Travel Journal

Five Exhibitions We Love in Paris This Autumn

©Musée de l’Orangerie

From Cézanne and Monet to Andy Warhol, Spanish painting and extraordinary royal couture, here are five exhibitions to add to your Paris itinerary this autumn.

October 6, 2026

Fall is a wonderful season to spend a few days in Paris, particularly if you enjoy art and museums. The city’s cultural calendar is especially interesting this year, with several major exhibitions opening in September and October, giving us plenty of reasons to return to some of our favourite institutions.

We always like to leave time for an exhibition when visiting Paris. It is also a good opportunity to explore a different neighbourhood, revisit a museum we haven’t been to in a while, or discover an artist whose work we may be less familiar with.

For autumn 2026, we’ve selected five exhibitions that caught our attention. There are two important French painters, an unexpected look at Andy Warhol, a fascinating meeting of Thai royal dress and French haute couture, and a major Spanish master at the Louvre.

Cézanne et nous — Grand Palais

September 23, 2026 – January 17, 2027

We begin with Paul Cézanne, whose work has had an extraordinary influence on generations of artists.

Rather than presenting a traditional retrospective devoted exclusively to Cézanne, the Grand Palais explores how his paintings changed the direction of modern art and how subsequent artists interpreted his approach to colour, form and composition.

Bringing together nearly 180 works, including around 70 by Cézanne himself, the exhibition places his paintings in conversation with artists such as Gauguin, Matisse, Picasso, Mondrian, Joan Mitchell, Bridget Riley and Peter Doig.

It is an interesting opportunity to understand why a painter so closely associated with Provence, particularly Aix-en-Provence and the Montagne Sainte-Victoire, became such an important reference for modern and contemporary art.

For those who have visited Cézanne’s studio in Aix or explored the landscapes he painted, this exhibition offers another perspective on his legacy.

Where: Grand Palais, Avenue Winston Churchill, Paris 8th.

More information: https://www.grandpalais.fr/fr/programme/cezanne-et-nous

Monet, peindre le temps — Musée de l’Orangerie

September 30, 2026 – January 25, 2027

2026 marks one hundred years since the death of Claude Monet, and the Musée de l’Orangerie is celebrating the anniversary with an exhibition devoted to a fascinating aspect of his painting: time.

Monet spent much of his career observing how a familiar subject could change according to the hour, season, weather or quality of light. His famous series, from haystacks to water lilies, were never simply repetitions of the same image. Each painting recorded a different moment and a new way of seeing.

Monet, peindre le temps explores this relationship between painting and the passing of time, from the immediacy of his early Impressionist work to the immersive compositions of his later years.

The setting is particularly appropriate. The Orangerie is home to Monet’s monumental Nymphéas, installed in 1927, just months after his death.

We have a particular affection for Monet’s work, not least because Giverny is a place we return to regularly on our garden journeys. Seeing his paintings after visiting the garden he spent decades creating gives them another dimension.

Where: Musée de l’Orangerie, Jardin des Tuileries, Paris 1st.

More information: https://www.musee-orangerie.fr/fr/programme/agenda/expositions/monet-peindre-le-temps

La Mode en majesté: Haute Couture et Tradition à la Cour de Thaïlande — Musée des Arts Décoratifs

May 13 – November 1, 2026

For those interested in fashion, textiles and craftsmanship, we would certainly make time for this exhibition before it closes at the beginning of November.

Presented at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, La Mode en majesté explores the evolution of dress at the Thai royal court through more than one hundred garments and accessories, including pieces from the royal collection.

At the centre of the exhibition is Queen Sirikit, who worked with Thai historians and designers to establish eight forms of traditional Thai national dress. Her wardrobe also tells a fascinating story of cultural exchange between Thailand and France.

The exhibition looks particularly at her long collaboration with French couturier Pierre Balmain, followed by the work of the houses of Balmain and Lesage, bringing together traditional Thai textiles, embroidery and techniques with Parisian haute couture.

Beyond the beautiful clothes, it is an opportunity to appreciate the extraordinary skill involved in creating them, from intricate handwork to the preservation and reinterpretation of textile traditions.

A lovely choice for anyone who enjoys fashion history, decorative arts and the work of specialist artisans.

Where: Musée des Arts Décoratifs, 107 rue de Rivoli, Paris 1st.

More information: https://madparis.fr/La-Mode-en-majeste-Haute-couture-et-tradition-a-la-cour-de-Thailande

Andy Warhol: La ligne et l’image — Musée du Luxembourg

September 16, 2026 – January 10, 2027

Most of us immediately associate Andy Warhol with his colourful silkscreen portraits, Campbell’s soup cans and the New York art scene of the 1960s. His drawings, however, are a significant part of his artistic career and are the focus of this exhibition at the Musée du Luxembourg.

Before becoming one of the most recognisable figures of Pop Art, Warhol trained as an illustrator and worked commercially in New York. Drawing remained important to him throughout his life, even after he began experimenting with mechanical reproduction and silkscreen printing.

La ligne et l’image follows this lesser-known side of his work, from his early illustrations and portraits to later graphic experiments.

What makes the exhibition particularly interesting is the contrast between the Warhol we think we know and the artist working directly with pencil, ink and paper.

The Musée du Luxembourg is also conveniently located beside the Jardin du Luxembourg, making it an easy addition to an afternoon exploring Saint-Germain-des-Prés and the Left Bank.

Where: Musée du Luxembourg, 19 rue de Vaugirard, Paris 6th.

More information: https://museeduluxembourg.fr/fr/agenda/evenement/andy-warhol

Zurbarán (1598–1664) — Musée du Louvre

October 7, 2026 – January 25, 2027

Our final selection takes us to seventeenth-century Spain and the work of Francisco de Zurbarán, one of the great painters of the Spanish Golden Age, alongside Velázquez and Murillo.

Zurbarán is particularly celebrated for his religious paintings, with their striking contrasts, carefully observed fabrics and remarkable sense of stillness. His figures often appear almost sculptural, while his treatment of everyday objects gives even the simplest composition an unusual presence.

Organised in collaboration with London’s National Gallery and the Art Institute of Chicago, the Louvre exhibition brings together a selection of major works to explore the different aspects of his career.

Alongside the monumental religious commissions that established his reputation, visitors will discover portraits and still lifes, as well as works by his son, Juan de Zurbarán.

The exhibition also considers the painter’s later influence on artists including Manet, Picasso and Juan Gris.

If you enjoy classical painting, we think this is a particularly interesting addition to the autumn calendar, and a good reason to spend some extra time at the Louvre.

Where: Musée du Louvre, Hall Napoléon, Paris 1st.

More information: https://www.louvre.fr/expositions-et-evenements/expositions/zurbaran