My French Country Home Travel

Travel Joural

The Best Museums to Visit in Paris This Fall

©Musée des Arts Décoratifs

Autumn in Paris is one of our favourite times to slow down, step indoors, and discover the city’s incredible museums.

One of the reasons we love Paris so much is the sheer variety of museums tucked into every corner of the city. There are the famous ones, of course, but also smaller places that feel almost like secrets. In the fall, when the days grow shorter and the weather can be unpredictable, we find ourselves drawn inside to wander galleries and discover something new. The truth is, no matter how many times you’ve visited Paris, there is always another museum to see or a favourite one to return to, knowing it will never feel the same twice. Here are a few of the museums we love to visit at this time of year.

Rodin Museum garden in Paris, France, featuring colorful blooming roses.
Interior of the historic Rodin museum in Paris, France featuring bronze statues beneath chandeliers and natural sunlight.

©Musée Rodin

Musée Rodin

There’s something special about the Musée Rodin that keeps us going back. Housed in the elegant Hôtel Biron, the museum feels both intimate and grand, with its airy rooms filled with Rodin’s sculptures and drawings. But what makes this museum unforgettable is the garden. Sculptures are scattered among lawns, rose beds, and tree-lined paths, making it feel like an open-air gallery in the heart of Paris. Even on a grey autumn day, there’s a quiet beauty in seeing The Thinker framed by falling leaves. Inside, you can follow Rodin’s artistic journey and see works by Camille Claudel, his student and muse. It’s a museum that feels personal, as if you are being welcomed into the artist’s own world.

L'Orangerie Museum located in the Parisian Tuileries Gardens, surrounded by manicured trees.
Interior of L'Orangerie Museum in Paris, France, featuring Monet’s panoramic Water Lily paintings

©Musée de l’Orangerie

Musée de l’Orangerie

The Orangerie is a museum we often recommend to friends visiting Paris for the first time. It’s not overwhelming in scale, yet it holds some of the most moving artworks in the city. Monet’s Nymphéas, displayed in two oval rooms designed specifically for them, have an almost meditative effect. Sitting quietly in those spaces, surrounded by the water lilies, is one of the most peaceful moments you can have in Paris. Beyond Monet, the museum’s Jean Walter and Paul Guillaume collection includes Renoir, Cézanne, Matisse, Picasso, and more, a dazzling overview of modern art. What we love most is the balance: a place that feels manageable, but where every work counts.

Lush green garden tucked behind the Petit Palais in Paris, France.
Petit Palais Museum in Paris, France, featuring marble and metal cast statues beneath historic painted ceilings.

©Petit Palais

Petit Palais

The Petit Palais is worth a visit for the building alone. Built for the 1900 Exposition Universelle, it’s a jewel of Belle Époque architecture, with sweeping staircases, stained glass, and a central courtyard garden that feels like a sanctuary. Inside, the permanent collection spans centuries: Renaissance and Dutch masters, 19th-century French art, and decorative objects. You’ll find works by Courbet, Delacroix, and Rembrandt, alongside antique treasures. What we love is that the Petit Palais is never as crowded as the larger museums, so you can take your time. And in between galleries, we like to pause at the café overlooking the courtyard, it feels like a little escape right in the middle of the city.

Facade of the historic Carnavalet Museum in Paris, France, featuring elegant stone statues.
Staged historic home interior at the Carnavalet Museum in Paris, featuring ornate wood furniture and a crystal chandelier.

©Musée Carnavalet

Musée Carnavalet

The Carnavalet is Paris’s history museum, and if you want to understand the city more deeply, this is where to go. Set in two historic mansions in the Marais, it traces Paris’s story from its earliest days to the present. The collections are wonderfully eclectic: furniture from royal households, relics from the Revolution, Proust’s bedroom, and even objects from daily life that tell their own small stories. We love how personal it feels, you’re not just learning about events, but about the people who lived them. After its recent renovation, the museum is even more engaging, with beautifully restored rooms and accessible layouts. For anyone curious about Paris itself, this is the museum that brings its history alive.

Jacquemart-André Museum in Paris, France, featuring a traditional garden and stone pebble walkway.
Interior of the Jacquemart-André Museum in Paris, France, featuring blue walls, historic stone frescos, and antique furniture.

©Musée Jacquemart-André

Musée Jacquemart-André

Walking into the Musée Jacquemart-André is like stepping into the 19th century. This mansion, once home to Édouard André and Nélie Jacquemart, was designed to showcase their art collection and way of life. Today, you can wander through drawing rooms, a winter garden, and a grand staircase, all still filled with their remarkable paintings, sculptures, and furniture. The collection itself is impressive, with Italian Renaissance works, French 18th-century art, and Dutch masters, but what we enjoy most is the atmosphere. It feels less like a museum and more like being invited into someone’s home, albeit one with exquisite taste and extraordinary treasures. Don’t miss the café, housed in a gilded dining room, which is one of the most beautiful places in Paris to stop for tea.

Interior hall of the Museum of Decorative Arts in Paris with elegant carved stone walls.
Historic religious altar decorated with painted motifs at the Museum of Decorative Arts, Paris, France.

©Musée des Arts Décoratifs

Musée des Arts Décoratifs

For anyone fascinated by design and craftsmanship, the Musée des Arts Décoratifs is a must. Part of the Louvre complex, it’s a place we could spend hours in, wandering from medieval objects to modern design. The collections are vast, including furniture, jewellery, fashion, advertising, and more, all telling the story of how people have lived, decorated, and expressed themselves through the centuries. Temporary exhibitions are often spectacular, ranging from haute couture retrospectives to explorations of graphic design. What we love most here is the inspiration it offers. It’s not just about the past, but about seeing connections between history and creativity today.

Every Tuesday

Postcards From France

Get the latest updates on French travel, culture, and more delivered right to your inbox.

Continue Reading

Wander Through Our Stories

Join The MFCH Community

Postcards from France

Get the latest updates on French travel, culture, and more delivered right to your inbox.

This Site Uses Cookies

Don’t be alarmed, we do not use or store your information. We are a French site and this is simply a regulation for the European Union to let you know that this website uses cookies to improve your user experience. By using our website you consent to all cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy. Read More
Accept & Close
Decline