Gallery sights in Paris
- Sort by:
- Popular
-
A
Musée Nissim de Camondo
The Nissim de Camondo Museum, housed in a sumptuous mansion modelled on the Petit Trianon at Versailles, displays 18th-century furniture, wood panelling, tapestries, porcelain and other objets d’art collected by Count Moïse de Camondo, a Sephardic Jewish banker who settled in Paris from Constantinople in the late 19th century. He bequeathed the mansion and his collection to the state on the proviso that it would be a museum named in memory of his son Nissim (1892–1917), a pilot killed in action during WWI. The museum is run by the same group responsible for the trio of museums in the Rohan Wing of the Palais du Louvre called Les Arts Décoratifs.
reviewed
-
B
Palais de Tokyo
The Tokyo Palace, created for the 1937 Exposition Universelle and now a contemporary art space, has no permanent collection. Instead its shell-like interior of polished concrete and steel is the stark backdrop for rotating, interactive art installations (the rooftop, for example, has been the setting for attention-getting projects like the transient Hotel Everland and the transparent-walled restaurant Nomiya). There’s a great lunch deal called ‘Formule Palais’ (€16), which includes admission and lunch at Tokyo Eat, the museum’s trendy café. It’s one of the better creative spaces in western Paris; DJs often hit the decks at night.
reviewed
-
C
Les Frigos
Its name translates as ‘The Refrigerators’ and that is precisely what this 1920s industrial building plastered from head to foot in graffiti used to be – a storage depot for refrigerated railway wagons. Inside some 200 artists use what is now an established artists’ squat (artists pay rent to the city, which now owns the place) as gallery and studio space. Its many galleries have no fixed opening hours: hedge your bets and hope you bump into someone willing to show you around, or look out for one of the fabulous open days and other events Les Frigos hosts (click ‘Agenda’ on its website).
reviewed
-
D
Le 104
A former funeral parlour turned city-funded art space, Le 104 has the potential to give a jolt of vitality to an otherwise neglected neighbourhood. Spread out over a massive 39,000 sq metres, the complex includes studios for resident artists, exhibition galleries, a second-hand store and café for coffee breaks. But mixing artists with government bureaucracy is not always for the best, and Le 104 went through some serious growing pains in its opening year. The best advice is to check acitivity on the website and time visits around scheduled events.
reviewed
-
E
Musée National Gustave Moreau
The Gustave Moreau Museum is dedicated to the eponymous symbolist painter’s work. Housed in what was once Moreau’s studio, the two-storey museum is crammed with 4800 of his paintings, drawings and sketches. Some of Moreau’s paintings are fantastic – in both senses of the word. One particularly highlight is La Licorne (The Unicorn), inspired by La Dame à la Licorne (The Lady with the Unicorn) cycle of tapestries in the Musée National du Moyen Age.
reviewed
-
F
Musée Marmottan-Monet
This museum, two blocks east of the Bois de Boulogne between Porte de la Muette and Porte de Passy, has the world’s largest collection of works by impressionist painter Claude Monet (1840–1926) – about 100 – as well as paintings by Gauguin, Sisley, Pissarro, Renoir, Degas, Manet and Berthe Morisot. It also contains an important collection of French, English, Italian and Flemish miniatures from the 13th to the 16th centuries.
reviewed
-
G
Musée Maillol-Fondation Dina Vierny
This splendid little museum focuses on the work of sculptor Aristide Maillol (1861–1944) who died in a car crash. It also includes works by Matisse, Gauguin, Kandinsky, Cézanne and Picasso, all from the private collection of Odessa-born Dina Vierny (b 1915–), Maillol’s principal model for 10 years from the age of 15. The museum is located in the stunning 18th-century Hôtel Bouchardon.
reviewed
-
H
Louis Vuitton Espace Culturel
At the top of Louis Vuitton’s flagship store is this modern art gallery with changing exhibits throughout the year. The main entrance is off a side street (at the time of research it was via an art-installation elevator that had no lights or buttons), but you can also reach it via the mammoth flagship store, which, of course, is something of a sight in itself.
reviewed
-
I
Fondation Dubuffet
Situated in a lovely 19th-century hôtel particulier (private mansion) at the end of a courtyard, the foundation houses the collection of Jean Dubuffet (1901–85), chief of the Art Brut school (a term he himself coined to describe all works of artistic expression not officially recognised). Much of his work is incredibly modern and expressive.
reviewed
-
J
Musée National d’Art Moderne
The 4th and 5th floors of Centre Pompidou house the Musée National d’Art Moderne, France’s national collection of art dating from 1905 onwards. About a third of the 50,000-plus works, including the work of the surrealists and cubists, as well as pop art and contemporary works, are on display.
reviewed
Advertisement
-
K
Maison Rouge
Subtitled ‘Fondation Antoine de Galbert’ after the man who endowed it, this cutting-edge gallery shows contemporary artists and has good access to seldom-seen works from private collections. There’s a decent restaurant here open during museum hours and for lunch on Tuesday. Sunday brunch costs €24.
reviewed
-
L
Bourse de Commerce
At one time the city’s grain market, the circular Trade Exchange was capped with a copper dome in 1811. The murals running along internal walls below the galleries were painted by five different artists in 1889 and restored in 1998. They represent French trade and industry through the ages.
reviewed
-
Galerie du Jeu de Paume
Housed in an erstwhile jeu de paume (real, or royal, tennis) court built in 1861 during the reign of Napoleon III in the northwestern corner of the Jardin des Tuileries, the two-storey Jeu de Paume stages innovative exhibitions of contemporary art.
reviewed
-
M
Musée du Luxembourg
The Musée du Luxembourg, housed in two galleries built for the Palais du Luxembourg to showcase artworks. It hosts very prestigious temporary art exhibitions; admission prices vary.
reviewed
-
N
Fondation Pierre Bergé-Yves Saint Laurent
This foundation dedicated to preserving the work of the haute couture legend organises two to three temporary exhibits (not necessarily related to YSL) per year, with an emphasis on fashion and art.
reviewed
-
O
Galerie de Minéralogie et de Géologie
The Galerie de Minéralogie et de Géologie has an amazing exhibition of giant natural crystals and a basement display of jewellery and other objects made from minerals.
reviewed
-
P
Galerie d’Anatomie Comparée et de Paléontologie
Displays on comparative anatomy and palaeontology (the study of fossils) fill the Galerie d’Anatomie Comparée et de Paléontologie.
reviewed
-
Q
Jeu de Paume
Take a look at a first-class photographic exhibition at Jeu de Paume – Site Sully, a branch of the more famous Galerie Nationale du Jeu de Paume.
reviewed
-
R
Maison de l’Air
The Maison de l’Air stages temporary exhibitions related to ecology and the environment.
reviewed
