Paris Attractions & Activities

If you're visiting Paris for a week or more, should you consider splitting your stay between two or more neighborhoods so that you can experience different parts of the city?

In the Sunday edition of my free Paris Discoveries Newsletter, I answer reader questions about Paris travel.  Recently, several readers have asked whether it makes sense to move from one Parisian neighborhood and hotel to another when time permits.

This article is part of the Paris Discoveries Q&A Archive and brings together my answers based on my own experiences with staying in multiple neighborhoods on longer trips.  

You'll find advice about whether splitting your stay is worth doing, how to choose neighborhood combinations, hotel suggestions for several popular areas, and practical tips for making the move from one hotel to another easier. 

I've lightly edited, expanded, and updated my original answers, and added photos to make this a more complete Paris travel resource. 

Top photo:  Rue Cadet pedestrian-only food street in the 9th arrondissement, (c) Paris Discovery Guide

Paris Discovery Guide is a reader-supported publication.  If you purchase through our links, PDG may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.  Merci for your support!

Paris's Best Art Galleries

Lynn's question:

I am a serious sculptor and painter. I would like to know where the best galleries are in Paris as I shall be there for the month of October this year. If you have covered this before, please just send me a copy of your post.  All best wishes for a less hot summer.

Susan's answer: 

Hi Lynn,  Thanks for asking this question.  You are the first to ask, so I'm delighted to have this chance to share what I've discovered my own explorations of the city's many and varied art galleries, which is something that I do almost every visit.

As you most likely already know, Paris has a phenomenal number of galleries focused on every style of art you can imagine from classical to urban street art and everything in between.  Although you can find galleries all over the city, sometimes where you might least expect them, here are my favorite "go to" neighborhoods for galleries featuring good to excellent art in all kinds of genres and media:

Left Bank, 6th Arrondissement Near the Seine

École des Beaux-Arts more or less anchors this area in the Saint-Germain-des-Prés neighborhood. It stretches from Rue des Saints-Pères on the west to Rue Dauphine on the east; south to north, it encompasses the area between Rue Jacob/Rue de Buci and the river.

You'll find an especially dense number of galleries along Rue de Seine and Rue Mazarine, and almost as dense on Rue des Saints-Pères. Not to digress, but the wonderful Magasin Sennelier art store on Quai Voltaire is just to the west of Rue des Saints-Pères.

Left Bank, 7th Arrondissement near the Seine

This area is sometime called Paris's "Design District" because of its many high-end furniture stores, decor boutiques, interior designers, and antiques stores, along with quite a few art galleries.

Look for the art galleries along the river (Quai Voltaire) between Rue du Bac and Rue de Beaune, on Rue du Bac between the river and Rue de l'Université, and on Rue de l'Université and Rue de Verneuil between Rue de Poitiers and Rue de Beaune.

Right Bank, Avenue Matignon / Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré in the 8th Arrondissement

In the 8th arrondissement, dozens of art galleries cluster near and around four connecting streets near Square Marigny (next to the Franklin D. Roosevelt metro station on Avenue des Champs Élysées) and Palais de l'Élysées, the official "home" of the French President. This is a wealthy, upscale area and some of the galleries are branches of international galleries featuring investment-type art - which may or may not be particularly good, although some of it's quite flashy. Don't expect to love everything you find here - definitely a mixed experience, but always interesting.

Most of the galleries are on and near Avenue Matignon, with a few more on Rue de Penthièvre, Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, and Rue de Miromesnil.

Right Bank, the Upper Marais Neighborhood (3rd Arrondissement)

Both the Lower Marais (4th arrondissement) and Haute (Upper) Marais (3rd) are home to a number of art galleries of varying quality including some that are excellent. You'll find the biggest concentration of them to the north (as well as northwest and northeast) of the Picasso Museum on Rue de Thorigny.

So, more explicitly, explore the area bounded by Rue des Archives on the west, Rue de Turenne on the east, and Rue Pastourelle/Rue de Poitou on the north. On some streets in this area, including Rue des Coutures Saint-Gervais which borders the north edge of the Picasso Museum's location, just about every other storefront is a gallery so you'll find plenty to explore.

Also in this area, the Swedish Institute on Rue Payenne hosts revolving exhibitions of Swedish artists - sometimes quite interesting, with wonderful art you're unlikely to see elsewhere. Admission is free, and there's a very good cafe in the courtyard garden.

Other Places to See Art in Paris that You Might Want to Visit

Here's a variety of art-focused destinations you might be interested in checking out:

• Hotel Drouot Auction House (9 Rue Drouot, 9th arr) - Although Paris has a couple of other large international auction houses, this is my favorite because it brings together a bunch of independent dealers under one roof. It's a fantastic place to see art from private collections that's only viewable on an ephemeral basis before being resold and hidden again from public view.
  
  The rooms on the left as you walk in (for free; no admission) are where the most precious pieces are displayed. I've seen pieces here by Matisse, Renoir, Dégas, Monet, and others.
  
  Beyond those rooms and upstairs are about 10-12 showrooms where on any given day, you can see anything and everything. Most items are only on display for one day, and then an auction is held in the same room.   Again - no admission charge. So I come here often.
  
  You can also bid if you want - I'm still mourning a beautiful Lalique glass bowl that went for only €60. I wish I'd placed a bid.
  
  Drouot also has shipping services if you over-indulge, size-wise.
• Covered Passages - Several have art galleries, including Galerie Vivienne, Passage Choiseul, and Galerie Vero, and the art in some of the is usually quite good.
• Viaduct des Arts, in Paris's 12th arrondissement under part of the Promenade Plantée, an elevated walkway/garden atop an abandoned rail track. The Viaduct dates back to the mid-19th century, when it was built to support a new elevated railway line designed to cause the least-possible disruption to the neighborhood.
  
  Today, the viaduct's 71 arches house artisan shops, studios, and galleries, including some devoted to art. The last time that I walked by, I saw several art galleries with interesting displays and made a mental note to return later - so, next trip! I can't vouch for the quality of the art because I was headed up to the Promenade, but they might be worth checking out.
  
  Directions: At Place de la Bastille, walk down Rue de Lyon (on the southeast side of the plaza, and when it branches (in about 1 block), stay to the left on Avenue Daumesnil. You'll see the first of the shops in a couple of blocks.

Wishing you a fantastic October as you explore Paris's many, many art galleries!

 

Best Museums to Visit in the Marais

Beth's Question:

What are the best museums to visit in July in Paris close to the Marais?

Susan's Suggestions:

The Marais neighborhood is home to a surprising number of wonderful mostly-small museums. 

Here's a quick list of those that I consider the best:

• Musee Carnavalet - This museum is located in a couple of old mansions (the exterior is especially interesting), and focuses on the history of Paris and covers the Neolithic period when Paris was first founded, the Roman period, Medieval and Renaissance periods, Enlightenment period and the French Revolution, the empire under Napoleon III, the Belle Epoque when the arts flourished, and even the 20th and 21st centuries. It's quite fascinating, and admission is free.
• Musee des Arts et Metiers - This museum focuses on artisan crafts and industry, science and technology.  If you look at every display and exhibit, you'll be here a long time as it covers about 7 major subjects.   I usually focuses on the areas I find most interesting and bypass the others - but still always spend far longer here than I expect.
• Maison Européeanne de la Photographie - This center focuses on contemporary photography, and since opening in 1996, it has become renowned for both its permanent collections and the three major temporary shows it mounts each year.  If you're at all interested in photography, you won't want to miss it.  The best time to visit is during the week, as it can get quite crowded on weekends, depending on what's on display.
• Memorial de la Shoah - Holocaust museum, with walls listing the names of the 76,000 French Jews, many from here in the Marais, who the Vichy regime led by Philippe Petain in collaboration with the occupying Nazi forces deported to concentration camps where they were murdered by the Nazis. Outside, the Wall of the Righteous lists the names of 3,300 non-Jewish French people and others in France who helped save the French Jews during this period.
• Picasso Museum - This museum is devoted to Picasso's work and is located in a stunningly beautiful old mansion. The paintings on display reflect a variety of his periods and styles, vs what you see in other museums which usually focus on his most recognizable works. If you're a huge Picasso fan, you may enjoy the range of his work on display here.  Quite honestly, I enjoy seeing the mansion more than some of the art, and especially love the upper-level terrace seating next to the cafe.
• Musee de la Chasse et de la Nature - This small museum features the collections of a wealthy industrialist and his wife who were avid hunters and collectors, and is focused on human perspectives and relationships with animals, wildlife, and the environment around them - and the founders' wonderful collections of decorative objects, art, and furnishings in addition to hunting gear and taxidermied animals.  This is a museum I come back to again and again. 
• Fondation Azzedine Alaia - This small gallery, located in the building where French-Tunisian designer Azzedine Alaia lived and worked, mounts about two shows each year featuring his haute-couture creations, often paired with the works of other designers. Upstairs, you can glimpse Alaia's workroom through a small oval window, left untouched since his death.
• Currently closed but wonderful: Centre Pompidou - Sadly, this terrific modern art museum is closed for major renovations until 2030.

Also, keep in mind that four compelling museums in the 1st arrondissement are also nearby: The Louvre, the Orangerie (home to Monet's water lily paintings), the newly relocated Fondation Cartier (if you like contemporary art, a visit here is a must!), and the always-interesting Pinault Collection (also contemporary art) in the Old Bourse near Saint-Eustache Church in Les Halles.

---

See Questions & Answers on Similar Topics

Wondering about specific neighborhoods for your Paris visit?  You'll find those Q&A archives here:

• Paris Attractions: Tips for Choosing What to See & Do
• Where to Stay in Saint-Germain (placeholder: add links later)

Paris Neighborhoods & Hotels - Where to stay in Paris + choosing the right hotel

Paris Discoveries Q&A Archive - See Q&As on all topics

---

Paris Discovery Guide is a reader-supported publication.  If you purchase through our links, PDG may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.  Merci for your support!