaps you have an interest in dolls, as the Musée de la Poupée is all about dolls and their history, plus they even do valuations and repairs to antique dolls and teddy bears.  The Musee du Vin is dedicated to the French past-time of wine and wine making and here you can even have wine tasting sessions and enjoy a meal in their restaurant.

Paris has such a wide variety of museums for all the family to enjoy like going inside a decommissioned submarine, visiting the air and space museum and going inside a Boeing 747 or Concorde or going up the tower at the Notre Dame Cathedral to see the gargoyles.

There is so much more on offer than just the traditional art scene and you could spend months just visiting museums, without even contemplating any other monuments and landmarks in Paris, which is another major part of the French History that this incredible city is so proud of.

Yet we would like to point out that all the museums are closed for at least one day of the week and this is usually on a Monday or Tuesday, for instance The Louvre is closed on a Tuesday and therefore other popular museums get exceedingly busy on this day.

Also at certain state run museums you can gain free entry on the first Sunday of every month, however, if you do decide to choose this option, be prepared for the large crowds and long queues, especially at some of the more well known and famous museums!  But one option for jumping the queues is to purchase a Paris Pass that gains you entry into more than sixty different museums and attractions.

But we have found that you really do need to plan in advance exactly where you wish to go, otherwise you will definitely run out of time, mind you, this could be a good excuse for returning to Paris on another holiday in France!