★★★★★ 5.0
Discover
Petit Palais
The year is 1900, and workers are racing to finish this glittering palace in just TWO YEARS for the biggest party Paris has ever thrown! But here's the wild part - after everyone went home from the World's Fair, artists kept decorating these walls for TWENTY MORE YEARS, until 1925. That's longer than you've been alive times three! Look up at that golden entrance - see the lady surrounded by dancing muses? That's Paris herself welcoming you into her trapezoid-shaped treasure box, built right here on Winston Churchill Avenue where an old industrial palace used to stand, with a secret semi-circular garden hiding behind those columns just waiting for you to discover it!
Did You Know?
- The Petit Palais was originally constructed for the 1900 Exposition Universelle (World’s Fair) in Paris, designed by architect Charles Girault as a symbol of French artistic achievement and civic pride—its trapezoidal shape and grand façade, featuring Corinthian columns and a ship motif above the entrance (symbolizing the city’s motto *Fluctuat nec mergitur*—'Tossed by the waves, but does not sink'), make it a masterpiece of Belle Époque architecture.
- The museum’s collection is a fascinating blend of both municipal and private treasures: it houses the City of Paris’s acquisitions since 1870, including major French paintings and sculptures, as well as the extraordinary Dutuit Collection—a bequest of ancient, medieval, Renaissance, and non-Western art, including complete sets of engravings by Rembrandt, Dürer, and Callot, making it a hidden gem for art history enthusiasts.
- A fun fact for families: the Petit Palais offers free entry to its permanent collection, making it one of the most accessible major museums in Paris, and its lush inner garden courtyard—adorned with colorful frescoes and mosaics—provides a peaceful oasis in the heart of the city, perfect for a relaxing break during a day of sightseeing.