20 Free Museums in Paris to Cool Off During Heatwave

During a heatwave, Parisian museums offer free refuge. The Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris, with 15,000 works including Raoul Dufy's 'La Fée Électricité' (1937), is free. The Petit Palais, built for the 1900 Universal Exposition, has free permanent collections from antiquity to early 20th century, plus a free street art exhibition 'We Are [Still] Here' (June 20–September 20, 2026). Musée Carnavalet, in two Marais mansions, offers 3,800 works and 30 period rooms for free. Maison de Balzac, where Honoré de Balzac wrote parts of 'La Comédie humaine', is free except during temporary exhibitions. Musée Cernuschi traces 5,000 years of Asian art, free. Musée Bourdelle, the former studio of Antoine Bourdelle, is free. Musée de la Vie Romantique, once home of Ary Scheffer, recently renovated, is free. Maison Victor Hugo on Place des Vosges is free. Musée Zadkine, Ossip Zadkine's former home and studio, is free. Musée Cognacq-Jay, with over 1,200 18th-century works, is free. Musée du Parfum Fragonard near Opéra Garnier is free. Musée Curie, in Marie Curie's former laboratory, is free. Mémorial de la Shoah, including the Crypt and Wall of Names, is entirely free. Le Plateau, the FRAC Île-de-France contemporary art center, offers free exhibitions and events. Musée National de la Légion d'Honneur, in the Hôtel de Salm, displays 5,000 objects for free. Many French museums are free on the first Sunday of each month, and galleries are always free.