The 4 most beautiful contemporary art museums in Paris and its region
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Paris is a city of museums. Its contemporary art collections delight art lovers from all over the world who come to discover emerging artists and pioneers of the international scene. Officionados or simply curious, we have selected for you the four most beautiful contemporary art museums to visit during your visit to Île-de-France.
On the program?
- The Bourse du Commerce
- The Palais de Tokyo
- The Louis Vuitton Foundation
- The MAC VAL
#1. Bourse du Commerce: a sample of the collection of one of the world's greatest art lovers
Surrounded by the Louvre Museum, the Saint-Eustache Church and the Seine River, the Musée de la Bourse du Commerce is in the heart of the Châtelet-les-Halles district of Paris. Under its glass and metal dome are exhibited the works of the French art collector François Pinault.
À son actif ? Plus de 10 000 œuvres (de 1960 à aujourd’hui) réalisées par pas moins de 350 artistes différents.
1 collector, 10,000 works and 3 museums
The works collected by François Pinault are exhibited in three places in Europe : the Palazzo Grassi and the Punta della Dogana (both in Venice) and the Bourse du Commerce, in Paris.
Transformed by Japanese architect Tadao Ando in 2021, the Bourse du Commerce was first the apartment of Catherine de Medici in the 15th century, a wheat market and a stock exchange at the end of the 19th century, before becoming one of the most avant-garde contemporary art museums in the capital.
How to get to the Bourse du Commerce by public transport?
2 rue de Viarmes, 75001 Paris
- Metro 1 : Louvre-Rivoli station + 5 min walk
- Metro 4 : Les Halles station + 4 min walk
- Metro 7, 11, 14 : Châtelet station + 8 min walk
- RER A, B, D : Châtelet - Les Halles station + 5 min walk
#2. The Palais de Tokyo: simply the largest museum of contemporary art in Europe
At the Palais de Tokyo, there are no gilded frames or austere labels. Voted the largest contemporary art centre in Europe, the Art Deco building has continued to break the codes since its opening in 1937.
Inside? An exhibition space in which to wander freely, events, workshops and conferences, a bookshop, a club (the Yoyo), restaurants, a micro-publishing workshop and even an artists' residency.
Combine your visits with a visit to the Museum of Modern Art just a stone's throw away
The building houses two museums. In the west wing, the Palais de Tokyo, and to the east, the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris. The opportunity to kill two birds with one stone, during your visit to the 16th arrondissement.
Good to know: the two entrances are separated by a forecourt called "the dome" by the experienced skateboarders who, every day, come to train by the fountain and the monumental sculpture "La France" by Antoine Bourdelle.
How to get to the Palais de Tokyo by public transport?
11 Avenue du Président Wilson, 75116, Paris
- Metro 9 : Iéna and Alma Marceau stations, the two closest stations to the entrance
- RER C : Pont de l'Alma station, cross the bridge to reach the museum
#3. The Fondation Louis Vuitton: the new kid on the block of Parisian museums
The Fondation Louis Vuitton museum has been located in the heart of the Bois de Boulogne in the 16th arrondissement of Paris since 2014.
Designed by the American architect Frank Gehry (1929-2025), to whom we owe the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, and the Cinémathèque française in Paris, among others, the Fondation Louis Vuitton building is a work in its own right.
An ultra-modern glass set that floats above the trees of the wood, offering visitors a breathtaking view of Paris.
What to expect indoors?
The museum brings together works from the Foundation's permanent collection or thematic and temporary exhibitions that invariably put modern and contemporary art in the spotlight.
Egon Schiele, Mark Rothko, Basquiat, Matisse, Cindy Sherman, Calder and Annette Messager have all passed through its walls.
But not only that, the Fondation Louis Vuitton hosts art in all its forms : events, performances, screenings, dances...
How to get to the Fondation Louis Vuitton?
8 Avenue du Mahatma Gandhi, Bois de Boulogne, 75116 Paris
- Metro 1 : Les Sablons station + 15 min walk or bus 244 towards Fondation Louis Vuitton (Fondation Louis Vuitton stop)
- Metro 1 and 2 and RER A : Charles-de-Gaulle - Étoile station, take exit 2 and take the Fondation shuttle ( free with an entrance ticket to the museum). It runs every 20 minutes at 44 avenue de Friedland 75008 Paris
#4. The MAC VAL: spotlight on the French art scene
Vitry-sur-Seine is not the first address that comes to mind when you think of "contemporary art", and yet.
Opened in 2005 on the outskirts of Paris, the MAC VAL (or Musée d'Art Contemporain du Val-de-Marne) is:
- 4000 m2 of exhibition space
- An auditorium
- A documentation centre
- A restaurant
- Studios/housing for artists in residence
- And all surrounded by a 10,000m2 public garden
A great track record.
Come and discover French creation from the 1950s to today
A municipal museum stamped Musée de France, the MAC VAL has been entirely dedicated to French creation since 1950. Far from the crowds of Parisian star museums, the MAC VAL is a public place driven by a real conviction: to make art accessible to all.
It has 2500 works in its collection and offers temporary exhibitions and events throughout the year. Christian Boltanski, Tatiana Trouvé, Kader Attia, Agnès Varda, Gina Pane, as well as emerging artists : they have all been exhibited at the MAC VAL.
Good to know : during the five years of closure of the Centre Pompidou for renovations, part of its collections will be exhibited at the MAC VAL.
How to get to MAC VAL by public transport?
Place de la Libération, 94400 Vitry-sur-Seine
- Line 7 or Tram T3 to Porte de Choisy station + Tram T9 to MAC VAL stop
Tip : choose your route according to your starting point with the calculator on the official Île-de-France transport app.