31 Best Sights in Paris, France

Simply put, the Louvre is the world's greatest art museum—and the largest, with 675,000 square feet of works from all over the world. The Mona Lisa is, of course, a top draw, along with the Venus de Milo and Winged Victory. These and many more of the globe’s most coveted treasures are displayed in three wings—Richelieu, Sully, and Denon—which are arranged like a horseshoe around I. M. Pei's Pyramide. The giant glass pyramid surrounded by a trio of smaller ones opened in 1989 over the new entrance in the Cour Napoléon.

While booking admission tickets online in advance is not required, it's the best way to avoid disappointment: the €22 timed entry guarantees admission, while tickets bought on-site are only sold when space is available—and given a recent decision to limit daily visitors to 30,000 (a third of the previous norm), it's unlikely that spontaneous appearances at the museum will result in a successful visit. Be aware that children under 18 get in for free. Slick Nintendo 3DS multimedia guides (€5), available at the entrance to each wing, offer a self-guided discovery of the museum in a variety of languages, and extended openings (noctournes) on Friday evening allow you to visit the museum until 9:45 pm.

Having been first a fortress and later a royal residence, the Louvre represents a saga that spans nine centuries. Its medieval roots are on display underground in the Sully wing, where vestiges of the foundation and moat remain. Elsewhere in this wing, you can ogle the largest display of Egyptian antiques outside of Cairo, most notably the Great Sphinx of Tanis, one of the largest outside of Egypt (Salle 338). Upstairs is the armless Venus de Milo, a 2nd-century representation of Aphrodite (Salle 345). Highlights of the wing’s collection of French paintings from the 17th century onward include One Odalisque by Jean-August-Dominique Ingres (Salle 702). In the Denon wing, climb the sweeping marble staircase (Escalier Daru) to see the sublime Winged Victory of Samothrace, carved in 305 BC. This wing is also home to the iconic, enigmatic Mona Lisa (Salle des Etats); two other Leonardo da Vinci masterpieces hang in the nearby Grand Galerie. The museum’s 30,000-square-foot Arts of Islam exhibition space is here, too. Topped with an undulating golden roof evoking a flowing veil, its two-level galleries contain one of the largest collections of art from the Islamic world. After admiring it, be sure to visit the Richelieu wing and the Cour Marly, with its quartet of horses carved for Louis XIV and Louis XV. On the ground floor, the centerpiece of the Near East Antiquities Collection is the Lamassu, carved 8th-century winged beasts (Salle 229). The elaborately decorated Royal Apartments of Napoléon III are on the first floor. On the second floor, French and Northern School paintings include Vermeer's The Lacemaker (Salle 837).

Wealthy Milanese banker and patriot Enrico (Henri) Cernuschi fled to Paris in 1850 after the new Italian government collapsed, only to be arrested during the 1871 Paris Commune. He subsequently decided to wait out the unrest by traveling and collecting Asian art. Upon his return 18 months later, he had a special mansion built on the edge of Parc Monceau to house his treasures, notably a two-story bronze Buddha from Japan. Reopened in 2020 after restoration, France's second-most-important collection of Asian art, after the Musée Guimet, expanded its galleries to include objects never before displayed, widening the collection to include more works from Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. Cernuschi had an eye not only for the bronze pieces he adored but also for Neolithic pottery (8000 BC), mingqi tomb figures (AD 300–900), and an impressive array of terra-cotta figures from various dynasties. A collection highlight is La Tigresse, a bronze wine vessel in the shape of a roaring feline (11th century BC), purchased after Cernuschi's death. Although the museum is free, there is a charge for temporary exhibitions.

Opened in 1986, this gorgeously renovated Belle Époque train station displays a world-famous collection of Impressionist and Postimpressionist paintings on three floors. To visit the exhibits in a roughly chronological manner, start on the ground floor, take the escalators to the top, and end on the middle floor. If you came to see the biggest names here, head straight for the top floor and work your way down. English audio guides and free color-coded museum maps (both available just past the ticket booths) will help you plot your route.

Galleries off the first floor's main alley feature early works by Manet and Cézanne in addition to pieces by masters such as Delacroix and Ingres. The Pavillon Amont has Courbet's masterpieces L'Enterrement à Ornans and Un Atelier du Peintre. Hanging in Salle 14 is Édouard Manet's Olympia, a painting that pokes fun at the fashion for all things Greek and Roman (his nubile subject is a 19th-century courtesan, not a classical goddess). Impressionism gets going on the top floor, with iconic works by Degas, Pissarro, Sisley, and Renoir. Don't miss Monet's series on the cathedral at Rouen and, of course, samples of his water lilies. Other selections by these artists are housed in galleries on the ground floor. On the middle floor, you'll find an exquisite collection of sculpture as well as Art Nouveau furniture and decorative objects. There are rare surviving works by Hector Guimard (designer of the swooping green Paris métro entrances), plus Lalique and Tiffany glassware. Postimpressionist galleries include work by van Gogh and Gauguin, while Neo-Impressionist galleries highlight Seurat and Signac. The museum also regularly curates large, temporary exhibits of major historic artists.

To avoid the lines here, which are among the worst in Paris, book ahead online or buy a Museum Pass, then go directly to Entrance A2 for tickets with time slots or C1 if you have a museum pass (guards will help direct you). Otherwise, go early. Thursday evening the museum is open until 9:45 pm and is less crowded from 5 pm until closing. Don't miss the views of Sacré-Coeur from the balcony—this is the Paris that inspired the Impressionists. The museum has several restaurants and cafés; Café Cabana's views of the city through the ex-train station's giant clock face are legendary. The Musée d'Orsay is closed Monday, unlike the Louvre, which is closed Tuesday.

The outstanding Musée Guimet boasts the Western world's biggest collection of Asian art, thanks to the 19th-century wanderings of Lyonnaise industrialist Émile Guimet. Exhibits, enriched by the state's vast holdings, are laid out geographically in airy, light-filled rooms. Just past the entry is the largest assemblage of Khmer sculpture outside Cambodia. The second floor has statuary and masks from Nepal, ritual funerary art from Tibet, and jewelry and fabrics from India. Peek into the library rotunda, where Monsieur Guimet once entertained the city's notables; Mata Hari danced here in 1905, and the museum still hosts an impressive series of musical events. The much-heralded Chinese collection, made up of 20,000-odd objects, covers seven millennia. Recently restored and reopened, the Panthéon Bouddhique, in the Hôtel d'Heidelbach a few steps from the museum, houses Émile Guimet's collection of Japanese and Chinese works of art collected during his travels and arranged as they would appear in Buddhist temples. In the mansion's Japanese garden, authentic tea ceremonies are held in a pavilion built in the traditional Japanese style. Grab a free brochure at the museum entrance, and stop at the Salon des Porcelaines café on the lower level for a ginger milkshake or an Asian-influenced meal. The museum also has a charming bookstore. The Guimet's offshoot, the Musée d'Ennery, is housed in a Belle Époque mansion on Avenue Foch and is noted for its collection of Japanese netsuke, as well as 7,000 works of Chinese and Japanese art.

Among the city's best small museums, the opulent Musée Jacquemart-André is home to a huge collection of art and furnishings lovingly assembled in the late 19th century by banking heir Edouard André and his artist wife, Nélie Jacquemart, when this was their home. Their midlife marriage in 1881 raised eyebrows—he was a dashing bachelor and a Protestant, and she, no great beauty, hailed from a modest Catholic family. Still, theirs was a happy union fused by a common passion for art. For six months every year, the couple traveled, most often to Italy, where they hunted down works from the Renaissance, their preferred period, and prominently displayed them in their home. Their collection also includes masterworks by French painters Fragonard, Jacques-Louis David, and François Boucher, plus Dutch masters van Dyck and Rembrandt. The Belle Époque mansion itself is a major attraction. Its elegant ballroom, equipped with collapsible walls operated by then-state-of-the-art hydraulics, could hold 1,000 guests. The winter garden was a wonder of its day, spilling into the fumoir, where André would share cigars with the grands hommes (important men) of the time. You can tour the separate bedrooms—his in dusty pink, hers in pale yellow. The former dining room, now an elegant café, features a ceiling by Tiepolo. Don't forget to pick up the free audio guide in English, and do inquire about the current temporary exhibition, which is always world-class. Plan on a Sunday visit, and enjoy the popular brunch (€32) in the café from 11 am to 2:30 pm. Reservations are not accepted, so come early or late to avoid waiting in line.

This underrated museum has the largest collection of Monet's work anywhere. More than 100 pieces, donated by his son Michel, occupy a specially built basement gallery in an elegant 19th-century mansion, which was once the hunting lodge of the duke de Valmy. You can find such works as the Cathédrale de Rouen series (1892–96) and Impression: Soleil Levant (Impression: Sunrise), 1872, the painting that helped give the Impressionist movement its name. Other exhibits include letters exchanged by Impressionist painters Berthe Morisot and Mary Cassatt. Upstairs, the mansion still feels like a graciously decorated residence. Empire furnishings fill the salons overlooking the Jardin du Ranelagh on one side and the private yard on the other. There's also a captivating room of illuminated medieval manuscripts. To best understand the collection's context, pick up an English-language audio guide (€4) on your way in.

Home to the world’s largest public collection of Picasso’s inimitable oeuvre, this spectacular museum covers almost 54,000 square feet in two buildings: the splendid 17th-century Hôtel Salé and a sprawling structure in the back garden dedicated to temporary exhibitions. Diego Giacometti’s exclusively designed furnishings in the former are a bonus. The 200,000-plus paintings, sculptures, drawings, documents, and other archival materials (most of them donated to the City of Paris by Picasso or his family members) span the artist's entire career. Although it doesn't include his most recognizable works, it does contain many of the pieces Picasso himself treasured most. The first two floors cover his work from 1895 to 1972. The top floor illustrates his relationship to his favorite artists: landscapes, nudes, portraits, and still life works taken from his private collection detail his "artistic dialogue" with Cézanne, Gauguin, Degas, Rousseau, Matisse, Braque, Renoir, Modigliani, Miró, and others. The basement centers on Picasso’s workshops, with photographs, engravings, paintings, and sculptures that document or evoke key pieces created at the Bateau Lavoir, Château de Boisgeloup, Grands-Augustins, Villa La Californie, and his farmhouse, Notre-Dame-de-Vie, in Mougins. With excellent temporary exhibitions and plenty of multimedia components and activities that cater to kids, this is ideal for children and adult art lovers alike. Buy tickets online well in advance of your planned visit. Also, try to avoid visiting on weekends, when the crowds are largest.

After years of false starts, tycoon François Pinault is now showcasing his billion-dollar trove of contemporary works by bold-faced names such as Mark Rothko and Damien Hirst under the historic iron-and-glass dome of the 19th-century Commerce Exchange, one of the city's most stunning, if underused, buildings. After losing a previous bid to open a museum outside Paris and taking his works to Venice instead, Gucci owner Pinault could only watch as archrival Bernard Arnault opened his Frank Gehry–designed Fondation Louis Vuitton in 2014. Not one to be outdone, Pinault tapped star Japanese architect Tadao Ando to carry out a nearly $140 million redesign of Paris' former grain exchange in 2017. Inside, four levels of exhibition space spiral skyward along a giant concrete cylinder ringed at the top by a walkway offering a bird's-eye view of the galleries below. The sparsity of the collections only contributes to the spaceship-like appeal of the contemporary renovation, with a handful of 19th-century details remaining: double-helix stone staircases, wooden display cases dating to 1889, the engine room on the lower level, and the realist mural adorning the underside of the dome, displaying seasonal panoramas of French traders engaged in commerce with the rest of the world. Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, who supplied a 50-year lease, called Pinault's creation an "immense gift" to the city. Free 20-minute tours depart daily from the ground-floor level; on the hour, tours explore the collection, while on the half-hour, they delve into the history and architecture of the building. A children's area allows kids to engage with a tour guide, discovering the collection by way of games and books, while the Halle aux Grains restaurant from Michelin-starred father-and-son team Michel and Sébastien Bras allows you to discover a tasting menu in three, five, or seven courses or an à la carte selection of upscale, contemporary French specialties. Don't miss the 100-foot-tall Medici Column on the back side of the building. It was once the stargazing perch of Marie de Medici's powerful astrologer, Cosimo Ruggieri. Legend has it that on stormy nights, a silhouetted figure can be seen in the metal cage at the top.

Henri Cartier-Bresson, the legendary artist-photojournalist and co-creator of the Magnum photo agency, launched this foundation with his wife Martine Franck, a British-Belgian portrait and documentary photographer, and their daughter Melanie. The soaring, light-filled gallery showcases a collection of 50,000 original prints along with an exceptional series of solo exhibitions from notable photographers. The foundation's bookstore itself is a draw for photography buffs.

Rising up out of the Bois de Boulogne like a magnificent ship sporting billowing crystal sails, Frank Gehry’s contemporary-art museum and cultural center is the most captivating addition to the Parisian skyline since the unveiling of the Centre Pompidou in 1977. Commissioned by Bernard Arnault (chairman and CEO of luxury-goods conglomerate LVMH), the museum, which opened in 2014, houses Arnault’s substantial private collection, including pieces by Pierre Huyghe, Gerhard Richter, Thomas Schütte, Ellsworth Kelly, Bertrand Lavier, Taryn Simon, Sarah Morris, and Christian Boltanski, among others. La Fondation Louis Vuitton also hosts extensive temporary exhibitions, like the mesmerizing light installations of Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson. Le Frank, the pricey on-site restaurant overseen by Michelin-starred chef Jean-Louis Nomicos, is noted for its sophisticated mix of French and international cuisine. The museum is a 12-minute walk from Les Sablons métro on Line 1; alternatively, you can catch the Fondation shuttle (€2 for a return ticket), which leaves every 10–15 minutes from Avenue de Friedland at Place de l’Étoile.

Much of the credit for the city's ascendancy as a hub of international photography goes to Maison Européenne de la Photographie (MEP). Set in a landmark 17th-century mansion with a contemporary addition, MEP hosts up to four simultaneous exhibitions, which change about every three months, along with theme visits, workshops, and programs for kids. Shows feature an international crop of photographers and video artists. Works by superstar Annie Leibovitz or the late designer-photographer Karl Lagerfeld may overlap with a collection of self-portraits by an up-and-coming artist, and there are also regular retrospectives of photos by Doisneau, Cartier-Bresson, Man Ray, and other classics from MEP's vast private collection. The center has an excellent library, bookstore, and a café that spills out into the courtyard in warm months. Programs are available in English, and English-language tours are sometimes offered.

In high season, the lines to see Claude Monet's massive, meditative Water Lilies (Les Nymphéas) can stretch into the pretty Tuileries Gardens, but the paintings are well worth the wait. These works, displayed in two curved galleries designed in 1914 by the master himself, are the highlight of the Orangerie's small but excellent collection, which also features early-20th-century paintings by other Impressionist masters like Renoir, Cézanne, and Matisse. Many hail from the private holdings of high-powered art dealer Paul Guillaume (1891–1934), among them the dealer's portrait by Modigliani entitled Novo Pilota (New Pilot). Temporary exhibitions are typically quirky and well-curated. Originally built in 1852 to shelter orange trees, the long rectangular building, a twin of the Jeu de Paume across the garden, includes a portion of the city's 16th-century wall (you can see remnants on the lower floor). A small café and gift shop are here, too. Timed entrances, easily bookable online, are strongly recommended.

This museum—a branch of the Musée Guimet since 1943—is one of Paris’s best-kept secrets, a thrilling collection of Japanese and Chinese objects d’art. The stately rooms remain largely as they were when Clémence d’Ennery, a former actress and wife of an eminent Parisian playwright, amassed these treasures in her elegant Belle Époque mansion in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Though open to the public since 1908, it remains largely off the radar, since, until now, the museum has accepted extremely limited visitors by appointment only. Whether you’re a fan of Asian art or not, it’s well worth a trip to tony Avenue Foch to view the more than 7,000 objects on display, including hundreds of delightful netsuke figurines, sculptures, lacquerware, ceramics, inlaid furniture, and porcelains. Items are arranged in carved wooden cases among marble columns and gilded neoclassical woodwork. Purchase your ticket for the guided tour (in French and only on Fridays and Saturdays) in advance on the Musée Guimet website.

Sculptor Auguste Rodin (1840–1917) briefly made his home and studio in the Hôtel Biron, a magnificent 18th-century mansion that now houses this museum dedicated to his work. He died rich and famous, but many of the works that earned him a place in art history were originally greeted with contempt by the general public, which was unprepared for his powerful brand of sexuality and raw physicality.

Most of Rodin's best-known sculptures are in the gardens. The front one is dominated by The Gates of Hell (circa 1880), which illustrates stories from Dante's Divine Comedy. Rodin worked on the sculpture for more than 30 years, and it served as a "sketch pad" for many of his later works: you can see miniature versions of The Kiss (bottom right), The Thinker (top center), and The Three Shades (top center). The museum also showcases long-neglected models, plasters, and paintings, which offer insight into Rodin’s creative process. Pieces by other artists from his personal collection are on display as well—including paintings by van Gogh, Renoir, and Monet. A room is devoted to works by Camille Claudel (1864–1943), his student and longtime lover, herself a widely acclaimed sculptor. An English audio guide (€6.50) is available for the permanent collection and for temporary exhibitions.  Tickets can be purchased online for priority access. If you wish to linger, L'Augustine café serves meals and snacks indoors or outdoors under the garden's linden trees. The fine museum boutique sells quality gifts and objects d'art, such as reproductions of some of the master's most famous sculptures made from the original molds.

The sculptor Ossip Zadkine spent nearly four decades living in this bucolic retreat near the Jardin du Luxembourg, creating graceful, elongated figures known for their clean lines and simplified features. Zadkine, a Russian-Jewish émigré, moved to Paris in 1910 and fell into a circle of avant-garde artists. His early works, influenced by African, Greek, and Roman art, later took a Cubist turn, no doubt under the influence of his friend, the founder of the Cubist movement, Pablo Picasso. This tiny museum displays a substantial portion of the 400 sculptures and 300 drawings bequeathed to the city by his wife, artist Valentine Prax. There are busts in bronze and stone reflecting the range of Zadkine's style, and an airy back room filled with lithe female nudes in polished wood. The charming, leafy garden contains a dozen statues nestled in the trees, including The Destroyed City, a memorial to the Dutch city of Rotterdam, destroyed by the Germans in 1940.

One of several museums dedicated to the Surrealist master, this exhibition space's permanent collection includes about 300 works, mostly etchings and lithographs. Among the two-dozen sculptures are versions of Dalí's melting bronze clock and variations on the Venus de Milo. Since he was a multimedia pioneer ahead of his time, there are videos with Dalí's voice, and temporary exhibits have included the mustachioed man's foray into holograms. There's plenty of information in English, and audio guides (meant more for children) can be rented for €3.

Located at the foot of the Pont des Invalides, this floating museum is well placed to bring art and culture “closer to Parisians,” one of its stated missions as part of the Reinventing the Seine project, launched in 2018. The barge’s 26 massive glass panels, designed to mirror the river, render it almost transparent, and its surprisingly spacious interiors exhibit a permanent collection of works from the pioneers of street art. Temporary shows in the barge’s hold and on the main floor showcase emerging talents. There’s also a café, bar, and bookstore on the first floor and the chic rooftop bar is a popular spot in summer when the barge features outdoor concerts and art openings.

There's no shortage of museums in Paris, but this eye-catching gallery may be the city's premier place to view cutting-edge art. Funded by luxury giant Cartier, the foundation is at once an architectural landmark, a traveling corporate collection, and an exhibition space. Architect Jean Nouvel's 1993 building looks rather like a glass house of cards, layered seamlessly between the boulevard and the garden. The foundation regularly hosts Soirées Nomades (Nomadic Nights) featuring lectures, dance, music, film, or fashion on various evenings. Some are in English. Family tours and creative workshops for children ages 6 to 12 are also available as are free guided tours (in French) of exhibits on Tuesday through Friday, depending on space.  There are plans for the Fondation Cartier to move to a new location in the Place du Palais-Royal in the 1e in late 2025.

The elegant iron-and-glass, 19th-century market hall at the foot of Sacré-Coeur stages dynamic exhibitions of art brut, "raw" or outsider and folk art. The international artists featured are contemporary in style and outside the mainstream. There's also a good bookstore and a café serving light, well-prepared dishes, such as savory tarts and quiches with salad on the side, plus homemade desserts.

This Napoléon III–era building at the north entrance of the Jardin des Tuileries began life in 1861 as a place to play jeu de paume (or "palm game"), a forerunner of tennis. It later served as a transfer point for art looted by the Germans during World War II. Rather than a permanent collection, today the ultramodern, white-walled building provides a space for temporary exhibits from up-and-comers as well as icons such as Diane Arbus, Richard Avedon, Cindy Sherman, and Robert Frank. In 2022, the museum launched the first annual Jeu de Paume festival, a celebration of multiple media that marries exhibits, screenings, concerts, and more. Book your ticket in advance online for €12 or purchase on site for €13.

Antoine Bourdelle was a lifelong artist and prolific sculptor who worked with Auguste Rodin before breaking away to pursue his own style. He received commissions for prestigious projects, both small and monumental, many of which are documented in his cavernous, former workplace. This lesser-known museum has undergone a few renovations and extensions but still has preserved some of the artist's original spaces as well as the small garden with towering sculptures.

One of the loveliest museums in Paris, this 16th-century, rococo-style mansion contains an outstanding collection of mostly 18th-century artwork in its rooms of boiserie (intricately carved wood paneling). A tour through them allows a rare glimpse into the lifestyle of wealthy 19th-century Parisians. Ernest Cognacq, founder of the department store La Samaritaine, and his wife, Louise Jay, amassed furniture, porcelain, and paintings—notably by Fragonard, Watteau, François Boucher, and Tiepolo—to create one of the world's finest private collections of this period. Some of the best displays are also the smallest, like the tiny enamel medallion portraits showcased on the second floor, and on the third floor, the glass cases filled with exquisite inlaid snuff boxes, sewing cases, pocket watches, perfume bottles, and cigar cutters. Exhibits are labeled in French only, but free pamphlets and €5 audioguides are available in English.

Although the city's modern art museum hasn't generated a buzz comparable to that of the Centre Georges Pompidou, visiting can be a more pleasant experience because it draws fewer crowds. The Art Deco building's vast, white-walled galleries make an ideal backdrop for temporary exhibitions of 20th-century art and postmodern installation projects. The permanent collection on the lower floor takes over where the Musée d'Orsay leaves off, chronologically speaking: among the earliest works are Fauve paintings by Maurice de Vlaminck and André Derain, followed by Pablo Picasso's early experiments in Cubism. Other highlights include works by Robert and Sonia Delaunay, Chagall, Matisse, Rothko, and Modigliani. The museum also organizes excellent temporary exhibitions that rarely come with crowds. Forest, the museum's restaurant, is a lovely choice for lunch or dinner, and in warm weather, it's a prime spot for Eiffel Tower views on the Palais de Tokyo's sprawling terrace.

During its turn-of-the-20th-century heyday, this building—now home to Montmartre's historical museum—was occupied by painters, writers, and cabaret artists. Foremost among them was Pierre-Auguste Renoir, who painted Le Moulin de la Galette (an archetypal scene of sun-drenched revelers) while living here. Recapping the area's colorful past, the museum has a charming permanent collection, which includes many Toulouse-Lautrec posters and original Eric Satie scores. An ambitious renovation, completed in 2014, doubled its space by incorporating both the studio apartment once shared by mother-and-son duo Suzanne Valadon and Maurice Utrillo (now fully restored) and the adjoining Demarne Hotel (which has been redesigned to house temporary exhibitions). The lovely surrounding gardens—named in honor of Renoir—have also been revitalized. An audioguide is included in the ticket price.

The final home of artist Eugène Delacroix (1798–1863) contains just a small collection of his sketches, drawings, and photography, but you can see the lovely studio he had built in the large garden out back to work on frescoes he created for St-Sulpice Church, where they remain on display today. The museum regularly hosts temporary exhibitions that highlight different aspects of Delacroix's work. France's foremost Romantic painter had the good luck to live on Place Furstemberg, one of the smallest, most romantic squares in Paris; seeing it is reason enough to come.

The city's leading showcase of French design, Les Arts Décoratifs was rechristened the Musée des Arts Décoratifs—or MAD—in 2018 in an effort to better carve out a niche for itself. Sharing a wing of the Musée du Louvre, but with a separate entrance and admission charge, MAD is actually three museums in one spread over nine floors. The stellar collection of decorative arts, fashion, and graphics includes altarpieces from the Middle Ages and furnishings from the Italian Renaissance to the present day. There are period rooms reflecting different eras, such as the early 1820s salon of the Duchesse de Berry (who actually lived in the building), plus several rooms reproduced from designer Jeanne Lanvin's 1920s apartment. Don't miss the gilt-and-green-velvet bed of the Parisian courtesan who inspired the boudoir in Émile Zola's novel Nana; you can hear Zola's description of it on the free English audio guide, which is highly recommended. The second-floor jewelry gallery is another must-see.

MAD is also home to an exceptional collection of textiles, advertising posters, films, and related objects that are shown in rotating exhibitions. Before leaving, take a break at the restaurant Le Loulou, where an outdoor terrace is an ideal spot for lunch or afternoon tea (be sure to reserve—spots fill up quickly!). Shoppers should browse through the on-site boutique as well. Stocked with an interesting selection of books, paper products, toys, tableware, accessories, and jewelry, it's one of the city's best museum shops. If you're combining a visit here with the Musée du Louvre, note that the two close on different days, so don't come on Monday or Tuesday. If you’re pairing it with the exquisite Nissim de Camondo, joint tickets are available at a reduced cost.

This eye-catching museum overlooking the Seine was designed by architect Jean Nouvel to house the state-owned collection of "non-Western" art, culled from the Musée National des Arts d'Afrique et d'Océanie and the Musée de l'Homme. Exhibits mix artifacts from antiquity to the modern age, such as funeral masks from Melanesia, Siberian shaman drums, Indonesian textiles, and African statuary. A corkscrew ramp leads from the lobby to a cavernous exhibition space, which is color-coded to designate sections from Asia, Africa, and Oceania. The lighting is dim—sometimes too dim to read the information panels (which makes investing in the €5 audioguide a good idea). The museum really shines for the quality and imagination of its temporary exhibitions, whose topics range from the art of Japanese bamboo to the historic role of gold thread in textiles. 

Renowned for his bold modern designs, Nouvel has said he wanted the museum to follow no rules; however, many critics gave his vision a thumbs-down when the museum opened in 2006. The exterior resembles a massive, rust-color rectangle suspended on stilts, with geometric shapes cantilevered to the facade facing the Seine and louvered panels on the opposite side. The colors (dark reds, oranges, and yellows) are meant to evoke the tribal art within. A "living wall" composed of some 150 species of exotic plants grows on the exterior, which is surrounded by a wild jungle garden with swampy patches—an impressive sight after dark when scores of cylindrical colored lights are illuminated. The trendy Les Ombres restaurant on the museum's fifth floor (separate entrance) has prime views of the Eiffel Tower—and prices to match. The budget-conscious can enjoy the garden at Le Café Branly on the ground floor.

Bronzes by Art Deco sculptor Aristide Maillol (1861–1944), whose voluptuous, stylized nudes adorn the Tuileries Gardens, can be admired at this handsome mansion lovingly restored by his former model and muse, Dina Vierny. The museum is particularly moving because it's Vierny's personal collection. The stunning life-size drawings upstairs are both erotic and tender—age gazing on youth with fondness and longing. Access to the museum is possible only when temporary exhibits are staged, which happens regularly, often involving well-known modern and contemporary artists.

Visiting the quirky town house and studio of painter Gustave Moreau (1826–98) is well worth your time. With an eye on his legacy, Moreau—a high priest of the Symbolist movement—created an enchanting gallery to showcase his dark paintings, drawings, and sculpture. The first-floor rooms trace Moreau’s “sentimental journey”; their walls are festooned with family portraits and works offered by close friends and allies like Chassériau, Fromentin, and Degas. The two light-flooded top floors house Moreau’s vast workshops, where hundreds of paintings, watercolors, and more than 4,000 drawings give a broad overview of his techniques and subjects. Some of the pieces appear unfinished, such as Unicorns (No. 213), inspired by the medieval tapestries in the Musée de Cluny: Moreau refused to work on it further, spurning the wishes of a wealthy would-be patron. His interpretations of Biblical scenes and Greek mythology combine flights of fantasy with a keen use of color, shadow, and tracings influenced by Persian and Indian miniatures. There are wax sculptures and cupboards with sliding vertical doors containing small-format paintings. The Symbolists loved objects, and Moreau was no different. His cramped private apartment on the second floor is jam-packed with bric-a-brac, and artworks cover every inch of the walls.

French artist Jean-Jacques Henner (1829–1905) was a star in his day, and although his luminous nudes and clear-eyed portraits are largely forgotten now, the handsomely renovated 19th-century mansion-cum-museum stocked with his works is an interesting stop for art enthusiasts. Henner painted more than 400 portraits, including a substantial number sold in America, with a Realist's eye, yet there is much beauty here as well: witness Lady with Umbrella, a portrait of a fur-clad aristocrat with glistening blue eyes. Many of his soft-featured nudes betray other influences. Don't miss them in the light-filled atelier on the museum's third floor, where they share space with a series of religious paintings, notably the haunting Saint Sebastian and a stark portrayal of a lifeless Christ, whose luminescent white skin is offset by a shock of flaming red hair. There is some information in English.