The story behind every work you pass.

  • 32collections
  • 850+stories
  • EN · JPfree to read

Commentary from the MuseCat audio guide, written by our guides and checked in both languages. Free to read in English and Japanese.Commentary from the MuseCat audio guide. Free to read in English and Japanese.

Magazine

Paris
Editor's pick Editor's pick Room 2: Sculpting Just to Get By, After the Rejections Musée Rodin · 2 min read

Paris

France · 32 collections

The Louvre

33 stories See all 33 →
History & Culture · 3 min From Fortress to Palace: A Louvre History 3 min read Architecture · 2 min From Controversy to Icon: The Glass Pyramid 2 min read History & Culture · 2 min The Namesakes of the Louvre's Three Wings 2 min read Antiquities · 2 min Where Civilization Began: Mesopotamia 2 min read

Musée d'Orsay

82 stories See all 82 →
Painting · 2 min From Train Station to Museum: A Century of the Musée d'Orsay 2 min read Painting · 2 min Two Opposing Movements, Born in the Same Era: Neoclassicism and Romanticism 2 min read Painting · 2 min Thirty-Six Years of Brushwork: Ingres's The Source 2 min read Painting · 2 min A Shadow of a Lost Masterpiece: Delacroix's Lion Hunt 2 min read

Musée de l'Orangerie

122 stories See all 122 →
Painting · 2 min The Orangerie: From Greenhouse to Museum 2 min read Painting · 2 min The Story of the Walter-Guillaume Collection 2 min read Painting · 2 min The Pronaos: A Small Passage 2 min read Painting · 2 min Water Lilies, Room One 2 min read

Musée Rodin

65 stories See all 65 →
Sculpture · 2 min From Mansion to Convent to Museum: 200 Years of the Musée Rodin 2 min read Sculpture · 3 min Three Rejections Made Him: The Turbulent Life of Auguste Rodin 3 min read Sculpture · 2 min A Body with No Head: How Rodin Assembled His Sculptures 2 min read Sculpture · 2 min Room 1: Traces of Rodin the Student 2 min read

Picasso in Paris

27 stories See all 27 →
Painting · 2 min Why Picasso Headed for Paris 2 min read Painting · 2 min A Prodigy's First Paintings 2 min read Painting · 3 min A Friend's Death and the Start of the Blue Period 3 min read Painting · 2 min Picasso in His Unknown Years: The Portrait of Gustave Coquiot 2 min read

Monet's Giverny

28 stories See all 28 →
Painting · 2 min Paris to Giverny by Train: A Day-Trip Guide 2 min read Painting · 2 min Gare Saint-Lazare: Monet's Steam and Light 2 min read Painting · 3 min The Train That Made Impressionism Possible 3 min read Painting · 2 min Three Ways to Get from Vernon Station to Giverny 2 min read

Van Gogh's Auvers-sur-Oise

12 stories See all 12 →
Painting · 2 min How to Visit Auvers-sur-Oise 2 min read Painting · 3 min Why Van Gogh Came to Auvers 3 min read Painting · 2 min Daubigny's Garden and the Father of Impressionism 2 min read Painting · 3 min The Church Van Gogh Painted 3 min read

Monet's Life and Giverny

11 stories See all 11 →
Painting · 2 min How to Get to Giverny from Paris 2 min read Painting · 3 min Young Monet: The Father of Impressionism 3 min read Painting · 2 min Monet and His Series: Chasing the Light 2 min read Painting · 3 min Inside Monet's House: The Pink Villa 3 min read

Palace of Versailles

78 stories See all 78 →
Palace & Rooms · 2 min At the Place d'Armes, Before the Statue of Louis XIV 2 min read Palace & Rooms · 2 min At the King's Gate 2 min read Palace & Rooms · 2 min The King's Courtyard 2 min read Palace & Rooms · 3 min The Four-Hundred-Year Room — A History of Versailles 3 min read

Notre-Dame de Paris

21 stories See all 21 →
Architecture · 2 min Notre-Dame: Opening Hours, Entry and Etiquette 2 min read Visit Tips · 2 min Getting There and Restroom Tips 2 min read Visit Tips · 2 min Three Tips for Reading the Cathedral 2 min read Architecture · 3 min Notre-Dame: History and Scale 3 min read

Sainte-Chapelle

22 stories See all 22 →
Visit Tips · 2 min Getting There and Booking Your Slot 2 min read Architecture · 2 min Arriving and Getting In: What to Know 2 min read Architecture · 3 min A Jewel Box Born of Debt 3 min read Architecture · 2 min The Grande Châsse: Revolution and Rebirth 2 min read

The Panthéon

28 stories See all 28 →
Visit Tips · 2 min How to Buy Panthéon Tickets 2 min read Visit Tips · 2 min Bag Storage and What You Can Bring Inside 2 min read Visit Tips · 2 min Where to Find the Restroom 2 min read Visit Tips · 2 min Things to Know While Touring 2 min read

Palais Garnier

33 stories See all 33 →
Visit Tips · 2 min Tour Route and Duration 2 min read Architecture · 2 min Opening Hours and Closures 2 min read Visit Tips · 2 min Tickets: How to Buy and Save 2 min read Visit Tips · 2 min Cloakroom and Bag Rules 2 min read

Churches of Paris

33 stories See all 33 →
Architecture · 2 min Three Reasons to Take a Church Walking Tour 2 min read Architecture · 3 min Paris and France: The Basics 3 min read Visit Tips · 2 min Church Pilgrimage Tips: Do's and Don'ts 2 min read Visit Tips · 5 min Enjoying the UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Tips 5 min read

Les Invalides

9 stories See all 9 →
Palace & Rooms · 2 min Les Invalides: The Gilded Dome and Its Main Gate 2 min read Palace & Rooms · 2 min Napoleon's Resting Place: The Dôme Church 2 min read Palace & Rooms · 2 min Second Floor: The Story of the French Revolution 2 min read Palace & Rooms · 2 min First Floor: France at War 2 min read

The Eiffel Tower

10 stories See all 10 →
Architecture · 2 min Before You Start the Eiffel Tower Tour 2 min read Architecture · 2 min Place du Trocadéro and the Palais de Chaillot 2 min read Architecture · 2 min Jardins du Trocadéro 2 min read Architecture · 3 min When and Why Was the Eiffel Tower Built? 3 min read

The Arc de Triomphe

18 stories See all 18 →
Architecture · 2 min Why It's Called the Arc of the Star 2 min read Architecture · 2 min A Monument to Napoleon's Victories 2 min read Architecture · 2 min The Underground Passage and Ticket Office 2 min read Architecture · 2 min The Names Carved on the Pillars 2 min read

Sacré-Cœur

5 stories See all 5 →
Architecture · 2 min Sacré-Cœur Basilica: The Basics 2 min read Architecture · 4 min The History of Sacré-Cœur 4 min read Architecture · 4 min Inside and Out: Sacré-Cœur's Highlights 4 min read Architecture · 2 min The Symbolic Creatures of Sacré-Cœur 2 min read

Sainte-Chapelle in Brief

3 stories See all 3 →
Architecture · 3 min The History of Sainte-Chapelle 3 min read Architecture · 6 min Sainte-Chapelle: Inside and Out 6 min read Visit Tips · 2 min Visiting Sainte-Chapelle: Practical Tips 2 min read

Sainte-Chapelle Up Close

11 stories See all 11 →
Visit Tips · 2 min How to Buy Sainte-Chapelle Tickets 2 min read Visit Tips · 2 min Five Tips for Visiting Sainte-Chapelle 2 min read Architecture · 2 min Why Is Sainte-Chapelle on the Île de la Cité? 2 min read Architecture · 2 min The Exterior and Its Buttresses 2 min read

Grand Palais, Petit Palais and Pont Alexandre III

4 stories See all 4 →
Architecture · 2 min Beaux-Arts and Art Nouveau 2 min read Architecture · 2 min Pont Alexandre III 2 min read Architecture · 4 min The Grand Palais 4 min read Architecture · 2 min The Petit Palais 2 min read

Paris Highlights

32 stories See all 32 →
City Walks · 2 min Île de la Cité: Where Paris Began 2 min read City Walks · 3 min Inside Notre-Dame: Rose Windows and Joan of Arc 3 min read City Walks · 2 min Sainte-Chapelle: Paris's Most Dazzling Stained Glass 2 min read City Walks · 2 min The Conciergerie: Marie Antoinette's Final Days 2 min read

Paris History Walk

18 stories See all 18 →
Visit Tips · 2 min Tour Route and Duration 2 min read City Walks · 2 min Getting to the Starting Point 2 min read Visit Tips · 2 min Tips and Precautions Before You Go 2 min read City Walks · 2 min A Quick History of France 2 min read

Paris by Night

24 stories See all 24 →
City Walks · 2 min Paris Transit Tickets: How to Choose the Right One 2 min read City Walks · 3 min Pickpockets and Scams: What to Know Before Your Night Walk 3 min read City Walks · 2 min Hôtel de Ville: Paris's Stage of Power and Protest 2 min read City Walks · 2 min Shopping Near City Hall 2 min read

Le Marais

36 stories See all 36 →
City Walks · 2 min Le Marais: A Paris of Old-World Lanes 2 min read City Walks · 3 min Paris City Hall: A Monument to the Republic 3 min read City Walks · 2 min BHV: Practical Shopping, Parisian Style 2 min read City Walks · 2 min The Paris Tourist Office at City Hall 2 min read

Paris Like a Local

15 stories See all 15 →
Visit Tips · 2 min KB Café, with a View of Sacré-Cœur (and Paris Terrace Culture) 2 min read City Walks · 2 min Martyrs Street: Flowers, Fruit and Bread 2 min read City Walks · 2 min Lunch in the Marais: Neapolitan Pizza or Sichuan Noodles 2 min read City Walks · 2 min French Dining Etiquette Worth Knowing 2 min read

Montmartre

15 stories See all 15 →
City Walks · 2 min Montmartre, the Hill of Martyrs 2 min read City Walks · 2 min The Wall of I Love Yous 2 min read City Walks · 2 min Bateau-Lavoir, the Artists' "Laundry Boat" 2 min read City Walks · 2 min Picasso's Blue Period and Rose Period 2 min read

Paris Cemeteries

12 stories See all 12 →
City Walks · 3 min Père-Lachaise: Paris's Largest Cemetery 3 min read City Walks · 2 min The Tomb of Abelard and Héloïse 2 min read City Walks · 2 min Oscar Wilde's Tomb 2 min read Visit Tips · 2 min Jim Morrison's Grave 2 min read

Shows and Theatres in Paris

16 stories See all 16 →
City Walks · 3 min What to Expect at a Paris Theatre: A Guide to French Show Etiquette 3 min read City Walks · 2 min Which Show Should You See? 2 min read Visit Tips · 3 min How to Book Tickets for Shows in Paris 3 min read City Walks · 2 min Do You Love Musicals? French Musicals 2 min read

French Food Culture

22 stories See all 22 →
Food & Drink · 2 min Reading the Signs: Restaurant, Bistro, Brasserie or Café? 2 min read Food & Drink · 2 min Dining in France: The Three Magic Words and How to Order 2 min read Food & Drink · 4 min The Classic French Multi-Course Meal 4 min read Food & Drink · 3 min Four Meals a Day in France, Goûter Included 3 min read

Saint-Germain Food Walk

22 stories See all 22 →
Food & Drink · 3 min The Table as an Art of Living: French Dining Philosophy 3 min read Food & Drink · 4 min How to Choose a Restaurant and Order in France 4 min read Food & Drink · 8 min A Guide to French Wine and Liqueurs 8 min read Food & Drink · 2 min How to Order and Enjoy Wine at a French Restaurant 2 min read

Paris Department Stores

12 stories See all 12 →
Shopping · 2 min Where Parisians Shopped Before the Department Store 2 min read Shopping · 2 min Baron Haussmann and the Making of Modern Paris 2 min read Shopping · 2 min Social Distinction and the Birth of the Department Store 2 min read Shopping · 2 min New Fashion Shops vs. the Arcades 2 min read