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Petit Palais Paris Overview

The Petit Palais, located close to the famous Avenue des Champs-Elysées, houses over 1,300 outstanding art pieces from Antiquity to the early twentieth century. It includes works by well-known artists like Claude Monet, Eugene Delacroix, Paul Cézanne, and Gustave Courbet. Aside from the impressive art collection, the gilded entrance gate, wrought iron spiral staircases, painted ceilings, and gorgeous architecture.

The Petit Palais, a spectacular example of art nouveau architecture, is one of the city's crown jewels from the turn-of-the-century "Belle Epoque" period, it was built for the World Exhibition in 1900 and converted into a museum of fine arts in 1902. With our Europe holiday packages you will experience beautiful cupolas, wrought iron entrance gates, brilliant murals, and brightly painted ceilings, this museum radiates the majesty of a real little palace.

The permanent exhibition at the Petit Palais Paris has evolved over the years with gifts from both private and public collections. The collection presently includes over 1,300 paintings, sculptures, and other artifacts dating from antiquity to the first half of the twentieth century, making it outstanding.

Several artworks in the permanent collection of the Petit Palais Expo depict life in ancient France in realistic detail, reflecting the country's rich history and culture. The works in the permanent collection include the masterpieces by Gustave Doré, Pierre Bonnard, Eugene Delacroix, Cézanne, Rodin, Maillol, and many other renowned artists. 

The Le Petit Palais also holds temporary exhibitions on a regular basis that focus on contemporary art, fashion, and photography. After you've had your fill of art and history, you may appreciate the museum's architecture or relax in the beautifully landscaped courtyard. There is also a modest café restaurant where you may satisfy your appetite while admiring the scenic surroundings.

Click Here To Book: Petit Palais Tickets

Highlights

• The Petit Palais, built as an exhibition pavilion for the Universal Exposition in 1900, is now a museum of art.
• It is a historic landmark that has 1300 items of art from Ancient Greece to the early twentieth century.
• Masterpieces by artists including Gustave Courbet, Claude Monet, Eugene Delacroix, and Paul Cézanne are part of the museum's priceless permanent collection.
• The Classical World contains major Roman masterpieces dating from the fourth to first centuries BC, as well as items from the Etruscan empire and ancient Greece.
• The Renaissance section contains objects dating from the 15th through the 17th centuries from France, Italy, Northern Europe, and the Islamic World.
• The divisions from the 17th to the 19th centuries are dominated by Western and European art, while the Paris 1900 section exhibits the extravagant art nouveau movement and its stunning collection.
• The building itself is a fine example of art nouveau design and dazzles with its magnificent wrought iron entrance gates, ornamental ceiling details, vibrant murals, exquisite sculptures, and exquisitely landscaped courtyard and gardens.Suggested Read: Things To Do In Paris In December

How To Reach

By Metro: Metro Lines 1 and 13 stop at Champs-Élysées - Clemenceau and Line 9 at Franklin D. Roosevelt stations. The Petit Palais Expo is less than an 8-minute walk from both stations. 

By RER: Take Line C to Invalides Station and walk for a few minutes to the art museum. 

By Bus: Bus Lines 28, 42, 72, 73, 80, 83, and 93 stop at the Grand Palais and Champs-Élysées - Clemenceau bus stops near Petit Palais Paris. From the bus station, it takes 3 to 4 minutes to walk to the art museum. 

By Car/Taxi: The museum is roughly 18 kilometers from Orly Airport, 38 kilometers from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG), and 4 kilometers from the Boulevard Périphérique. You may quickly travel to the Petit Palais Paris by car or a hired cab.

Planning A Paris Trip, Checkout: Best Holiday Tour Packages to Paris

Best Time To Visit

The most preferable time to visit the Petit Palais is as soon as it opens in the morning. It will be less crowded and give you more time to tour the museum and its extensive collection if you arrive early. Weekends and holidays are generally packed, so if you want to see the museum with less crowd, weekdays are recommended.

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Other Essential Information

Tips to Visit

  • Although admission to the Petit Palais is free, pre-reserving tickets online is still advised to avoid delays.
  • Visit during the weekdays to avoid weekend crowds, and arrive early to explore the museum before the masses show up.
  • Install the Petit Palais mobile app to explore the depth of the collections at your own pace.
  • The museum also hosts a number of temporary exhibitions and sporadic events, so check the calendar of events before planning your trip and buy tickets in advance if necessary.
  • Don't forget the on-site store, which offers a selection of art publications, exhibition catalogs, postcards, and many art-related items.
  • The building has wheelchair accessibility features and elevators with sound boxes, making it accessible to the aged, disabled, and visually impaired.

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Point of Interest for Petit Palais Paris
Art Collections of the Petit Palais Expo
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Art Collections of the Petit Palais Expo

Classical World: The Classical World collection of the Petit Palais features a wide range of masterpieces by renowned artists using a wide range of techniques from the Greek and Roman worlds. The selection in this remarkable room includes artifacts from the Hellenistic era as well as bronzes from the end of the Archaic era (about 520 B.C. ), vases and terracottas discovered in Italian Etruscan necropolises from the late 6th to early 5th century B.C. Sculptures "The Bacchus of the Via del Babuino" and "The Ephebe" from the Fins d'Annecy are both from the Augustus period. Major works from the first century B.C. through the fourth century A.D. are from Rome. While works made of glass and gold show how interests changed between the first and fourth centuries. 

Icons: The icons were gifted to Le Petit Palais by Roger Cabal, who started collecting them from a young age. Despite the general disregard for this style of work at that time, he was able to gather an outstanding collection. Since he gifted the majority of his collection to the Petit Palais, it now holds France's largest collection of such artwork. The collection consists of 76 icons dating from the 8th to the 19th century, but only a few pieces are on display, including "In You rejoices," "Ivory book cover plaque: the Virgin and Child enthroned," "Christ of Pity," and many others. 

Middle Ages: The artifacts, paintings, and sculptures depicting religious themes on display in Petit Palais Expo are from the key historical centers of the Middle Ages and the early Renaissance, including the Netherlands, Germany, France, and Italy. Some of the famous artworks of this period are French ivory work from the 14th and 16th centuries, Mosan and Limoges champlevé enamel works from the 13th and 14th century, medieval manuscripts, some first printed books, wooden sculptures from Southern Germany and Austria, and holy figures from the late Middle Ages. 

Renaissance: The Renaissance art collection of the Petit Palais Paris spans the 15th century and the beginning of the 17th century and consists of furniture, paintings, artifacts, books, and priceless bindings. It comprises two divisions; France & Northern Europe and Italy & the Islamic world. Hispano-Moorish ceramics, Venetian glass, Italian majolica, Iznik ceramics, French glazed earthenware, Saint-Porchaire pottery, Limoges painted enamels, tin-glazed pottery, and Italian bronze pieces make up the majority of the collection. Additionally, it contains clocks, watches, and jewelry that showcase the fine arts and accurate timekeeping practices of Renaissance Europe. 

17th Century: Nearly all paintings from the 17th century on display in the Petit Palais museum spaces were donated to the City of Paris by Auguste Dutuit and were created by him and his brother. Due to these gifts, the Petit Palais possesses one of the leading collections of Dutch paintings in France, second only to the Louvre. However, the collection also includes pieces by other well-known artists. This collection's standout pieces include Diana Resting, Composite Landscape, and Cavalry Clash. Along with these paintings, additional items showcasing 17th-century Dutch art are antiques, works of medieval and Renaissance art, books, sketches, and prints. 

18th Century: The 18th-century artwork collection is displayed in the Petit Palais Expo's four rooms and landing. It includes enameled objects, furniture, china, silverware, watches, tapestries, paintings, and other items. The majority of the works are from the French School and span the whole century. They contain landscapes (by Hubert Robert), portraits (by Fragonard), historical paintings (by David), and other genres. Artifacts from the closing years of Louis XIV and XV's rule are on show alongside furnishings from the Louis XVI era. The majority of the artwork is made up of French silverware, German figurines, English enamels, and watches from Paris, London, and Geneva. 

19th century: Paintings, sculptures, and art objects recall key moments in French art history, from the Renaissance through the Third Republic. While the Troubadour style depicts kings, painters, and knights' lives. Romanticism comprises paintings of travelers. This Le Petit Palais collection also includes Christian art, the art of portraiture, terracottas, plasters, sketches, and models. 

Paris 1900: The Petit Palais's Paris 1900 collection comprises paintings and sculptures that show portraits and images of famous Parisians and century-defining icons. It also has other works of art that captured the aesthetic of that time between tradition and modernity. Pénélope (Antoine Bourdelle), Pomona (Aristide Maillol), and Portrait of Carriès (Émile GrittelIn) are among the prominent sculptures in this collection. Some of the iconic paintings are 1918 or The Last Bulletin (Georges Paul Leroux), Ball on July 14th (Théophile Alexandre Steinlen), and Arion (Georges Paul Leroux) (Gustave Moreau).

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