Best Small Museums in Paris

Description:

This is where Auguste Rodin spent the last years of his life, from 1908 to 1917. Since then, his superb sculptures and private art collection have been housed here. There are a number of sculptures in the garden, including his best-known piece, the Thinker. Trees provide welcome shade and the benches placed beneath make these peaceful surroundings the perfect spot for meditation and relaxation. An annex to this museum - the Villa des Brillants, which the artist bought in 1895 - is located in Meudon.

Description:

The artist, Nélie Jacquemart, gave up her brushes when she got married. Her passion for art however, continued to blossom, fired by her equally enthusiastic husband who commissioned the building of this elegant house in 1869. During their travels across Europe, they collected objets d'art, paintings and other contemporary treasures. On her death, Nélie left the whole collection to the Institut de France, which opened a museum in the former residence. Most of the works exhibited date from the Italian Renaissance but there are also examples of the Flemish and French schools from the 17th and 18th centuries. Frescoes, delicate pieces of furniture and tapestries are worth the visit. Works by famous artists, such as Rembrandt, Carpaccio, Donatello and Fragonard, are also on display here. Under-7s free.

Description:

The building that is now home to this museum originally belonged to painter Ary Scheffer (1795-1858) and his nephew, the writer Ernest Renan. After their deaths, the place became a celebration of their lives and their circle of intellectual friends, which included Chopin, Delacroix and George Sand. The museum's main room (devoted entirely to Sand) exhibits a selection of the novelist's personal belongings, including a collection of watercolours, lockets and jewellery. Temporary exhibitions on 19th-century artistic and literary life are organized on a regular basis in Ary Scheffers studio.

Description:

This museum is the brain-child of Dina Vierny, who was the former model of sculptor Aristide Maillol. The museum is a tribute to him with his sculptures and drawings on display. In this two-storey museum, works of Marcele Duchamp and Russian artists such as Vladimir Yakilevski and Oscar Rabin are also exhibited. 18 sculptures of Mailol have been displayed outside the museum.

Our Local Expert Says:

Recently renovated and well worth a look.

Description:

Take a trip to the beautiful gardens of Tuleries, where the Orangerie Museum is. The museum stocks a host of famous and fabulous artists such as Cezanne, Matisse, Picasso and Henri Rousseau. All the artwork in the museum was handed over by Jean Walter and Paul Guillaume, two art fanatics who have ensured that all these works are exhibited together, so that the public can appreciate them in all their glory. There is a surprise in the basement, the Oval Room - Monet's 'Water-lily', which is on permanent display.

Description:

Monnaie de Paris is an absolute paradise for lovers of old coins and medals. This museum stores thousands of coins from all over Europe, some of them dating back to centuries ago. Neatly stacked behind carefully guarded cases, visitors are enamored by the sheer variety. The building too is not bad looking and impresses with its Neoclassical facade.

Description:

Paris's love affair with fashion lives on in this museum that houses a vast retrospective on costumes, style and dress design since the 18th century. With over 80,000 items, only a fraction of the collection can be exhibited at any one time; as a result, exhibits are changed annually and the museum kicks off each year with a different theme. Although special homage is paid to Parisian legends YSL, Chanel and Dior, young designers' work also features in temporary exhibitions.

Description:

All visitors to Paris should come to this museum, which reveals the secrets of the City of Light from prehistoric times to today. Set up in two contiguous townhouses (the Hôtel Carnavalet was built in 1545 and the Hôtel Le Peletier in the 17th century), you need a whole afternoon to see everything. A plethora of sculptures, paintings and pieces of furniture retrace, each in its own way, the history of Paris. The rooms are decorated to evoke different periods - follow the evolution of furniture from the reign of Henri IV to the beginnings of the 20th century.