Museum of Modern Art Andre Malraux in Le Havre, France.

© Radomir Rezny/Shutterstock

Musée Malraux

Top choice in Le Havre


Near the waterfront, this luminous and tranquil space houses a fabulous collection of vivid impressionist works – the finest in France outside Paris – by masters such as Monet (who grew up in Le Havre), Pissarro, Renoir and Sisley. You'll also find works by the Fauvist painter Raoul Dufy, born in Le Havre, and paintings by Eugène Boudin, a mentor of Monet and another Le Havre native.

There's a cafe with fine views over the harbour and a bookshop downstairs. A MuMa audioguide appears on your smartphone as you connect to the museum wi-fi – if you don't have earphones, reception can supply you with a pair. The museum is situated in an early 1960's building, 1km southeast of the tourist office, at the southwestern tip of the city centre.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Le Havre attractions

1. Cathédrale Notre-Dame

0.29 MILES

When Le Havre's concrete expanses and straight lines overpower you, stop by this lovely Baroque church, which somehow eluded the intense bombing efforts…

2. Le Volcan

0.43 MILES

Le Havre’s most conspicuous landmark, designed by Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer and opened in 1982, is also the city’s premier cultural venue. One…

3. Église St-Joseph

0.45 MILES

Perret’s masterful, 107m-high Église St-Joseph, visible from all over town, was built using bare concrete from 1951 to 1959. Some 13,000 panels of…

4. Appartement Témoin

0.54 MILES

Furnished in impeccable early-1950s style, this lovingly furnished bourgeois apartment can be visited on a one-hour guided tour that starts at 181 rue de…

5. Hôtel de ville du Havre

0.7 MILES

This colossal building, built in 1958 to replace one flattened by allied bombing in 1944, was designed by architects Auguste Perret – that great…

6. Jardins Suspendus

1.32 MILES

The Jardins Suspendus (Hanging Gardens) is an old hilltop fortress transformed into a beautiful set of gardens, whose greenhouses and outdoor spaces…

7. Chapelle Notre Dame de Grâce

6.84 MILES

Built between 1600 and 1613, this chapel sits on the Plateau de Grâce, a wooded, 100m-high hill about 2km west of the Vieux Bassin. The area offers great…

8. Naturospace

7 MILES

Children and adults will enjoy this lush greenhouse that houses scores of species of free-flying tropical butterflies in the northwest of town, a short…