Description

Essentials about the Petit Palais in brief

The Petit Palais is a small architectural jewel among the sights of Paris. The Palais is a former exhibition pavilion for the 1900 International Exposition in the French capital. It is located opposite its “sister building”, the Grand Palais, between the Seine and the Avenue des Champs-Élysées. While the Grand Palais hosts art and painting exhibitions, the Petit Palais houses the city’s Museum of Fine Arts (Musée des Beaux-Arts de la Ville de Paris).

The architecture of the Petit Palais

The architect Charles Girault built the Petit Palais in the style of the Belle Époque as a neo-baroque building with facades consisting largely of windows. Over the decades, the large window areas had to give way to masonry walls, as the works of art in the exhibition were to be protected from incident light. However, during the fundamental renovation of the Petit Palais at the beginning of the 21st century, the original condition of the building was almost completely restored.

The Musée des Beaux-Arts de la Ville de Paris

The museum’s 1,300 works display a wide artistic spectrum, from sculptures and icons to paintings, tapestries, and art objects of all kinds. The ancient and medieval collections include works from the French and Italian Renaissance, as well as Flemish and Dutch painting. In addition, there are paintings by 19th century French artists to discover, such as Courbet, Monet, Renoir and Toulouse-Lautrec. The inner garden in the courtyard of the Petit Palais invites you to stroll during an art break.

Website

petitpalais.paris.fr

Opening hours

Admission fees

Admission to the permanent exhibition of the Musée des Beaux-Arts is free.

The temporary exhibitions of the museum are subject to a fee. For information on admission fees and possible discounts, see the website.

Address

Getting there

By public transport:

Métro lines 1 and 13: Stop Champs-Elysées Clemenceau

RER line C: Stop Invalides

Bus lines 72 and 93: Stop Grand Palais

Bus lines 42, 73, 93, N11 and N24: Stop Champs-Elysées Clemenceau

By car:

The nearest parking garages are Parking Rond Point des Champs Élysées and Parking Place de la Concorde.