The Paris art galleries guide shows you the best exhibition venues in the City of Art that visitors don’t visit by default. Museums, such as Louvre, Orsay, and Centre Pompidou are at the top of the to-do list for most travelers going to the French capital. Yet, they are just the tip of the iceberg since Paris boasts exceptional showrooms at almost every step.
If time is short I recommend you check out my post on the top 5 museums to visit in Paris. Now, let’s see what Paris art galleries deserve to be on your bucket list and why.
Paris Art Galleries: Your Guide to the Best Art Collections
Paris art venues introduce both renowned and up-and-coming artists. They stage exhibitions in traditional and innovative ways, such as moving images.
Palais de Tokyo, Near Trocadero and Eiffel Tower
Palais de Tokyo is among the leading Paris art galleries and the largest contemporary art center in Europe. It stages art exhibitions and performances in its central hall that features natural light. Furthermore, the museum organizes tours and workshops suitable for young visitors and adults (available in French only).
Palais de Tokyo houses rotating exhibitions introducing established and emerging artists from all over the world. You can examine paintings, sculptures, videos, and graffiti during your visit.
While around, pay a visit to:
- Monsieur Bleu, an on-site restaurant offering Eiffel Tower views and serving local classics
- Bambini, an Italian-style eatery where you can have pasta and pizza
- The Yoyo club popular among clubbers
- And one of the largest art bookshops in the French capital selling magazines, souvenirs, and books about architecture, cinema, fashion, etc.
The full-price ticket allowing you access to all exhibitions and most events and tours is €12. If you are going to spend some time in Paris and come back to the museum, consider purchasing an annual pass for €40 for one or €60 for two visitors.
Musée de l’Orangerie, in Tuileries Garden Next to Louvre
Orangerie Museum is among the leading exhibition venues in Paris, displaying masterpieces of many famous and talented painters. Auguste Renoir, Pablo Picasso, Amadeo Modigliani, Maurice Utrillo, Paul Cezanne, and Henri Matisse are among the most celebrated artists presented there.
Take time to examine paintings of lesser-known, yet first-class artists – such as Marie Laurencin – during your art tour.
Some highlights of this renowned Paris art gallery are:
- Young Girls at the Piano by Renoir
- Spanish Dancers by Laurencin and
- Odalisque in Red Trousers by Matisse
However, the Water Lilies (Nympheas) series by Claude Monet is the ultimate highlight of Musée de l’Orangerie. The paintings are on display in two connected galleries forming an elongated number 8, symbolizing infinity. Monet created these paintings, dubbed the “Sistine Chapel of Impressionism,” on his estate in Giverny, Normandy, which remains the same as it did a century ago.
The Water Lilies are a series of large paintings depicting a serene pond brimming with water lilies. Verdant vegetation flanks the pond, and visitors can recognize a Japanese-style bridge in one image. Finally, you should notice at some point how the maestro played with light, indicating different times of the day.
The full-price admission fee for the Orangerie Museum is €13. If you are a holder of the Paris Museum Pass, you enter for free.
QUICK FACTS: The art gallery occupies a remaining portion of the former Tuileries royal and imperial palace, destroyed during the Paris Commune uprising in 1871. While the palace existed, the present Tuileries Garden used to be the inner garden of the vast Louvre complex. Orangery Museum almost suffered the same fate in WWII, when German bombs hit the structure during an air raid.
Galerie Perrotin, Marais District
Galerie Perrotin is among the leading contemporary art galleries in Paris. Founded by Emmanuel Perrotin, the exhibition venue introduces ambitious artists and rising stars, such as Pierre Soulages, Emily Mae Smith, and Sophie Calle. Moreover, Galerie Perrotin is open for workshops and panel discussions.
The venue showcases works of art by artists from different parts of the world through temporary exhibitions. Visitors can see the masterpieces of various types, including vintage and traditional pictures, kaleidoscopic paintings, and curious sculptures. Videos and facsimiles were on display in the past, too.
Entry to this art gallery is free of charge. While in Marais, consider visiting a few other museums, such as Picasso, Carnavallet, and Cognacq-Jay. Finally, don’t miss Place des Vosges, one of the most beautiful squares in the French capital.
Emmanuel Perrotin has exhibition venues in New York, Tokyo, Shanghai, Seoul, and Hong Kong, too.
Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Marais
Located minutes away from Galerie Perrotin, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac is a contemporary art venue covering a space of around 1.000 m2 (nearly 11.000 ft2). Many art lovers consider this art gallery as prestigious as its aforementioned neighbor.
You’ll find works of many influential artists on display there. Among others, you can lay eyes on masterpieces created by Andy Warhol, Antony Gormley, Lydia Okumura, Megan Rooney, and Sean Scully. Moreover, the monumental setting of the cavernous main gallery is another outstanding feature of the exhibition venue. The sculpture garden and a cafe are a few other on-site facilities you can enjoy.
Besides in Paris, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac has art venues in Salzburg (main gallery), London, and Seoul.
Le BAL, Montmartre
Le BAL is an art center devoted to video, cinema, photography, and new media presentations. Located in a former dance hall, this independent center for arts also stages workshops, grants, and debates. One of its missions is teaching young and other visitors to observe photos and images in detail.
Le BAL’s exhibition space has two floors occupying 350 m2 (3.770 ft2). There, you can examine works of photographers, filmmakers, videographers, and other media artists. Along the way, don’t be surprised to find yourself caught in some sort of investigation while analyzing the exhibits.
The full-price ticket to this non-profit center for arts in Paris is €7. Children under 12 don’t pay the admission fee. The on-site cafe has delicious treats on its menu, consisting of oysters, dumplings with pork, and cheeses, among other specialties.
When you complete your visit to the gallery, stop by Montmartre Cemetery, Sacre Coeur Basilica, and Moulin Rouge nearby.
Jacquemart-Andre Museum, Near Park Monceau
Jacquemart-Andre Museum used to be home to a wealthy couple that traveled Europe and collected art pieces in the process. They also organized quite a few public events for the high society. Thus, visitors can examine this private museum’s works of art in public and private spaces, such as the ceremonial room, winter garden, and apartments.
Among other exhibits, you can observe masterpieces by celebrated artists such as Botticelli, Titian, Van Dyke, Donatello, and Rembrandt. Furthermore, visitors can acquaint themselves with the 19th-century Italian Renaissance art from Venice and Florence. German and Flemish art collections are among the highlights, as well.
Jacquemart-Andre occupies a Second Empire mansion. Albeit remaining under the radar to most travelers visiting the city, its collection and architecture make it one of the must-see Paris art galleries for discerning art lovers.
A few masterworks on display in the museum are:
- Piazza San Marco and Rialto Bridge (in Venice) by Canaletto
- The Supper at Emmaus by Rembrandt
- Bust of Pope Gregory XV by Bernini
- Virgin and Child by Bellini
- And a salt-cellar from Saint-Porchaire
The full rate is €17 for the permanent collections and exhibitions.
You can see a bridge modeled after the Rialto Bridge in Venice in Park Monceau nearby.
Rodin Museum, Next to Les Invalides
If you are a fan of Auguste Rodin, one of the greatest sculptors in art history, visit Musée Rodin. It consists of a stylish mansion (Hotel Biron) and a spacious garden. Art lovers visiting the venue can admire monumental sculptures and copies of masterpieces that celebrated their creator.
Rodin drew inspiration from literature among other sources. Thus, some of the top masterworks on display there relate to Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy. Besides, he portrayed famous writers of his time, such as Honore de Balzac and Victor Hugo.
You’ll find many exceptional objects of art in Hotel Biron. But, you are likely to find your personal favorites in the surrounding garden.
- A giant statue of Thinker symbolizes Dante observing the imagined circles of Hell.
- The monumental Gates of Hell is a masterpiece consisting of around 200 characters, topped by a small-scale statue of Thinker and Three Shades pointing to Hell.
- The composition in the pond illustrates Count Ugolino with his children.
- The Burghers of Calais depicts captured leaders of the French town that fell to the English forces in the Hundred Years War (1337-1453).
While you are around, visit the neighboring Les Invalides to check out Napoleon Bonaparte’s tomb. Don’t miss the adjacent Army Museum if you’re a fan of warfare.
The full-price ticket to the Rodin Museum is €13. You don’t pay admission if you have Paris Museum Pass.
Danysz Gallery, Marais District
Danysz Gallery is also among the most renowned Paris art galleries. You can find it in the artistic Marais District, alongside Perrotin and Thaddaeus Ropac art centers.
The art venue, also known as Magda Danysz Gallery, supports emerging contemporary artists. Most of them aren’t famous in the world of art but rest assured that you’ll have a great time if you are a fan of street, digital, or pop art. However, you can still find works of big names such as Ultralab, Miss Van, Ray Caesar, and Erwin Olaf decorating the exhibition venue’s walls.
Danysz Gallery is the ideal place for you to discover how quickly contemporary art changes. Also, you can expect to see moving large-scale creations with enough space between them to focus on a single piece at the time.
In addition to Paris, the gallery has showrooms in London, the UK, and Shanghai, China. Moreover, Magda Danysz took part in various fairs, including Art Brussels, Pulse in New York, and Fiac in the French capital.
Atelier des Lumières, the 11th Arrondissement (District)
Atelier des Lumières is among the best digital Paris art galleries. It stages mouth-dropping multimedia exhibitions brought to life with video projectors and a first-class sound system. In short, you’re in for a grand spectacle involving vivid colors and different shapes emerging from and blending into one another.
The digital art venue occupies approximately 3.300 m2 (35.500 ft2). Once you enter, the floor-to-ceiling presentations, washing over and covering you and your companions, will amaze you, for sure. Furthermore, the walls will appear as if moving, and you’ll attend the show that seemingly knows no spatial boundaries.
What’s more, you might attend an interactive exhibition of creations by celebrated painters. Some represented in the past were Gustav Klimt, Marc Chagall, Vincent van Gogh, and Salvador Dali. As the artworks change, suitable music accompanies them. Besides the exhibition spaces, this art center features an infinity room, in which you’ll face your reflections wherever you look.
The full-price entry to Atelier des Lumières costs €16. With the presentation of your ticket at several Paris restaurants, you get a drink or a discount. La Terrasse, La Zinguerie, Chez Lui, and Blitz are some of them.
What Are Other Top-rated Paris Art Galleries?
Paris, the City of Art, has been attracting painters, sculptors, and many other artists for a long time now. Thus, the capital of France is home to many outstanding museums and art galleries, and many of them are among the finest exhibition venues in the world.
In this regard, there are many other art centers you might wish to visit during your stay in Paris, and some of those are:
- Galerie Laurent Godin, featuring a few dozen artists they have a unique relationship with
- Fluctuart – the world’s first floating urban art center
- Musée Marmottan-Monet, exhibiting various works of art Claude Monet created during his travels and the masterpiece lending its name to Impressionism – Impression, Soleil Levant
- Jeu de Paume, a stone’s throw from Orangerie Museum, exhibiting modern and postmodern media and photography
Before setting off to explore Paris art galleries, check out how many of them accept Paris Museum Pass. The pass may save you money and, COVID-19 permitting, help you avoid queuing. Either way, you’re in for a great time when visiting Paris art galleries.
