Paris provides a wealth of opportunities to enjoy art for free. There are chic art boutiques, pop-up art displays, and notable free museums in Paris allowing visitors to immerse themselves in Parisian culture.
What I love most about the free museums in Paris is the ability to stop by and spend a short time perusing. Each visit to a Paris museum opens up a new world. I have personally visited each of these 11 free museums in Paris and find that they offer visitors the chance to dive into exceptional collections whether you are looking for sculptures, art, or ancient relics!
Please Note:
- when there is a temporary exhibition at these free museums in Paris, there may be an entry fee charged
- book your entry in advance
- many museums in Paris offer free entry on the first Sunday of each month. Refer to the list below.
- you know I love museums and art galleries, here are some top museums in Paris apart from the Musée d’Orsay and the Louvre
- Calling all museum lovers, try the Paris Museum pass for 2, 4, or 6 days.
12 Free Museums in Paris
1. The Archives Museum (Musée des Archives Nationales, site du Paris)
Step through the National Archives museum’s entrance and be swept away by one of the most stunning hôtel particuliers in Paris, the Hôtel de Soubise. Wander through the magical gardens and then explore the museum’s elegant interior. Browse through the documents on display. Will you see Napoleon’s will, Marie Antoinette’s farewell letter or the only known portrait of Joan of Arc?
Free Paris Museum: Practical Information
- This Paris museum’s website: Musée des Archives Nationales
- Location: 60 rue des Francs-Bourgeois, Paris, 3rd arrondissement
- Opening Hours: Closed Tuesday; All Other Weekdays 10 AM to 5:30 PM; Weekends 2 PM to 5:30 PM
- Getting to this free Paris museum: Hôtel-de-Ville (line 1), Rambuteau (line 11), Arts et Métiers (line 3)
- Café-Restaurant: N/A
- Garden: Yes, Open daily
2. Balzac’s House (La Maison de Balzac)
La Maison de Balzac is dedicated to the life and works of Honoré de Balzac. It is not hard to imagine Balzac writing in this charming green and white townhouse with its view over the Eiffel Tower. Balzac’s writing desk where he wrote relentlessly day and night for seven years is on display. This free Paris museum also houses original manuscripts, first editions of Balzac’s works and several busts of Balzac. Looking at the displayed revisions of his manuscripts, it is hard to imagine how his editors survived!
Linger in the garden and soak up the Eiffel Tower views. Be sure to descend into the laneway behind this free Paris museum. When the tax man was at the front door, Balzac used to exit his back door to the laneway and into the streets of Paris. It’s not hard to visualize!
If you’re inspired to read Honoré de Balzac after your visit, pick up one of his famous books in the tiny gift shop.
Free Paris Museum: Practical Information
- This Paris museum’s website: La Maison de Balzac
- Location: 47 rue Raynouard, Paris, 16th arrondissement
- Opening Hours: Closed Monday; All Other Weekdays 10 AM to 6 PM
- Getting to this free Paris museum: Passy (line 6), La Muette (line 9)
- Café-Restaurant: The Rose Café
- Garden: Yes. Open daily and a view of the Eiffel Tower
3. The Bourdelle Museum (le musée Bourdelle)
Strolling through the Bourdelle Museum is to step into the life of Antoine Bourdelle, a leading sculptor from the early 20th century. Set in his home and workshop where he lived for 40 years, the museum displays Bourdelle’s bronze sculptures in the gardens and major plaster casts in his studios. Personal artifacts are also on display which add to the charm of the museum.
After he died in 1929, his wife Cléopâtre and daughter Rhodia made it their life’s goal to fulfill Bourdellle’s wish to create a museum where his works could be displayed.
This free museum in Paris, a real hidden gem, provides a simply enchanting retreat for art lovers.
Free Paris Museum: Practical Information
- This Paris museum’s website: Musée Bourdelle
- Location: 18 rue Antoine Bourdelle, Paris, 15th arrondissement
- Opening Hours: Tuesday to Sunday 10 AM to 6 PM; Closed Monday
- Getting to this free Paris museum: Montparnasse (lines 1, 4, 6, 12, 13 – exit Place Bienvenue), Falguière Vert (line 12)
- Café-Restaurant: Le Rhodia; Tuesday to Sunday 10 AM to 5:30 PM
- Garden: Yes
4. The Carnavalet Museum (le musée Carnavalet)
The Musée Carnavalet, the History of Paris Museum, is set in two stunning 16th-century mansions in the Marais. If you are Paris-obsessed like me, you will love it. The Carnavalet Museum has a very large collection (625,000 works) so pace yourself or plan to revisit on another day.
Highlights for me include the ancient shop signs, the artefacts from the times of Henri IV, the Belle Epoque gallery and the magnificent recreation of the jewellery boutique of Georges Fouquet. Don’t miss the original mascarons (grotesquely carved stone faces) from the Pont Neuf.
The summer season (May to October) sees Fabula, a terrace restaurant, set up in the garden of the Carnavalet Museum. Swoon.
Free Paris Museum: Practical Information
- This Paris museum’s website: Musée Carnavalet
- Location: 23 rue de Sévigné, Paris, 3rd arrondissement
- Opening Hours: Tuesday to Sunday 10 AM to 6 PM; Closed Monday
- Getting to this free Paris museum: Saint-Paul, Brèguet Sabin, Pont-Marie, Chemin Vert
- Café-Restaurant: Fabula, Seasonal
- Garden: Yes
5. The Cernuschi Museum (Le Musée Cernuschi )
It was because I had some time to kill that I ended up at the Cernuschi Museum! I was heading to Parc Monceau to spend 30 minutes before an appointment but the park’s grand gates were locked due to a wind storm. As I turned to leave the park entrance, the elegant private mansion housing the Cernuschi Museum came into view. Although I can admit that Asian art is not a particular interest of mine, I decided to enter and see what this free museum in Paris was all about!
Founded in 1898 by Italian financier and passionate art collector Henri Cernuschi, the museum is one of the oldest in Paris and the second-largest museum of Asian art in France. The collection is extensive with over 12,000 pieces, including ancient Chinese bronzes, ceramics, and Buddhist sculptures.
There are plenty of interesting pieces but the enormous 18th-century bronze statue of Buddha will take your breath away as will the delightful array of musicians on horseback.
I found the Cernuschi Museum to be a real Paris hidden gem. Typical Paris. The unexpected often thrills.
Free Paris Museum: Practical Information
- This Paris museum’s website: Musée Chernuschi
- Location: 7 ave Vélasquez, Paris, 8th arrondissement
- Opening Hours: Tuesday to Sunday 10 AM to 6 PM; Closed Monday
- Getting to this free Paris museum: Métro stop: Villiers (lines 2 and 3)
- Café-Restaurant: N/A
- Garden: No (but it is right beside Parc Monceau)
6. The Cognacq-Jay Museum (Le Musée Cocnacq-Jay)
This hidden gem for art lovers is tucked away in le Marais. The Cognacq-Jay Museum is housed in a charming Paris townhouse built in 1575. The collection of artworks was bequeathed to the City of Paris by Ernest Cognacq (1839 – 1928), founder of La Samaritaine department store, and his wife Marie-Louise Jay.
Wander through the Cognacq-Jay’s Parisian home and admire the spectacular collection of 18th-century paintings, drawings, sculptures, furniture, and art objects. Highlights include Diana After the Hunt by Boucher (pictured above) and Perrette and the Pot of Milk by Fragonard.
Cognacq was a connoisseur of portrait paintings. What a delight to find several Vigée- Lebrun’s pieces on display!
Looking for a tranquil place to explore in le Marais? Why not pop into the Cognacq-Jay Museum? You’ll end up staying much longer than anticipated!
Free Paris Museum: Practical Information
- This Paris museum’s website: Musée Cognacq-Jay
- Location: 8 rue Elzévir, Paris, 3rd arrondissement
- Opening Hours: Tuesday to Sunday 10 AM to 6 PM; Closed Monday
- Getting to this free Paris museum: Saint-Paul (line1), Chemin Vert (line 8), Rambuteau (line 11)
- Café-Restaurant: N/A
- Garden: Yes
7. The Liberation of Paris – General Leclerc Museum -Jean Moulin Museum
This free museum in Pars is a sobering encounter with Paris’s past. Step into the Paris occupation during World War II, the Pétain Government, and the round-up of the French Jews. Meet French resistance heroes that risked, and often lost, their lives to battle the Nazi occupation and fight for freedom. The Liberation of Paris gallery exudes the hope and joy found on the streets of Paris when the Germans surrendered the French capital on August 25, 1944.
Don’t forget to walk down the stairs (over 100) to the passive defence shelter used from August 20, 1944, as a command post. You can go down without the immersive experience (explained below), but need to book a time.
The Immersive Experience: Experience the command post with 3-D glasses where the workings of the subterranean secret headquarters are right before your eyes…book your free spot at the museum counter for a thirty-minute tour. Limited numbers.
Read More: After your visit to this free museum in Paris, why not stay in the 14th arrondissement and explore all there is to see and do! Or simply cross the street and descend into the fascinating Paris Catacombs.
Free Museum In Paris: Practical Information
- This Paris museum’s website: Musée de la Libération de Paris
- Location: 4 Avenue du Colonel Henri Roi-Tanguy, Paris 14th arrondissement
- Opening Hours: Tuesday to Sunday 10 AM to 6 PM; Closed Monday
- Getting to this free Paris museum: Métro stop: Denfert-Rochereau (lines 4, 6 and RER B)
- Café-Restaurant: N/A
- Garden: N/A
8. Modern Art Museum (Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris)
I first went to the Museum of Modern Art in Paris to see the retrospective exhibition of Nicolas de Staël. And what an exhibition it was! (Pictured above from the musée de Grenoble, de Staël’s Sicily from 1954).
The museum itself is full of light and the permanent collection displays about 15,000 works representative of the major artistic movements of the 20th and 21st centuries. Look for works by Modigliani, Braque, and Matisse. And don’t miss the canvases by Dufy and Bonnard.
Free Paris Museum: Practical Information
- This Paris museum’s website: Museum of Modern Art
- Location: 11 ave du Président Wilson, Paris, 16th arrondissement
- Opening Hours: Tuesday to Sunday 10 AM to 6 PM; Closed Monday
- Getting to this free Paris museum: Alma-Marceau and Iéna (line 9)
- Café-Restaurant: Forest with an indoor restaurant and stunning terrace overlooking the Eiffel Tower; Hours: Tuesday to Saturday 10 AM to 2 AM and Sunday 10 AM to 6 PM
- Garden: N/A
9. The Petit Palais
The Petit Palais is one of my favourite free museums in Paris. First of all, the elegant Beaux-Arts building, built for the World’s Fair in 1900, is an absolute wonder to enter and wander through. Secondly (but no less important), the free permanent collection is one that you can visit time and time again always finding a new painting or sculpture to admire. On a recent visit, I discovered art nouveau furniture designed by Hector Guimard! (You know my love for all things art nouveau!)
The grand, light-filled galleries in this exquisite building will not disappoint! You’ll find masterpieces from Gustave Courbet, Claude Monet, and Paul Cézanne along with plenty of paintings that will stop you in your tracks. Just pop in for an hour or two and be swept away!
Plan a visit around a coffee or lunch to experience Le Café 1902! The food is great and the tranquil courtyard with its spectacular garden views is unforgettable.
Free Paris Museum: Practical Information
- This Paris museum’s website: Petit Palais: Musée de Beaux-Arts de la Ville de Paris
- Location: ave Winston Churchill, Paris, 8th arrondissement
- Opening Hours: Tuesday to Sunday 10 AM to 6 PM; Closed Monday
- Getting to this free Paris museum: Champs-Élysées-Clemenceau (lines 1 and 13), Franklin D. Roosevelt (line 9)
- Café-Restaurant: Le Café 1902, Hours: Tuesday to Sunday 10 AM to 6 PM
- Garden: Yes
10. Victor Hugo’s House ( La Maison de Victor Hugo)
Maison Victor Hugo, located in the heart of the historic Place des Vosges in the Marais, is the former residence of the renowned French writer, Victor Hugo. Victor Hugo moved here a year after writing The Hunchback of Notre Dame. The Victor Hugo House is now a museum, established in 1902, devoted to his life and works. The Maison Victor Hugo showcases personal artefacts, original manuscripts, artwork, and furniture, allowing visitors to dive into the life of this celebrated novelist. There are also lovely views over Places des Vosges, arguably the most elegant square in Paris, from the Maison Victor Hugo, as seen above on a rainy day!
Free Paris Museum: Practical Information
- This Paris museum’s website: Maison de Victor Hugo
- Location: 6 Place des Vosges, Paris, 4th arrondissement
- Opening Hours: Tuesday to Sunday 10 AM to 6 PM; Closed Monday
- Getting to this free Paris museum: Métro Stops: Bastille (lines 1, 5, and 8), Saint-Paul (line 1), Chemin Vert (line 8)
- Café-Restaurant: Café Mulot, Hours: Tuesday to Sunday 10 AM to 6 PM
- Garden: Yes (museum entry not required)
11. Museum of Romantic Life (Musée de la Vie Romantique)
Please note that the museum and tea house are closed for renovations until March 2026.
Le musée de la Vie Romantique is housed in the former home of Ary Scheffer, a Dutch-French Romantic painter. His home was a meeting place for the artistic and literary elite of Paris in the 1800s. Chopin, Delacroix and George Sand were frequent visitors.
Enter the studio salon and imagine the intellectual conversations that transpired here. Enjoy the portraits and the George Sand memorabilia. Each time I visit, I am reminded of the need to read one of George Sand’s novels.
This free museum in Paris also hosts terrific temporary exhibitions. During those times, there is a fee to enter the museum.
Be sure to allow time to stop by the lovely tea room by The Rose Bakery in the garden.
Free Paris Museum: Practical Information
- This Paris museum’s website: Musée de la Vie Romantique
- Location: Hôtel Scheffer-Renan, 16 rue Chaptal, Paris, 9th arrondissement
- Opening Hours: Tuesday to Sunday 10 AM to 6 PM; Closed Monday
- Getting to this free Paris museum: Métro Stops: Saint-Georges (line 12), Pigalle (lines 2, 12), Blanche (line 2), Liège (line 13)
- Café-Restaurant: The Salon du Thé by the Rose Bakery; Hours: Tuesday to Sunday 10 AM to 6 PM
- Garden: Yes
12. The Zadkine Museum (Le Musée Zadkine)
The Zadkine Museum was on my radar for a while before I visited. It is a charming and intimate art museum in Saint-Germain-des- Prés just a stone’s throw from the Luxembourg Gardens. Dedicated to the life and work of Russian-born sculptor Ossip Zadkine, the museum is housed in the artist’s former home and studio, where he lived and worked for over four decades. The house is full of light and it is easy to imagine Zadkine working in his studio.
The Zadkine Museum showcases a rich collection of Zadkine’s sculptures, drawings, and paintings which were all donated to the City of Paris by his wife, Valentine Prax who was also a painter. Sit in the lovely garden, a haven of peace in the busy city, and soak up the artistic vibe.
Free Paris Museum: Practical Information
- The Zadkine Museum website
- Location: 100 bis rue d’Assas, 75006 Paris
- Opening Hours: Tuesday to Sunday 10 AM to 6 PM (last entry at 5:30 PM)
- Getting to the Zadkine Museum: Métro: Notre-Dame des Champs (line 12); Vavin (line 4); RER B: Port-Royal
- Café-Restaurant: N/A
- Garden: Yes
Other Free Museums in Paris
- Fondation EDF
- Fondation Lafayette Anticipations
- Frac Ile de France – Le Plateau
- Memorial de Shoah
- Musée Curie
- Musee de la Légion d’ Honneur
- Musée du Parfum Fragonard
- Pavillon de l’Arsenal
Free Museums in Paris: The First Sunday of the Month
Here’s a list of some super museums open the first Sunday of the month:
- musée d’Orsay: book your reserved access to the Musée d’Orsay here.
- musée Picasso
- musée du Quai Branly
- musée des Arts et Métiers
- centre Pompidou
- musée de Cluny
- musée Rodin
- musée de l’Orangerie
- musée Delacroix
- musée Gustave Moreau
Please note that some of these museums have this offer only during low season, while others have it all year. Check in advance.
Also, the Louvre has free entry on the first Friday of each month after 6 PM! Book your timed-entrance ticket to the Louvre here
I hope you have a chance to visit these fabulous free museums in Paris. Just pop in for a short visit or linger a little. You won’t be disappointed.
Until next time,
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