Museums in Paris

In Paris the museum picks your day for you. Six of them close on either Monday or Tuesday, which means no single day finds all six open, and a loose plan ends at a locked door. Five of the six charge an entrance fee, the sixth shows its permanent collection for free, and the table below puts every price, every set of hours and every closed day side by side.

Five museums, one table

Prices are for adults, without temporary exhibitions. The Paris Museum Pass from €85 for two days covers most of them.

Read the last column first and the rest of the plan falls into place. Monday belongs to the Louvre and the Orangerie, and Tuesday to the Orsay, Rodin, Picasso and the Carnavalet, so a single day of museum hopping should be built around one of those two groups.

The Louvre and the Orsay: two big ones, two different days

The Louvre costs €32 outside the EEA and €22 inside it, and the time slot is booked online. On Wednesday and Friday evenings the rooms thin out once the clock passes six, which makes those two evenings the gentlest way into a museum that can overwhelm by noon. Hours: Mon, Thu, Sat, Sun 9 am–6 pm; Wed and Fri 9 am–9 pm.

The Orsay costs €16 online with a time slot, and €14 at the desk if any are left. On Thursday evenings after 6 pm the ticket drops to €12. Hours: Tue–Sun 9:30 am–6 pm, Thursday to 9:45 pm. If you have one big museum day, make it the Orsay, because the Louvre is a day on its own.

Monet's water lilies fill two oval rooms at the Orangerie, and the ticket is €12.50. Hours: Wed–Mon 9 am–6 pm, closed Tuesdays. The Orsay opens Tuesday to Sunday and the Orangerie Wednesday to Monday, so the pair share every day from Wednesday to Sunday. The gardens of the Tuileries and the Passerelle Léopold-Sédar-Senghor lie between the two, and the walk is the best part of the combination.

The Musée Rodin costs €14, and it is as much garden as museum, with bronze figures standing among the paths. Hours: Tue–Sun 10 am–6:30 pm, closed Mondays. It rewards a slow hour outdoors more than a quick look at the rooms.

The Musée Picasso sits in the Marais, in the Hôtel Salé, and the ticket is €16. Its collection comes from the works the painter kept for himself, which is why it feels private and personal. Hours: Tue–Fri 10:30 am–6 pm, Sat–Sun 9:30 am–6 pm. The Carnavalet lies on foot from there, so the two make a natural Marais day.

Carnavalet and the Petit Palais: free

The Carnavalet tells the history of Paris across two mansions in the Marais, and the permanent collection costs nothing, with no reservation to make. Hours: Tue–Sun 10 am–6 pm, closed Mondays. The Petit Palais also opens its permanent collection free of charge, which gives a tight budget two good museum afternoons.

Pompidou and the Paris Museum Pass

The Centre Pompidou is closed for renovation work, so leave it off the list for now. The Paris Museum Pass at €85 for 48 hours is worth working out before you buy, because the sum changes with your passport and with how many of the big houses you actually enter.

When you only have a day

With one day, pair museums by their open days and do not stretch to a third.

• Take the Orsay and the Orangerie together on a day between Wednesday and Sunday.
• Give the Louvre one wing and leave the rest for another trip.
• Choose Rodin for the garden, and keep the rooms for later.
• Pick the Carnavalet when the budget is nearly gone.

3 daysThe itinerary page slots the Louvre and the Orsay into a three-day plan.Paris in 3 days →

Where to stayWhere to stay covers the Marais, home to the Picasso and the Carnavalet.Where to stay in Paris →

BudgetThe budget page adds these tickets to the cost of a full Paris day.What Paris costs →

Day tripsThe day-trips page takes you out of the city when the museums are closed or full.Day trips from Paris →

Hidden gemsThe page of tips collects ways into the big sights by a shorter line, such as the Louvre side entrances.Paris past the postcards: the Arc on Wednesdays, free views →

Getting aroundGetting around explains the metro that takes you to Invalides and the Rodin garden.Getting around Paris →

FoodThe food page covers lunch between two galleries.What to eat in Paris →

When to goWhen to visit shows which dates, such as the first Sunday of the month, change the museum plan.The best time to visit Paris →

MistakesThe mistakes page counts the closed days that cost visitors a morning.Mistakes everyone makes in Paris →

AirportThe airport page helps with a free day just before the flight home.From the airport to Paris →