No city does art like Paris, and this is a vintage week for it. A blockbuster Renoir retrospective is drawing crowds to the Musee d'Orsay, a major Alexander Calder show is on at the Fondation Louis Vuitton, the great permanent collections are at their summer best, and on Sunday 7 June many of the national museums are free for all. Here is your guide to art and exhibitions in Paris for the week of 1 to 7 June 2026: the headline shows, the collections worth booking, the free day, and the city's other great stage, its cabarets. Prices are in euros and correct at the time of writing. For everything else happening in the city this week, from Roland-Garros to the Seine, see our what's on in Paris guide.
Paris art this week in 30 seconds. The season's blockbuster is Renoir and Love at the Musee d'Orsay, and the Fondation Louis Vuitton has a major Calder retrospective, with free late-night access for Nuit Blanche on Saturday 6 June. The Louvre, Orsay, Orangerie and Picasso Museum are all open and on form, and on Sunday 7 June the national museums are free (book a slot ahead). One thing to know: the Centre Pompidou is closed for a long renovation, so do not plan a visit there this year.
This week's headline exhibitions
The exhibition everyone is talking about is Renoir and Love. A Joyful Modernity at the Musee d'Orsay, a sweeping look at the painter's most tender, light-filled years, on until 19 July and reserved access from €14. Set inside a converted Beaux-Arts railway station that is a masterpiece in itself, the Orsay also holds the finest collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art anywhere, so the permanent galleries alone are worth the trip. It is open Tuesday to Sunday and closed on Mondays, with a late opening on Thursday evening.
Out in the Bois de Boulogne, the Fondation Louis Vuitton is hosting Calder. Rever en equilibre, a major retrospective marking the centenary of Alexander Calder's arrival in France, on until August. The Frank Gehry building is a piece of art in its own right, and this week the foundation joins Nuit Blanche with free late-night access from 8pm to midnight on Saturday 6 June, a rare chance to see a world-class show after dark and for nothing.
The great collections, worth booking
Then there are the institutions you build a trip around. The Louvre, the most-visited museum on earth and home to the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo, is from €42, and reserved-access tickets are the only sane way to enter. A short walk away in the Tuileries, the Orangerie sits you inside two oval rooms of Monet's Water Lilies, painted for these very walls, from €15. In the Marais, the Picasso Museum holds the world's greatest collection of the artist's work from €16, and across the river the Rodin Museum lets you wander a sculpture garden with The Thinker from €15.
There is plenty more for the curious. The Musee du quai Branly, Jean Nouvel's museum of indigenous art from Africa, Asia, Oceania and the Americas, sits inside a living wall of greenery beside the Seine from €15. Across at Les Invalides, the Army Museum and Napoleon's Tomb trace French military history beneath a golden dome from €17, and for a dose of pure fun the Grevin wax museum on the grand boulevards is from €20. The beauty of Paris is that great art is never far away, whether you are chasing a blockbuster or simply ducking into a quiet gallery to escape the heat. For more ways to dig into the city's art and history, see our guide to the best ways to experience art and history in Paris.
Free on Sunday 7 June
Here is the week's best deal: Sunday 7 June is the first Sunday of the month, and that means free entry for everyone at a long list of national museums, including the Musee d'Orsay with its Renoir show, the Orangerie, the Picasso Museum, the Musee du quai Branly, the Cluny medieval museum, the Guimet Asian-art museum and the Arts et Metiers. It is one of the great cultural bargains in Europe. Two things to note: several of these museums now require you to book a free timed slot online in advance rather than simply walking up, and the Louvre is not part of the free-Sunday scheme, so plan accordingly.
The other great stage: cabaret
Paris invented the modern cabaret, and a night at one is pure theatre. The legendary Moulin Rouge, the spiritual home of the can-can in Montmartre, puts on its feathers-and-sequins spectacular with champagne from €125. For something more daring and artful, the Crazy Horse is a chic, avant-garde show of light and silhouette from €122, while the historic Paradis Latin, in a theatre designed by Gustave Eiffel himself, is the most Parisian of the lot from €93. For a quieter brush with the performing arts, a self-guided tour of the opulent Palais Garnier is from €29.
A cabaret night is as much about the ritual as the show, the champagne, the late hour, the sense of stepping into a Paris that has not changed in a century. The houses each have their own character, so it is worth choosing the one that suits your evening: the Moulin Rouge for the full sequins-and-feathers spectacle, the Crazy Horse for something sleeker and more artful, Paradis Latin for the most intimate and authentically Parisian room of the three. If you are building a night around it, our Paris cabaret guide compares the great houses in detail, and for more after-dark inspiration our Paris at night guide goes well beyond the obvious.
Closed this year: the Pompidou
One important note for any art lover planning a Paris trip. The Centre Pompidou, the great modern-art museum in its inside-out building at Beaubourg, closed in September 2025 for a major five-year renovation and will not reopen until 2030. During the works, parts of its collection are being shown off-site at partner venues around the city, so it is worth checking what is on loan, but the main building itself is shut for this week and for the foreseeable future.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best art exhibitions in Paris right now?
The standouts for 1 to 7 June 2026 are Renoir and Love at the Musee d'Orsay and the Calder retrospective at the Fondation Louis Vuitton, alongside the permanent collections at the Louvre, the Orangerie and the Picasso Museum.
Which Paris museums are free this week?
On Sunday 7 June, the first Sunday of the month, many national museums are free for all, including the Musee d'Orsay, the Orangerie, the Picasso Museum, the Musee du quai Branly, the Cluny and the Arts et Metiers. Several require a free timed slot booked online in advance. The Louvre is not part of the scheme.
Is the Centre Pompidou open?
No. The Centre Pompidou closed in September 2025 for a major renovation and is scheduled to reopen in 2030. Parts of its collection are being shown at other venues during the closure.
How do I book the Louvre and the Musee d'Orsay?
Both use timed-entry tickets and sell out, especially in summer, so reserved access bought in advance is essential. You can check live availability and book the Louvre, the Orsay and the other major museums with tickadoo.
Built by the founders of London Theatre Direct, with 25 years of expertise in theatre ticketing. The tickadoo editorial team covers West End and Broadway shows, attractions, tours and experiences across 700+ cities.
About the team
