A guide to Paris’ “Big Three Museums”

by Jessica Infantino Trumble

With literally hundreds of museums and monuments in Paris, it’s easy for even veteran travelers to get overwhelmed. Here’s a guide to the city’s “big three” museums – Musée du Louvre, Musée d’Orsay and Centre Pompidou – which are conveniently organized by time period to help you set your sightseeing game plan.

Musée du Louvre

Thanks to its famous resident, the Mona Lisa, the Louvre is one of the most well-known museums in the world and third most visited attraction in Paris, after Notre Dame and Sacré Cœur. It’s also one of the oldest and largest museums, with more than 30,000 works of art ranging from Greek sculpture (including the Venus de Milo) to Italian and French paintings and other artifacts from ancient times through 1850. We can thank King Louis XIV, a great patron of the arts, for this grand and glorious collection, which was first opened to the public in 1793 after the French Revolution. This U-shaped royal palace-turned-museum is located on the Right Bank in the 1st arrondissement, connected to the Arc de Triomphe via a straight shot through the Tuileries and down the Champs des Élysées, giving visitors a sense of the lavish processional route that dates back to Napoléonic times. The entrance of the Louvre is adorned with a modern glass pyramid, designed by Chinese architect I.M. Pei, which was added to the museum in 1989. It’s impossible to see everything in one visit, so pace yourself and decide which galleries are your top priority.

Musée d’Orsay

France is synonymous with Impressionism, and the Orsay picks up where the Louvre leaves off, housing treasures from greats like Monet, Renoir, Van Gogh, Cézanne and Degas. The museum’s impressive collection spans 1848 to 1914 and includes a mix of paintings and sculptures, as well as decorative and graphic art. Inhabiting the former Gare d’Orléans train station in the 7th arrondissement, the beautiful steel and glass building is a work of art itself and a testament to the glory of the Industrial Age. Two restored clocks provide a backdrop to the light-filled gallery, which complements the light that the Impressionist masters set out to capture in their paintings.

Centre Pompidou

You don’t have to look twice: the building that houses Paris’ modern art museum is indeed “inside out.” Named after France’s president from 1969 to 1974, the Pompidou Center is located in the 4th arrondissement and boasts an impressive exterior of glass, steel and brightly-colored pipes (green for plumbing, blue for climate control, yellow for electricity and red for safety and circulation elements). Inside you’ll find the largest collection of modern art in the world, with works from the early 20th century to the present, including must-see paintings by Picasso and Warhol to other more “out there” art. Even if modern art isn’t for you, the distinctive exterior of the museum is definitely worth a look. You can also take the exposed escalator to the top for a great bird’s-eye view of Paris.

All three of these museums are covered by the Paris Museum Pass, which grants you access to more than 60 museums and monuments throughout Paris and the surrounding area. The pass offers other perks too, like skipping the line at most sites, so you’ll have more time to explore Paris’ cultural wonders.  You can find more time and money-saving tips for visiting Paris here.

Jessica is a Cross-Pollinate guest (having rented through us in Rome and Venice) who lives in the U.S. but attributes to her love of travel to her Italian heritage.  When she’s not dreaming of Europe, she’s exploring it with her husband and favorite travel partner, Jeremy.  You can read more of Jessica’s tips and experiences at her travel blog Boarding Pass.