Paris 3ème Arrondissement

Even if you’re not the traditional museum-going type, the 3 ème will surprise you with its range of options, from beautiful and elaborate mansions to unconventional and well-maintained attractions. The Musée Picasso is an undisputed must-see, while underrated Musée Carnavalet is sure to please.

TMusée Picasso. When Picasso died in 1973, his family paid the French inheritance tax in artwork. Twelve years later, the French government put the collection on display in the 17th-century Hôtel Salé, so named because its original owner made his fortune by raising the gabelle, a salt tax. The museum is the world’s largest catalogue of the life and 70-year career of one of the most prolific artists of the 20th century. Arranged chronologically, it leads viewers through the evolution of Picasso’s artistic and personal life. From his earliest work in Barcelona to his Cubist and Surrealist years in Paris to his Neoclassical work on the French Riviera, each room situates his art within the context of his life: his many mistresses, his reactions to the World Wars, his changing philosophies, etc. This chronological arrangement has provoked attention and a good deal of criticism. You can follow the Sens de Visite arrows around the building—or feel free to go your own way.

Though born in Málaga, Spain in 1881, Picasso loved Paris and moved to the studios of the Bateau-Lavoir in Montmartre in 1904 (see Sights). There he painted one of his masterpieces, Les Demoiselles d’Avignon (1907), currently in the New York Museum of Modern Art, but represented here by various preliminary studies. In the late 1920s, Picasso moved to Montparnasse (see Sights, p. 243 ), where he frequented the Café Sélect and La Closerie des Lilas along with Jean Cocteau and Surrealist guru André Breton. Unable to return to Spain during the Franco regime, Picasso adopted France as his permanent home. Later, he moved to Cannes on the French Riviera, where he died in 1973.

Highlights of the collection include the haunting blue Autoportrait, Le violon et la musique (Violin with Sheet Music), the post-Cubist Deux femmes courant sur la plage (Two Women Running on the Beach), and sculptures from the 1930s that experiment with human morphology. Picasso’s experiments with abstraction often went hand in hand with his love affairs: check out the many studies of La Tête d’une Femme, inspired by his lover Marie-Thérèse Walter; La femme qui pleure (Woman Crying), based on the Surrealist photographer Dora Maar; and The Kiss, painted later in his life while he was married to Jacqueline Roque. By the time of their wedding, Clouzot’s film Le Mystère Picasso and retrospectives at the Petit Palais were already celebrating his life’s work. The museum also houses paintings from Picasso’s personal collection, including those by Matisse, Renoir, Cezanne, and Corot. (5 rue de Thorigny, 3 ème . Chemin Vert. ☎01 42 71 25 21; www.musee-picasso.fr. Open Apr.-Sept. M and W-Su 9:30am-6pm, Oct.-Mar. 9:30am-5:30pm; last entry 45min. before closing. Admission €6.50, ages 18-25 €4.50, under 18 free. First Su of every month free.)

TMusée Carnavalet. Housed in Mme. de Sévigné’s 16th-century hôtel particulier and the neighboring Hôtel Le Peletier de Saint-Fargeau, this meticulously arranged museum traces Paris’s history from its origins to the present. The chronologically themed rooms follows Paris’s evolution as a city, from prehistory and the Roman conquest to medieval politics; 18th-century splendor to Revolution; 19th-century urban, literary, and artistic growth; and Mitterrand’s G rands Projets. Highlights include Proust’s fully reconstructed bedroom, a piece of the Bastille prison wall, and Sévigné’s interior decor itself—check out the Wendel Ballroom, painted by Jose-Maria Sert, the Charles Le Brun ceilings in Rooms 19 and 20. Of course, Madame didn’t neglect the outside; the courtyard gardens, with symmetrically designed bushes and bright pink flowers, are a lovely place to relax after perusing the collections. The museum also regularly hosts special exhibits featuring the work of cartoonists, sculptors, and photographers. (23 rue de Sévigné, 3 ème . ☎01 44 59 58 58; www.paris.fr/musees/musee_carnavalet. Chemin Vert. Take rue St-Gilles, which turns into rue de Parc Royal, and turn left on rue de Sévigné. Open Tu-Su 10am-6pm; last entry 5pm. Admission free. Special exhibits €7, under 26 €4, seniors €6, under 14 free. MC/V over €15.)

Musée D’Art Et D’Histoire Du Judaïsme. Housed in the grand Hôtel de St-Aignan —once a tenement for Jews fleeing Eastern Europe—this museum displays a history of Jews in Europe, France, and North Africa with a focus on communal traditions and rituals throughout the diaspora. Modern testimonials on the Jewish identity are interspersed among exquisite ancient relics. Highlights include an ornate 15th-century Italian ark and a small collection of Chagall and Modigliani paintings, Lissitzky lithographs, and art collections looted by the Nazis from Jewish homes. There is also a notable collection of letters and articles concerning Captain Alfred Dreyfus, a French Jew accused of treason and espionage in the greatest socio-political controversy of the late 19th century. (71 rue de Temple, 3ème . Rambuteau. ☎01 53 01 86 60; www.mahj.org. Wheelchair accessible. Open M-F 11am-6pm, Su 10am-6pm; last entry at 5:30pm. Admission €7, ages 18-26 €4.50, under 18, art and art history students free; includes an excellent English audioguide. Special exhibits €5.50, ages 18-26 4, combined ticket €8.50/6. MC/V over €12.)

Musée Cognacq-Jay. Ernest Cognacq (a founder of the famous Samaritaine department store) and his energetic wife Louise Jay were prolific philanthropists and collectors. They bequeathed the bulk of their fortune to the city of Paris to form the Musée Cognacq-Jay. The 16th-century Hôtel Donon was built for a royal councilor, who was also the son-in-law of sculptor Girolamo della Robbia. It is notable for the austere purity of its lines, exemplified by its lack of external sculpted decoration. The museum’s five floors house Enlightenment art and furniture, including minor works by Rembrandt, Rubens, Greuze, La Tour, and Fragonard. The sumptuous house features interior designs by Natoire, Van Loo, and Boucher, as well as a bucolic collection of German porcelain sculpture. (8 rue Elzévir, 3ème . Walk up rue Pavée and take a left on rue des Francs-Bourgeois and a right on rue Elzévir. St-Paul. ☎01 40 27 07 21. Open Tu-Su 10am-6pm; last entry 5:30pm. Access to garden mid-May to mid-Sept. 10am-12:45pm and 4-5:35pm. Admission to permanent collection and special exhibits free.)

Musée De La Poupée. This small museum, nestled in a cul-de-sac, is devoted to everything to do with dolls. The first rooms are devoted to a permanent collection of dolls from 1805 to the present, while the rest of the museum hosts exhibits such as “The 1001 Lives of Barbie” and “The Arousal of the Senses.” The museum also hosts special events, including puppet shows (W 2:30pm; €7-11), appraisal of antique dolls (W 11am; €12), and “torch visits” in the dark (one Th per month; €10). A great place to bring the kids, though grown-ups may find it slightly creepy. The attached shop sells ancient dolls and performs restorations. (Impasse Berthaud, 3ème . Rambuteau. ☎01 42 72 73 11; www.museedelapoupeeparis.com. Open Tu-Su 10am-6pm; last entry 5:30pm. €7, under 26 and seniors €5, ages 3-17 €3.)

The swank galleries in the Marais, concentrated in the 3 ème , display some of Paris’s most exciting and avant-garde art. Cutting-edge paintings, sculptures, and photographs peek out of store-front windows along rue de Perche, rue de Thorigny, rue Debellyme, rue Vieille du Temple, rue Quincampoix, rue des Coutures St-Gervais, rue de Poitou, and rue Beaubourg. Especially in summer, the vernissages (gallery openings) are some of the most exclusive events in town—look for the crowds of gorgeous model-like women. Most galleries are closed Sundays, Mondays, and the entire month of August.

Galerie Thuillier. Featuring over 1500 pieces of art each year at 21 annual expositions across two sizable shopfronts, this is among the city’s most active galleries. It thrives commercially by displaying a variety of media and styles, as well as both temporary and permanent artists. (13 rue de Thorigny. St-Sébastien-Froissart, behind the Picasso Museum ☎01 42 77 33 24; www.galeriethuillier.com. Exhibition Tu evening starting at 6pm. Open M-Sa noon-7pm.)

Fait & Cause. Aiming at spreading humanist and humanitarian consciousness, mostly through documentary photography, the popular exhibits at this gallery draw large crowds. Past featured artists have included Jacob Riis, Jane Evelyn Atwood, and Robert Doisneau. (58 rue Quincampoix. Rambuteau or Étienne -Marcel. ☎01 42 74 26 36. Open Tu-Sa 1:30-6:30pm.)

Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin. A celebrated visionary in the art world, Perrotin first made waves with his “ambitious” Miami gallery. Situated in a courtyard building once occupied by the directors of the Bastille prison, the Paris counterpart displays everything from installation art to sculpture and features artists from around the world. (76 rue Turenne and 10 impasse St-Claude. St-Sebastien Froissart. ☎01 42 16 79 79; www.galerieperrotin.com. Open Tu-Sa 11am-7pm.)

Galerie Daniel Templon. Tucked away from the chaos near the Centre Pompidou, this is one of Paris’s most respected contemporary galleries, with a special focus on promoting French contemporary artists. It features 20th-century painting and sculpture and an impressive roster of artists, including Ross Bleckner, Arman, and Jim Dine. (30 rue Beaubourg. Walk north on rue Beaubourg. Enter at no. 30; the gallery is at the back of the courtyard. Rambuteau. ☎01 42 72 14 10; www.danieltemplon.com. Open M-Sa 10am-7pm. Closed Aug.)

Galerie Michèle Chomette. This gallery features six to eight exhibitions per year of contemporary and historic photography. (24 rue Beaubourg. Walk north on rue Beaubourg. Ring the buzzer at no. 24 and proceed upstairs. Rambuteau. ☎01 42 78 05 62; mc.galerie@free.fr Open W-Sa 2-8pm. Closed Aug.)

Gilles Peyroulet & Cie. Showcases contemporary photographers like Waplington. Design exhibits, including highly conceptual clothing, are across the street in Espace #2. (75 and 80 rue Quincampoix. Rambuteau. ☎01 42 78 85 11; www.galeriepeyroulet.com. Open Tu-Sa 2-7pm. Closed July 15-Sept. 1.)

Galerie Zürcher. Focuses on young, emerging artists in France and abroad, featuring abstract painting, photography, and video. (56 rue Chapon. Walk south on rue Beaubourg, turn right on rue Chapon, and enter at no. 56—gallery is at back of courtyard. Arts et Métiers. ☎01 42 72 82 20; www.galeriezurcher.com. Open T-Sa noon-7pm.)

Polaris. Showcases promising new artists with an edgy aesthetic, especially in photography and painting. (8 rue St-Claude. St-Sébastien-Froissart. ☎01 42 72 21 27; www.galeriepolaris.com. Open Tu-F 1-7pm, Sa 11am-1pm and 2-7:30pm.)

Galerie Denise René. Since the end of WWII, René has been committed to experimentation and the expression of absolute liberty and limitless possibility. Her gallery presents primarily abstract art, and she has had an exhibit at the Centre Pompidou. (22 rue Charlot. St-Sébastien-Froissart. ☎01 48 87 73 94; www.deniserene.com. Open Tu-Sa 2-7pm. Closed in Aug. Second location at 196 bd. St.-Germain, 6 ème . ☎01 42 22 77 57. Open Tu-Sa 10am-1pm and 2-7pm. Closed in Aug.)