Free Museums in Paris
Quick answer
2 museums in Paris are always free to enter — Musée Carnavalet, Petit Palais. Another 3 offer regular free days or evenings. World Museum Guide lists the exact free-entry rules from each museum's official site below.
Verified 2026-06-30 against official sources.
Always free (2)
Musée Carnavalet
Founded by Baron Haussmann in 1880, the Musée Carnavalet occupies the Renaissance Hôtel Carnavalet and the seventeenth-century Hôtel Le Peletier de Saint-Fargeau. It reopened in 2021 after a major refurbishment.
✓ Free standard admission
Always freePetit Palais
The Petit Palais — the 'small palace' — was built for the 1900 Universal Exposition in Paris, facing its grander neighbour the Grand Palais across Winston Churchill Avenue. Designed by Charles Girault, the building is a Belle Époque masterpiece of iron, stone, and mosaic, built around a semicircular courtyard garden that remains one of Paris's hidden oases.
✓ Free permanent collection (special exhibitions ticketed)
Free on select days (3)
Standard admission applies outside these windows — verify dates on the official website before visiting.
Musée d'Orsay
Under 18 free · First Sunday of each month free · Youth (under 26) free on Thursday evenings
€16 standard admission
Free daysMusée Guimet
Free first Sunday of each month · Under 18 EU free
€14 standard admission
Free daysThe Louvre
First Friday evening of each month (6–9:45 PM) · Under 26 (EU) free always · Bastille Day (14 July)
€17 standard admission
Which museums are free in Paris?
Musée Carnavalet, Petit Palais — 2 museums in Paris with always-free standard admission. Special exhibitions may charge separately.
Which Paris museums have free days?
Musée d'Orsay: Under 18 free · First Sunday of each month free · Youth (under 26) free on Thursday evenings · Musée Guimet: Free first Sunday of each month · Under 18 EU free · The Louvre: First Friday evening of each month (6–9:45 PM) · Under 26 (EU) free always · Bastille Day (14 July)
Are special exhibitions also free at Paris's free museums?
Usually not — always-free admission covers the permanent collection, while blockbuster temporary exhibitions typically require paid, often timed, tickets. Check the official site linked from each guide.