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Museum · Paris 8e Arrondissement, Paris
| Monday | Closed |
|---|---|
| Tuesday | 09:30 – 20:00 |
| Wednesday | 09:30 – 20:00 |
| Thursday | 09:30 – 20:00 |
| Friday | 09:30 – 22:30 |
| Saturday | 09:30 – 20:00 |
| Sunday | 09:30 – 20:00 |
Checked 2026-08-24 · Source
Read from the OpenStreetMap access tags; anything not listed has no tag recorded.
Set the group type to family in the planner and the day window contracts to about three quarters of a solo day.
The Grand Palais is a glass hall built for a world's fair and never demolished. Construction began in 1897 after the Palais de l'Industrie was pulled down, and it opened on 1 May 1900 for the Exposition Universelle.
Four architects shared it: Henri Deglane, Albert Louvet, Albert Thomas and Charles Girault. The result is Beaux-Arts stone on the outside and iron, steel and glass inside — the argument between the two being the whole point of 1900.
It closed in March 2021 for a restoration costing €466 million and reopened in June 2025, having hosted fencing and taekwondo at the 2024 Olympic Games on the way.
Checked 2026-08-23 · Source
One enormous room, and whatever has been put in it this month.
The nave is about 200 m long and 50 m wide under roughly 14,000 m² of glass roof, which makes it one of the largest covered spaces in Paris and the reason the building takes art fairs, fashion shows and Olympic events rather than a permanent collection.
The Palais de la Découverte, the science museum, occupies the west wing.
The restoration reopened galleries, added new public entrances and increased capacity. What is on at any moment is a programme rather than a collection, so the building is worth checking before rather than after travelling.
Checked 2026-08-23 · Source
Two hours for an exhibition, twenty minutes for the building.
There is no permanent collection to work through. The visit is whatever show is in the nave, plus the nave itself, which is worth standing in for its own sake.
The Palais de la Découverte is a separate visit of two hours and is aimed at children in a way that works for them.
The Petit Palais across the avenue holds the City of Paris's fine art collection, is free, and is the better use of an hour when nothing good is on here.
Checked 2026-08-23 · Source
When there is something on, and not otherwise.
This is the rare Paris monument whose value on a given day is entirely programme-dependent. Outside exhibition periods there may be nothing to enter.
The glass roof means the nave is bright in summer and cold in winter, and the light through it in late afternoon is the reason photographers come.
Major fairs sell out in advance and are ticketed by the organiser rather than by the building.
Checked 2026-08-23 · Source
There is no general admission ticket. Each exhibition or event is ticketed by whoever is running it, and prices vary accordingly; the figure recorded on this page, 15 EUR per person, comes from the Grand Palais's own practical-information listing on 24 August 2026.
The Palais de la Découverte is separately ticketed.
The Petit Palais opposite is free for its permanent collection, which is worth knowing when the Grand Palais is between shows.
Checked 2026-08-23 · Source
The 8th arrondissement, on the Avenue Winston-Churchill between the Champs-Élysées and the Pont Alexandre III.
Champs-Élysées–Clemenceau on Métro lines 1 and 13 is at the corner of the building. Invalides on lines 8 and 13 and RER C is across the bridge, and that crossing is the best approach on foot.
The Métro runs 16 lines across 321 stations, with stations 548 m apart on average — a two-stop journey is usually faster walked.
Checked 2026-08-23 · Source
Check what is on before going. There is no standing collection, and between exhibitions the nave is closed.
Tickets for major fairs are sold by the organisers, not by the building, and often sell out weeks ahead.
The nave is glass-roofed and unconditioned at the extremes of the year; a July afternoon under 14,000 m² of glass is hot.
Entrances changed in the 2021–2025 restoration and are not where older guides say they are.
Photography rules are set per exhibition rather than by the building.
Checked 2026-08-23 · Source
The nave under its glass roof is the photograph — 200 m of iron and light, best in late afternoon when the sun rakes through the vault rather than falling straight down.
Whether it can be taken depends on the exhibition, which sets its own rules.
From outside, the building's best angle is from the Pont Alexandre III, where the glass roof and the quadrigas on the corners read together against the sky.
The Avenue Winston-Churchill between the Grand and Petit Palais gives the two façades facing each other, which is the composition the 1900 planners intended and almost nobody takes.
Checked 2026-08-23
Exhibitions and events. It has no permanent collection — the 200 m nave takes art fairs, fashion shows and, in 2024, Olympic fencing and taekwondo.
Construction began in 1897 and it opened on 1 May 1900 for the Exposition Universelle, by Henri Deglane, Albert Louvet, Albert Thomas and Charles Girault.
Yes. It closed in March 2021 for a €466 million restoration and reopened in June 2025 with new public entrances and greater capacity.
About 200 m long and 50 m wide, under roughly 14,000 m² of glass roof.
The Palais de la Découverte, the science museum, occupies the west wing and is separately ticketed.
The Petit Palais across the avenue holds the City of Paris's fine art collection and is free for its permanent rooms.
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Source: OpenStreetMap contributors, Wikidata ·
