★★★★★ 5.0
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Musée national des arts asiatiques - Guimet
That elegant facade was completed in 1889, the exact same year as the Eiffel Tower. Standing here on Place d'Iéna, you're looking at industrialist Émile Guimet's dream - a man who literally traveled the Silk Road in 1876 collecting treasures. What visitors miss is the high-tech renovation hidden behind these classical walls, completed in 1996 with state-of-the-art climate systems. You're entering one of the largest Asian art collections outside Asia itself, housing Paul Pelliot's expedition notes and artifacts so precious they were transferred here from the Louvre in 1945. Inside, three original sections still guide your journey through Asian civilizations, just as Guimet planned over a century ago.
Did You Know?
- Founded by Émile Étienne Guimet, an industrialist and passionate traveler, the museum was originally established in Lyon in 1879 as a museum of religions, but was later moved to Paris in 1889 to become one of the world’s most important institutions dedicated to Asian art—its relocation coinciding with the unveiling of the Eiffel Tower during the 1889 World Exposition.
- The museum’s collection is rooted in Guimet’s own scientific expeditions: after being commissioned by the French government to study Far Eastern religions, he traveled extensively through Asia, amassing over 300 religious paintings, 600 statues, and 1,000 Chinese and Japanese books, with a special highlight being a Japanese Buddhist pantheon inspired by the To-ji temple mandala—a treasure he considered the masterpiece of his collection.
- Beyond its famous Asian art, the Guimet once housed significant Egyptian artifacts, which were later exchanged with the Louvre for its Asian art holdings, transforming the museum into a hub for Asian cultural heritage—today, it even has a dedicated ‘Panthéon Bouddhique’ wing displaying Buddhist art, and has temporarily safeguarded imperiled collections, such as archaeological pieces from Afghanistan’s Kabul Museum during a period of conflict.