Paris, often regarded as the art capital of the world, is home to an array of opulent art galleries that epitomise luxury.
The city's art scene is adorned with historic galleries like the Louvre, housing some of the world's most valuable masterpieces. Many private galleries in Paris specialize in high-end, exclusive pieces, catering to the tastes of elite art collectors. In these sumptuous spaces, visitors can explore collections of renowned artists, both historical and contemporary. From sculptures to paintings, the galleries offer a unique blend of culture and extravagance, making art in Paris a lavish experience like no other.
The BusinessClass.com guide to the 10 Best Art Galleries in Paris:
Louvre
With over 400 rooms and 35,000 artworks, Louvre is the largest museum on earth, with nearly 73,000 square metres of exhibition space. And undoubtedly the most famous art space. An erstwhile imperial palace, Louvre was converted to a public museum in 1793 with the royal collection of artworks and artefacts, and over the next two centuries it has evolved as the storehouse of 11,000 years of human history, civilization and culture. Located at Rue de Rivoli on the right bank of the Seine River, the museum has four entrances: I.M. Pei Pyramid, Carrousel du Louvre, Passage Richelieu, and Porte des Lions.
It is always advisable to have a prior plan to concentrate on particular rooms and sections of this world’s most-visited museum. While Mona Lisa is the most celebrated possession, the huge and magnificently beautiful Galerie au bord de l'eau and adjacent rooms showcase a fantastic collection of Renaissance art by Italian masters. Equally enticing is the Department of Egyptian Antiquities, spread over two floors, and chronologically displaying life and culture of ancient Egypt. The sculptures department contains monumental and emblematic works of art, including the Michelangelo gallery named after the great Florentine artist. A full day is recommended at Louvre and you can always rest your feet (and overwhelmed soul) in any of the beautiful cafes and restaurants inside the premises.
Address: Musee du Louvre, 75001
Musee d’Orsay
Housed in the former Gare d'Orsay, a Beaux-Arts railway station built between 1898 and 1900, Musee d’Orsay is a treasure trove of French art dating from 1848 to 1914, including paintings, sculptures, furniture, and photography. An iconic Paris Left Bank landmark opposite the Tuileries Gardens, the museum has a staggering collection of finest Impressionistic and Post-Impressionistic artworks Designed by Gae Aulenti in 1980, the space took 7 years to be completed and emerged as one of the preeminent art hub that also happens to be the first photography museum in France and showcases rare monochrome and colour prints by some of the finest photographers of the last century. The glass dome of the main hall with the diffused sunlight filtering in makes it an ideal place to truly appreciate the incredible sculpture collection including a smaller version of the Statue of Liberty by Bartholdi and La Danse and Ugolin – two masterpieces by Carpeaux.
The top floor is dedicated to the paintings from 1874 – 1886, the years that would change the art world forever with path-breaking creations by the painters of that era including Monet, Manet, Van Gogh, Cezanne, Gauguin, Renoir and Degas. Do not miss the very photogenic Musee D’orsay clock on the top floor - one of the only remnants of the time when the museum was a railway station.
Address: 1 Rue de la Légion d'Honneur, 75007
Musee Rodin
Opened in 1919, primarily dedicated to the works of the French sculptor Auguste Rodin, Musee Rodin is housed inside Hotel Biron located at Rue de Varenne, in the 7th arrondissement. The celebrated French sculptor used Hôtel Biron as his workshop from 1908, and subsequently donated his entire collection of sculptures to the French state, on condition that the site would be converted into a museum.
The beautiful 18th-century property showcases most of his monumental and signature creations such as The Gates of Hell, The Thinker and The Kiss, many of which are beautifully displayed in the museum’s garden. The museum also houses paintings of Van Gogh, Claude Monet and Auguste Renoir that Rodin had acquired and a collection of photographs of eminent photo-artists, which also serve as a documentation of Rodin’s time in these rooms. Two of the rooms are dedicated to Camille Claudel, where the star highlight is The Mature Age – a 1913 bronze casting by Rodin’s longtime associate.
Address: 77 Rue de Varenne, 75007
Musee de la Vie Romantique
Standing at the foot of Montmartre hill on Rue Chaptal, the small Musee de la Vie Romantique is an oft-forgotten gem in the eclectic art canvas of Paris. Located in an 1830 home and studio of painter Ary Scheffer, this is in the heart of Pigalle – once known for its raunchy reputation. Two twin-studios, a greenhouse, a small garden, and a paved courtyard complete a romantic spectacle here at this tucked-away mansion that was once the rendezvous spot for mid-19th century Parisian literati and artists including George Sand and Eugène Delacroix and Fridays would come alive to the classical tunes of Frédéric Chopin playing the piano. This is a portal to a time long by with its enticing collection of antique furniture, stunningly beautiful period jewellery and a plaster cast of Chopin’s hand.
The ground floor is devoted to the prolific writer George Sand, and the eclectic collection, and the first floor showcases contemporary works exhibited around the paintings of Ary Scheffer. The museum regularly hosts exhibition, and concerts and reading sessions. The charming tearoom in the garden serves delicious snacks in a delightful spot.
Address: 16 Rue Chaptal, 75009
Musee De L’Orangerie
Located in the west corner of the Tuileries Garden next to the Place de la Concorde, Musee De L’Orangerie is an important stop for any art lover in the City of Lights. The historic 19th-century building built by Napoleon III is home to mind-blowing artworks by Impressionist and Post-impressionist masters such as Modigliani, Matisse, Picasso, Alfred Sisley and Maurice Utrillo. But what this distinctive art space is renowned for is the twin oval galleries where eight of Claude Monet’s Water Lilies murals are permanently installed.
The site was chosen by the artist himself and helped architect Camille Lefevre with the architectural design where plenty of natural light streaming through the ceiling offers an immersive setting to optimise the viewing sensation of these huge murals. Joined to the Louvre in 1930, the four rooms to the western half of the building is dedicated to the temporary exhibitions of the national museums, including Louvre.
Address: Jardin des Tuileries, 75001
Musee National-Picasso
The world’s richest public collection on Pablo Picasso is housed inside Hotel Sale (hotel means mansion here), a majestic 17th century building on Rue de Thorigny in the heart of Marais district. The collection includes over 5,000 works and thousands of archived pieces that represents Picasso’s complete painted, sculpted, engraved and illustrated oeuvre and a meticulous documentation of Picasso’s creative journey through sketches, studies, drafts, notebooks, etchings, photographs, illustrated books and even films.
The glorious collection also encompasses Picasso’s private acquisitions that includes Iberian statues, African and Oceanic masks, paintings by fellow-artists, friends and contemporaries such as Le Nain, Corot, Vuillard, Cézanne, Gauguin, Matisse, Rousseau, Renoir, Braque, Modigliani and Miro, and drawings by Degas, Chirico and Giacometti. The museum largely follows a chronological sequence and there are a few rooms with thematic presentations. Temporary exhibitions are hosted at a designated zone on the first floor and the third floor has a well-stocked library.
Address: 5 Rue de Thorigny, 75003
Musee Marmottan Monet
Located in a 19th-century mansion in the 16th arrondissement that was originally designed as a hunting lodge for the Duke of Valmy. Opened in 1934, this historic mansion on Rue Louis Boilly had once been a major art space of French artworks of Napoleonic France, but two sets of huge donations of private collections of impressionist paintings shifted the focus of this museum and now houses the world’s largest collection of iconic impressionist painter Claude Monet’s works.
The design and layout of the space allows visitors to see a progression of Monet's work, as well as to view his canvases both up close and from a distance and one of the most remarkable paintings showcased is the "Impression, soleil levant", from which the name of the art movement Impressionism derives. The art world was taken by storm when this iconic painting was stolen from the Musée Marmottan in 1985, but it was recovered five years later and returned as a permanent exhibit in 1991. The collection of Napoleonic era art and furniture still forms part of the permanent exhibition and are unmissable and if your Paris visit times with one of their two annual exhibitions, do make a beeline – those are major events in the Parisian cultural calendar.
2 Rue Louis Boilly, 75016
Louis Vuitton Foundation
With a mission to promote contemporary art and culture in a unique setting, Louis Vuitton Foundation is a French art museum and cultural centre sponsored by the group LVMH and its subsidiaries. Located on the northern edge of Bois de Boulogne, in the area of the Jardin d'Acclimatation, the modern art space is an avant-garde architectural marvel with its assemblage of white blocks (known as “the icebergs”) clad in panels of fibre-reinforced concrete and surrounded by twelve immense glass “sails” supported by wooden beams.
The two-story structure has 11 galleries spread across four floors, an auditorium on the lower-ground floor that is often used as a niche concert hall and multilevel terraces designed for events and art installations. Notable works include that of Jean-Michel Basquiat, Jeff Koons and site-specific commissioned installations by Icelandic-Danish sculptor Olafur Eliasson and American abstract artist Ellsworth Kelly. It is well worth making a visit to this 16th arrondissement establishment for the spellbinding architecture that mounts two major exhibitions each year.
Address: 8 Av. du Mahatma Gandhi, 75116
Paris Museum of Modern Art
Dedicated to the creative expressions of the 20th and 21st centuries, Paris Museum of Modern Art encompasses all of the visual art forms: paintings, sculptures, installations, photographs and video. Located on Avenue du President Wilson in the 16th arrondissement in the eastern wing of the Palais de Tokyo, the museum’s collection boasts of a staggering 15,000 artworks from art movements of the 20th century including that of Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Georges Braque, Raoul Dufy, Juan Gris and Pierre Bonnard, just to name a few.
In parallel to these permanent collections, large temporary exhibitions are organized every six weeks that represent the dynamism of the contemporary art ensemble. A short walk from Eiffel Tower reaches you to this treasure trove, and if you are an art fiend, make room for at least half a day to truly appreciate the collection. An onsite cafeteria and a well-stocked bookstore complete the spectacle.
Address: 11 Av. du Président Wilson, 75116
Accueil – Centre Pompidou
Perched right in the middle of the congruent Haussmann style buildings, Centre Pompidou looks like an aberration – a monumental futuristic architecture that resembles a factory encapsulated with huge, colourful pipes. Commissioned by former president Georges Pompidou in 1969, the maverick architectural team of Renzo Piano, Richard Rogers, Su Rogers and Gianfranco Franchini created this innovative extravaganza that has housed the French capital’s National Museum of Modern Art. Located between the buzzing Le Halles and the bohemian Marais, Centre Pompidou has since evolved as one of Europe’s premier spaces for modern and contemporary art. A total of 1,20,000 artworks have been showcased here – from iconic works of Matisse, Picasso, Brancusi and Kandinsky on Level 5 to more contemporary artworks of Andy Warhol, Yves Klein, Francis Bacon and Mark Rothko to Gallery 0 that lends a space to emerging artists.
Right next to the centre is a reconstituted studio of one of 20th-century’s most influential sculptor Constantin Brancusi’s studio, where you can marvel at his path-breaking sculptures in an intimate setting. Curated temporary exhibitions and retrospectives are organised round the year in addition to this treasure trove of permanent exhibits. If you feel a little overwhelmed after this mindboggling art bonanza, head right up to Georges restaurant on Level 6 – the food is great and the views of the Paris skyline is magical.
Address: Place Georges-Pompidou, 75004
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