Art & Museums Tours

The Louvre Museum in Paris - ©Ben Bard

Art Museums in France

Our France art museum tours will help you explore the aspects of art that interest you most. Whether this is Paul Cezanne’s art studio in Aix-en-Provence or the Picasso Museum in Paris, we will help you craft a tour just for you. 

From prehistoric cave art in Dordogne to modern art museums in France or the Museum of Fine Arts of Lyon, we will listen to what you want, and give you our best recommendations.

Paris Museum Tours

There are so many art museums in Paris that you’ll be spoiled for choice! So before looking at Paris art tours, we recommend deciding which artists or which kind of art you’re most interested in. 

The Louvre & the Musée d'Orsay

Of course, the Louvre Museum and the Musée d'Orsay will be top of your list of museums to visit in Paris. If you’d like to do a self guided tour of the Louvre, but prefer not to spend a whole day there, let us know. We can recommend a half-day whistle-stop tour that includes the pieces of art you’re most interested in seeing.

Marmottan Museum & the Musée de l’Orangerie

If you’re interested in Claude Monet or Impressionism, we highly recommend a visit to the Marmottan Museum. There you can see a large collection of Monet’s art, as well as pieces by Berthe Moriset, Boudin, Manet. It is located in a nice Hotel-Particulier and way much less crowded than Orsay. To us this is the place to enjoy the Impressionists in Paris, away from the most beaten tracks. 

A visit to the Orangerie Museum is an absolute must if you want to see Claude Monet’s water lilies close up.

Centre Pompidou & Modern Art Museums in Paris

If you’re more interested in contemporary art tours of Paris, we recommend the Centre Pompidou, where the building itself is a work of art!

The Museum of Modern Art in Paris showcases 20th century art and contemporary art in the eastern wing of the Palais de Tokyo. Absolutely worth a visit if you’re a fan of modern art.

Let's not forget the remarkable Rodin museum or the Fashion ones or the new Hotel de la Bourse or Fondation Vuitton...there is so much to do and see ! You can rely on us to find out with you which Paris museums will suit you best !

And if you’d like a guided tour of any of the museums, we can also advise on the best way to do this as part of our art tours in Paris. 

Browse our Paris tours for more inspiration, or contact us!

War Museums in France

France played a key role in both the first and second world wars, and as such there are various world war battle sites and military cemeteries you can visit. Many sites also have war museums with artefacts, uniforms, military equipment, maps and more from the war period.

The key regions for visiting battle sites and learning more about what happened during the world wars are Paris, Normandy, Somme, Verdun and Champagne. 

If you want a tour that includes trips to war sites with private guides and visits to the most interesting war museums in France, you may be interested in our World War History Tour of France.

History Museums in France

No matter which period of history you’re interested in, France has something for you! From prehistoric caves in Dordogne (and museums where you can learn more about the prehistoric period) to the Museum of the Battle of Normandy in Bayeux, or museums that teach you about regional history, like the Alsatian Museum in Strasbourg, Alsace. 

Let us know which period of history or regions you’re interested in, and we’ll craft the perfect tour, just for you!

We invite you to browse our history tours of France.

Open Air Museums & Historical Sites in France

If you’re visiting France between late spring and early fall, you’ll want to make the most of the sunshine and won’t necessarily want to be inside museums every day. Here are some outdoor options for continuing to explore art and history in France:

Roman Ruins and Archeological Sites, Provence

La Maison Carrée in Nîmes, Provence dates back to the 5th century AD and is one of the best-preserved Roman temple façades in the world. The Pont du Gard is the world’s tallest and best-preserved Roman aqueduct and a UNESCO World Heritage site, so it's also well worth a visit.

We can include visits to these historical sites in our Provence itineraries.

Carrières des Lumières, Provence

This is a digital art exhibitions space, hosted in a former stone quarry near Les Baux-de-Provence. Huge images of famous artworks are projected onto the quarry walls, while music plays in the background. Every year the exhibition has a new theme or featured artist. For example, in 2024, the featured artists are the Dutch Masters, from Vermeer to Van Gogh, and one of the themes is Tintin.

If you’re on one of our Provence tours, we’ll highly recommend a visit to Les Carrières des Lumières.

They also have now branched in Bordeaux and Paris. 

Rodin Museum & Sculpture Garden, Paris

The Rodin Museum is located in the heart of Paris, and features the work of renowned sculptor Auguste Rodin. The museum itself is a beautiful mansion and definitely worth exploring. Then, on a sunny day, the garden, which hosts many of Rodin’s sculptures, will be the perfect spot for a picnic!

You may visit the Rodin Museum on any of our self-guided Paris tours.

Château de Guédelon, Burgundy

Château de Guédelon is a living history project that has been running since 1997 and will be completed in the coming years. The project involves building a medieval castle from the ground up using only tools, materials, techniques and clothing that would have been available in the Middle Ages. 

If you’re interested in medieval history, this is your chance to see what the construction of a medieval castle would have looked like. It will nicely complement any knowledge you’ve learned from books, documentaries and museums over the years!

To filter tours by region, we invite you to visit our France Tour Packages page. Alternatively, you can browse some of our tours below.

Remember: all of our sample tours can be adapted and customized to suit your preferences. Or, we can craft a tour just for you from scratch!