Paris on a Tuesday – are the Louvre and the Pompidou Centre the only "big" attractions that are closed?
- By
- Aparna Patel
- |
- 11 Aug, 2023
- |
Tuesday is national museum closing day in France. Many state-owned museums are closed on Tuesdays, as are many local museums outside Paris. In Paris, most city-owned museums are closed on Mondays. Some museums are open later on one night a week, usually Thursdays. Most museums close on some public holidays but not all. There are many exceptions, so always check before you go.
I think the reason why Tuesday was picked as a closing day is that normal people should be able to visit museums, so they are open on Saturdays and Sundays. Many shops are closed on Mondays, so museums are open that day for the sake of people who work in shops. In Paris, most shops are open on Mondays, so there is less point in opening the museums for their sake.
Here are a few popular attractions¹ that close on Tuesdays:
- Louvre
- Centre Pompidou (national modern arts museum)
- Muséum d’Histoire Naturelle (natural history museum)
- Musée de l’Orangerie (Tuileries)
Here are a few popular attractions that close on Mondays:
- Versailles palace (the grounds open every day)
- Musée d’Orsay (classical arts)
- Musée du Quai Branly (indigenous art)
- Musée Carnavalet (history of Paris)
- Musée d’Art Moderne de la ville de Paris (municipal modern art museum)
- Musée Rodin
- Grand Palais (may depend on the exhibition)
- Petit Palais
- Musée des Arts Décoratifs (design)
- Musée des Arts et Métiers (arts and crafts)
- Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie (La Villette technology museum)
Here are a few popular attractions that open 7 days a week (except holidays):
- Tour Eiffel
- Panthéon
- Musée de l’Armée (military museum in the Invalides)
- Musée Grévin (wax figures)
This site has a list of museums in Paris with addresses, opening dates and times, and prices. At a glance, it looks reasonably accurate.
¹
Roughly, the top visited museums according to Muséostat.
Credit:stackoverflow.com‘