Paris Museum Exhibitions For 2023-2024 – Paris Better Than Ever

There is always a lot going on in Paris and that includes all the city's museums. Their calendars reveal an exciting lineup of new exhibitions at musées in every corner of the city — at the Louvre, at Musée d'Orsay, Centre Pompidou, Quai Branly, and Petit Palais — even the Picasso Museum. Let's take a look, museum by museum.

Museum Exhibitions at the Louvre 2023-2024

When the most popular museum in the world announces its new exhibitions art lovers sit up and pay attention. The Louvre Museum has the most extensive art collection in the world — from Leonardo da Vinci to the Venus de Milo to Greek and Egyptian sculpture — but the special exhibitions are also events that you don't want to miss. Here's what's coming up.

Naples in Paris: Masterpieces from the Museo di Capodimonte

See masterpieces by Michelangelo and Raphael, never before seen outside of Naples. Sixty masterpieces from the Capodimonte Museum will be exhibited in the glamorous Grande Galerie, the Salle de la Chapelle, and the Salle de l'Horloge.

• Louvre Grande Galerie
• Ends January 8, 2024
• Information…

Claude Gillot

French artist Claude Gillot (1673-1722) was a jack-of-all-trades — painter, engraver metal worker, theatre designer — who apprenticed under Watteau. But it's his whimsical rococo drawings that brought him attention and popularity among the Paris bourgeoisie in the late 17th century.

• Louvre Museum
• November 9, 2023 to 12 February 12, 2024
• Information…

A Colossus from the Arabian Desert

Archaeological digs in the al-'Ula oasis of the Arabian desert continue to reveal a wealth of heritage little known before this century. The colossal statues — of ancient kings, priests and worshippers — were only discovered during recent excavations of the Dadan temple. They are now on loan to the Louvre from the Royal Commission of Alula until 2027.

• Louvre Museum
• Until September 7, 2027

Museum Exhibitions at Musée d'Orsay 2023-2024

Once a Belle Epoque train station, in 1986 Musée d'Orsay was transformed into the world's greatest museum dedicated to Impressionism and 19th century art. A few years ago the museum was given a facelift with a nifty reshuffling of the paintings and a new paint job to better highlight the artwork. (White walls are so 20th century.)

Louis Janmot – The Poem of the Soul

46 years in the making, The Poem of the Soul is the crowning achievement of French artist Louis Janmot (1814-1892). The ambitious work includes eighteen large-scale paintings and drawings along with a long poem to illustrate the soul’s painful and joyful journey on earth and in heaven.

• Musée d'Orsay
• Ends January 7, 202
• Information…

Van Gogh in Auvers-sur-Oise – The Final Months

This is the first exhibition devoted to van Gogh's final and important stage of his artistic career. During the last two months of his life, van Gogh produced a vast number of paintings while living in the small village of Auvers-sur-Oise. Many would become masterpieces. Don't miss this exhibition!

• Musée d'Orsay
• October 3, 2023 to February 4, 2024
• Information…

Museum Exhibitions at Centre Pompidou 2023

It's been over five decades since the opening of the Pompidou in 1970 and for 2023 the modern art hits just keep on coming with fascinating exhibits for modern museum goers. Visit as much as you can this year, before the museum closes for yet another renovation slated to last three years. (In the world of Paris museum renovations, three years usually means five!)

Moï Ver – Ci-Contre

Forgotten genius, Moï Ver (1904-1995) was an early master of the photographic montage. Born in Lithuania, he studied painting with Klee, Kandinsky, and Albers. This retrospective brings together more than 300 photographs, paintings, drawings and prints, many of them on display for the first time.

• Centre Pompidou
• Ends August 28, 2023
• Information…

Chagall – Drawings, Ceramics And Sculptures, 1945-1970

The colorful exhibition brings together dazzling drawings, ceramics and sculptures by Marc Chagall including costume drawings for Igor Stravinsky's ballet, The Firebird.

• Centre Pompidou
• October 4, 2023 to February 26, 2024
• Information…

Exhibitions at Musée du Quai Branly 2023-2024

Dedicated to the study of mankind and the world, Musée du Quai Branly showcases world cultures — African, Asian, Oceania, and the Americas. The museum is relatively new to the landscape of Paris museums, opening in 2006. It's very close to the Eiffel Tower.

Architect Jean Nouvel gets around. After he designed the controversial Institute du Monde Arabe in Paris, he went onto to create Musée du Quai Branly. The museum is a jumble of forms that also features tranquil gardens with a natural aesthetic — no formal French gardens, no lawns, no lavish entrance staircase. Instead, the garden is a series of small landscapes with native French plants.

Senghor et les Arts

A portrait of the writer, poet and statesman Léopold Sédar Senghor (1909-2001) following the independence of Senegal. (If his name rings a bell it may be because the pedestrian bridge in front of Musée d'Orsay is named for him.)

• Musée du Quai Branly
• Ends November 12, 2023
• Information…

Petit Palais Exhibitions 2023-2024

If you're in the mood for a small museum, make your way to the impossibly adorable Petit Palais, found directly across the street from big brother, the Grand Palais on Avenue Winston Churchill in the 8th Arrondissement (easy walking distance from Place de la Concorde). Built for the 1900 Universal Expo, the Petit Palais is now the home to the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Paris, the city's fine arts museum. There's a pretty interior courtyard and a cafe to relax in before or after viewing the museum. We always stop in when we're in the area, especially since it's free!

Treasures in Black & White

See the most beautiful pieces from the collection of the Petit Palais featuring a panorama of prints from the 15th to the 20th centuries. Dürer to Rembrandt, Callot to Goya, hundreds of prints by the great masters will be on display.

• Petit Palais
• Ends January 14, 2024
• Information…

The Paris of Modernity

The Modern Age (1905 to 1925) was a period when Paris exploded with an artistic and cultural energy that continues to dazzle us today. This exhibition explores fashion, cinema, photography, painting, sculpture, drawing, design, and architecture from this pivotal era in the history of Paris.

• Petit Palais
• November 14, 2023 to April 14, 2024
• Information…

Musée Picasso 2023-2024

The Musée Picasso is a jewel set in the Marais, set in the historic and grand Hotel Salé. There are over 5,000 works that cover Picasso's paintings, sculptures, engravings, drawings, studies, drafts, notebooks, etchings and letters. If you are a Picasso fan, this is a must-see destination in Paris.

Musée de l'Orangerie 2023-2024

Tucked into the Jardin des Tuileries right at the Place de la Concorde, the 1852 stone structure facing the Seine was once the greenhouse that helped to nurture orange trees for the garden. (There's also an orangerie in the Jardin du Luxembourg, and it's still used to store plants during the winter.) Now, it's home to Monet's stellar waterlily murals. But, the Orangerie Museum has more artistic surprises in store, including this year's exhibitions.

Modigliani – A Painter and His Dealer

It was a short life. Amedeo Clemente Modigliani (1884-1920) lived hard, died young, and has since become one of the most forged artists of all time. In 1914, Modigliani met Paul Guillaume; the famous art dealer became his representative and was one of Modigliani's first supporters. The exhibition explores the relationship between the two men in the context of the Parisian artistic circle of the 1910s.

• Musée de l'Orangerie
• Ends January 15, 2024
• Information…

Musée Marmottan-Monet

If you love Claude Monet and the Impressionists you won't want to miss Musée Marmottan-Monet in the 16th Arrondissement. (Its name is a clue!) Set at the foot of charming Parc Ranlegh in the posh neighborhood of Passy, this museum contains the largest collection of Monet paintings in the world. Claude's son Michel left his father's art to the state of France at the time of his death in 1966, including the iconic Impression: Sunrise, the painting that gave the movement its name.

Musée Carnavalet

After a renovation five years in the making, with a €58 million total budget, Musée Carnavalet reopened just as the 2021 lockdown first eased in Paris. The once-rambling museum of the history of the city of Paris has been modernized under the guiding hand of François Châtillon, chief architect for France's historical monuments.

The whole place has been updated with ramps and lifts and a couple of swooping spiral staircases. Some of the paintings, sculptures, and posters have been lowered so kids can see them as well. New digital displays have also been created. As a City of Paris museum, entrance to the permanent collection is free with a small admission charged for certain temporary exhibitions.

• Website…

Musée de la Vie Romantique

Once you've spent time at the big museums of Paris, you may want to get off the tourist track to take in one of the most relaxing, charming, and romantic museums in Paris. Visit the website for exhibition updates.

Maison de Victor Hugo

In a 17th-century townhouse on classic Place des Vosges is the Paris home of novelist Victor Hugo, now a museum of his life and work. La Maison has recently been renovated and now sports added space, restored treasures, and new acquisitions. The upgrades also include a tea room and a small garden to relax in. Definitely a treasure among the small museums of Paris. Visit the website for exhibition updates…