Paris Champs-Élysées (8ème)

You’ll find a variety of museums, especially of objets d’art in the north of the arrondissement , while modern and diverse expositions take the stage on and around the Champs-Élysées. The former are often located in hôtels particuliers, once part of the private collections.

Musée Jacquemart-André. Nélie Jacquemart’s passion for art and her husband Edouard André’s wealth combined to create this extensive collection, housed in their gorgeous late-19th century home. During the couple’s lifetime, Parisian high society admired their extravagant, double-corniced marble and iron staircase; however, only very special guests got a glimpse of their precious collection of English, Flemish, French, and Italian Renaissance artwork, which included a Madonna and Child by Botticelli, St-George and the Dragon by Ucello, and Pilgrims at Emmaeus by Rembrandt. Today, you can wander through the mansion (a sight in itself, with its wealth of gold embellishments, towering windows, and marble columns), which houses a collection worthy of the most prestigious museums. The couple imported the magnificent fresco on the upper level, set above a walled indoor garden, from Italy. Visitors can also enjoy a light lunch in the tea room (open 11:45am-5:30pm; formule €17), or admire the museum’s facade while resting in the courtyard. (158 bd. Haussmann, 8ème. ☎01 45 62 11 59. Miromesnil. Open daily 10am-6pm. Last entry 30min. before closing. €10, students and ages 7-17 €7.30, under 7 free. 1 free child ticket per 3 purchased tickets. English headsets free with admission. AmEx/MC/V.)

Petit Palais. Also called the Musée des Beaux-Arts de la Ville de Paris, the Petit Palais offers a mix-and-match batch of works, from 19th century sculpture to 17th century portraiture to Renaissance objets d’arts to ancient Greek relics—as well as the largest public collection of Christian Orthodox icons in France. Themed displays include 19th-century Impressionist works (think Monet and Cézanne) and decorative art as well as 17th-century Flemish and Dutch masterpieces (including Rubens and Rembrandt). Don’t miss the beautiful exotic garden, which displays more of the Palais’ grandiose architecture. (av. Winston Churchill, 8ème. ☎01 53 43 40 00; www.petitpalais.paris.fr. Champs-Élysées-Clemenceau or Franklin D. Roosevelt. Follow av. Winston Churchill towards the river; the museum is on your left. Open Tu-Su 10am-6pm, Tu open until 8pm for special exhibits. Last entry 15min. before closing. Wheelchair-accessible. Admission to permanent collection free. Special exhibits €9, ages 14-27 €4.50, seniors €6, under 14 free. Audioguide €4. MC/V with €15 min. charge.)

Musée Nissim De Camondo. This museum was dedicated by a wealthy Turkish banker to the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in memory of his son who died in WWI. The extensive collection of mostly 18th-century decorative arts includes Chinese vases, Savonnerie carpets, and magnificent sets of Sèvres porcelain. The museum also explains life in a grand mansion at the turn of the century: wandering through the sitting rooms, bedrooms, bathrooms, and kitchen, you may get the eerie sense that you and Doc Brown just landed the De Lorean on rue de Monceau. (63 rue de Monceau, 8ème. From Villiers, walk down rue de Monceau; the museum is on the right. ☎01 53 89 06 50. Ground floor is wheelchair accessible. Open W-Su 10am-5:30pm. €6, ages 18-25 €4.50, under 18 free. Closed national holidays and Aug. 15. English-language audioguide free with admission. MC/V.)

Palais De La Découverte. Kids tear around the Palais’s interactive science exhibits, and it may be hard not to join them—nothing brings out your inner child like buttons that start comets on celestial trajectories, spinning seats that demonstrate angular motion, and displays of creepy-crawlies. What’s more, adults and children alike are likely to learn a surprising amount about the physics, chemistry, astronomy, and geology, biology, and more. The temporary exhibits (4 per year) are also crowd-pleasers; the most recent, entitled “Volcanos, Earthquakes, and Tsunamis: Living with Risk,” featured a volcano-simulation machine (more like a mini carnival ride). The exhibit is set to return to the museum in mid-October 2009. The planetarium has four shows (11:30am, 2, 3:15, 4:30pm) per day; arrive early during school vacation periods. (In the Grand Palais, entrance on av. Franklin D. Roosevelt, 8ème. Franklin D. Roosevelt or Champs-Élysées-Clemenceau. ☎01 56 43 20 20; www.palais-decouverte.fr. Open Tu-Sa 9:30am-6pm, Su 10am-7pm. Wheelchair-accessible through a side entrance. €7; students, seniors, and under 18 €4.50; under 5 free. Families with at least 2 children €4.50 per adult. Planetarium €3.50. AmEx/MC/V.)

Musée Cernuschi. France’s second-largest museum of Asian art lies just outside of the beautiful Parc Monceau. Between 1871 and 1873, during a trip around the world, Italian banker Henri Cernuschi gathered this assortment of ancient to 18th-century Asian art, including a three-ton Japanese buddha. The permanent collection is mostly from China and is organized in chronological order from the Wei-Sui dynasties to the Qing dynasty, including excellent Tang pottery pieces. Don’t miss the Henri Cernuschi Memorial Room in the basement. (7 av. Velasquez, outside the gates of Parc Monceau, 8ème. Villiers or Monceau. ☎01 53 96 21 50; www.cernuschi.paris.fr. Wheelchair-accessible. Open Tu-Su 10am-6pm. Admission to permanent collection free; special exhibits €7, seniors €5.50, under 26 €3.50. MC/V over €15.)

Galeries Nationales Du Grand Palais. Designed for the 1900 World’s Fair, most of the Grand Palais is occupied by the Palais de la Découverte; it also hosts 2 temporary exhibit spaces in the Galeries Nationales. The main exhibit space at 3 av. du Général Eisenhower boasts four special expositions a year. (In 2008, they ranged from “Marie Antoinette” to “Figuration Narrative.”) In the other space, just around the corner, exhibits change seasonally; call ahead or check the website for more information. Make sure an exhibit is ongoing before you visit, as the Palais is closed if there are none. (3 av. du Général Eisenhower, 8ème. Champs-Élysées-Clemenceau. Follow av. Winston Churchill towards the river; the museum is on your right. ☎01 44 13 17 17; www.rmn.fr. Open M, W, F-Su 10am-10pm, Th10am-8pm. Last entry 45min. before closing. Wheelchair-accessible. €10, students €8. For special exhibits, admission varies; expect €7-15 and €5-8 for students, free for art students. Reservations suggested; call FNAC (☎08 92 68 46 94) or go to www.rmn.fr or any FNAC, Virgin, or department store. Audioguide availability depends on exhibit, €5. AmEx/MC/V.)