Explore History At Eleven Fascinating Paris Museums

After 2,000 years there's bound to be lot of history — and it takes a lot of museums to cover it all. What better place to brush up on the history of Paris than at specialized museums geared to telling the complicated story of Paris and of France? There are museums — in sizes from large to small — covering virtually every aspect of the history of the city.

Some specialize in the Big Picture, like Musée Carnavalet, where the sweeping story of Paris is told through art, architecture and artifacts. Others cover a specific period or an event or focus on a specialized topic — the National Naval Museum is an example of the latter. Some of our favorites are the quirky museums, like the Postal Museum where you'll learn about the role communication has played in the history of France. Whatever your interest, here are eleven history museums in Paris that are bound to delight.

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Our Top-Rated Museum Tours in Paris

1. Musée Picasso Private Tour… Experience the life and work of the master

2. 3-Hour Louvre Semi-Private Tour… Feel like a VIP on a small group tour

3. Musée d'Orsay Impressionist Tour… The top-rated museum tour in Paris

4. The Paris Museum Pass… Free entry to over 60 museums and monuments

1. Cluny – Musée National du Moyen Age

Musee National du Moyen Age

The Cluny Museum, more properly called the Musée National du Moyen Âge, is unusual in that it is essentially two museums housed in two radically different structures. Some of the exhibits are displayed in the remains of the largest extant Roman baths in France, complete with massive Roman arches.

Most of the medieval collection of the National Museum of the Middle Ages is in a large 14th-century building that was built by the Abbot of Cluny, an order of Benedictine monks. The Cluny features the largest collection of medieval arts and artifacts in France, including the very famous tapestry, The Lady and the Unicorn. Learn more in our guide.

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2. Musée Carnavalet

Musée Carnavalet

600,000 exhibits. 100 rooms. 5 centuries of history. This is the place to discover the history of Paris. It's rarely crowded and when you've had your fill of history, there's a pretty garden to relax in. There are often fascinating special exhibits, such as a recent one about the the story of Paris under occupation during World War II. As a City of Paris museum, entrance is free! (Except for special exhibits.) Scheduled to re-open in mid-2021 after a multi-year renovation.

  • 23 rue de Sévigné, 75003
  • Metro: St-Paul, Chemin Vert
  • Open: 10:00 am to 6:00 pm
  • Closed: Monday and public holidays
  • Museum Website

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Romantic Dinner Cruises In Paris

VIP Dinner Cruise with Bateaux Parisiens
This romantic dinner cruise includes champagne, wine & a classic meal. Choose the Service Privilege option for the best seating, best meal, and the ultimate experience.
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Dinner Cruise by Maxim's of Paris
The legendary Parisian restaurant takes you on a dinner cruise complete with champagne and wine. Choose the 2-hour cruise for a stellar evening in Paris.
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VIP Dinner Cruise with Bateaux Parisiens
This romantic dinner cruise includes champagne, wine & a classic meal. Choose the Service Privilege option for the best seating, best meal, and the ultimate experience.
Reserve your table…

3. Arts et Metiers Museum

Arts Et Metiers Museum

Loaded with machines, scientific devices, and other objects from the era of invention and innovation, this is a fascinating museum to visit as a family. Arts et Metiers shows off the earliest airplanes, the first model of the Statue of Liberty, the earliest computers, even Foucault's original pendulum. Lodged in a former church and priory, it's a fascinating glimpse into how our world today was created.

4. Musée de la Vie Romantique

Musée de la Vie Romantique

In a pretty garden in the 9th are two small hôtels particuliers where you can take a trip back to early 19th-century Paris, when artists and writers frequented cultural salons and Paris was expanding north in a new district known as Nouvelle Athènes — the New Athens. That era is now called the Romantic Period (at least by certain historians).

Musée de la Vie Romantique celebrates some of the icons of the period. What is now a museum was once the home and studio of Romantic painter Ary Scheffer. Guests at his regular Friday night salons included George Sand, Frederic Chopin, and the likes of Delacroix, Ingres, Liszt and Charles Dickens.

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Top-Rated Paris Museum Tours

The Louvre's Greatest Masterpieces
Skip the lines and see a lot of art on this professionally guided tour. Choose from a private tour or semi-private (max 6 people.) The top choice.
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Musé d'Orsay Guided Tour
Enjoy skip-the-line access and learn the stories behind the world's greatest Impressionist art at Musé d'Orsay.
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The Louvre's Greatest Masterpieces
Skip the lines and see a lot of art on this professionally guided tour. Choose from a private tour or semi-private (max 6 people.) The top choice.
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5. Musée Jacquemart André

Musée Jacquemart André

Take a trip back in time to the 19th century to visit the world of rich & famous Parisians of the Belle Epoque. Musée Jacquemart André takes you to that earlier era and into the life of Edouard André and his wife Nélie Jacquemart, wealthy art collectors who built a magnificent mansion in the 8th Arrondissement and filled it with art from around the globe. It's one of the greatest private art collections you're ever likely to see, but the chance to explore the opulent house is alone worth the price of admission.

6. Nissim de Camondo Museum

Nissim de Camondo Museum

Nissim de Camondo Museum shares a certain similarity with Musée Jacquemart André. Both museums were formerly mansions of wealthy families who were art collectors. In the case of the Camondo, a wealthy banker named Moïse de Camondo specialized in the collection of 18th-century French are & furniture. Tragically, his son Nissim was killed in an air battle of World War I. But greater tragedy was to befall the Camondo family in the Second World War of 1939 to 1945.

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Experience the Splendor Of Versailles

Versailles with Priority Access + Gardens
Skip the long lines to experience the grandeur of Versailles on a guided tour. Stroll through the stunning gardens with your guide, then visit Marie Antoinette's estate.
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Half-Day, Skip-the-Line Tour of Versailles
If you don't have a full day, this popular half-day tour of Versailles includes priority access with an expert guide. The small-group ensures personal attention and includes transportation right from your hotel.
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Versailles with Priority Access + Gardens
Skip the long lines to experience the grandeur of Versailles on a guided tour. Stroll through the stunning gardens with your guide, then visit Marie Antoinette's estate.
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7. The Cognacq-Jay Museum

Cognacq-Jay Museum

The Cognacq-Jay Museum is the place to go in Paris to see arts and decoration from the Age of Enlightenment, the 18th century. It's filled with paintings, sculpture, furniture, and fascinating small objets. As interesting as the museum is the story of founders, department-store magnate Ernest Cognacq and his wife Marie-Louise Jay. They amassed a vast fortune from La Samaritaine, their department store on the banks of the Seine, and spent it on art and philanthropy.

8. Musée de la Musique – Music Museum

Musée de la Musique

Out in the 19th Arrondissement, in the former meat-packing district of northeast Paris, is where you'll find this all-things-music complex. There are a number of acoustically-superior performance halls plus the Musée de la Musique (formerly called Cité de la Musique), a museum of the history of music with over 1,000 instruments in its fascinating collection.

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Find Hotel Deals for Your Dates in Paris

Check the complete list of Paris hotels to find current sale prices on rooms in every arrondissement. Save 10%, 20%… or even more!

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Save on hotels in every arrondissement of Paris – the Latin Quarter, Saint Germain, the Right Bank, the Marais, near the Eiffel Tower. Save 10%, 20%… or even more!
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9. L'Adresse – Musée de la Poste

Musée de la Poste

Postal Museum — boring? Not at all. Semaphore, telegraph, and telephones, this fascinating museum covers all aspects of the story of communications over more than three centuries. Of course it also contains a lot of interesting exhibits about postal communications, but it includes works by Alexander Graham Bell.

Musée de la Poste knocks down preconceived notions and shows off the quirky and fascinating history of communications in France. And, in its brand new building, everything is presented in a modern, state-of-the-art manner. We'll tell you ten things not to miss.

10. Musée National de la Marine

National Naval Museum

Voyage through the history of French navy frigates, steamers and battleships at the National Naval Museum. The artifacts and exhibits date back to Louis XV and capture the spirit of naval adventure. You also have a chance to see the royal barge that transported Napoleon II to his inauguration as emperor.

  • Palais de Chaillot, Place du Trocadero, 75016
  • Metro: Trocadéro
  • Closed: Tuesday and public holidays
  • Website…

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Delectable Food Tours in Paris

Discover the Food & Wine of the Marais
Visit the top food & wine shops in the historic Marais, tasting the best of French foods. There's plenty of sampling on this small-group tour.
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Cheese & Wine Tasting in a Paris Cellar
In the cheese-aging cellar of a Paris fromagerie you discover 7 classic French cheeses and the wines that pair with them. Lots of sampling!
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Cheese & Wine Tasting in a Paris Cellar
In the cheese-aging cellar of a Paris fromagerie you discover 7 classic French cheeses and the wines that pair with them. Lots of sampling!
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11. Museum of the Liberation of Paris

Museum of the Liberation of Paris

This triple-threat historical museum covers Paris during World War II, with large sections devoted to the Liberation of Paris in August 1944. But, you also learn a lot more about World War II as it unfolded in France and Paris, because this museum also tells the poignant stories of two iconic French WWII leaders — Marshal Leclerc and resistance leader Jean Moulin.

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