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With its world-class museums, national monuments, private foundations and boutique galleries, there’s always a killer exhibition to catch in Paris. This year will be no different – in fact, 2026 is shaping up to be a blockbuster year for the city’s art scene. We’re talking world-first retrospectives, the grand reopening of a cult Parisian haunt, plus global art tours that have finally (finally!) landed on French soil. Clear your diaries and get booking your tickets: here’s a roundup of all the exhibitions worth travelling to Paris for this year.
Recommended: This cavelike, immersive artwork in Paris is Time Out’s top-rated thing to do in 2026
The best upcoming exhibitions in Paris for 2026
‘Martin Parr: Global Warming’ at the Jeu de Paume
Curated with the help of the legendary British photographer before his passing last December, Global Warning revisits Parr’s career from the 1970s onwards through the lens of our modern, chaotic world. A chronicler of the everyday across five continents, Parr captured humanity’s impact on nature with his signature wit and sharp, ironic eye. This massive tribute features nearly 180 works – a fitting farewell to a titan of contemporary photography.
📅 When: Jan 30 – May 24, 2026
🖼️ Where: Jeu de Paume, 1 Place de la Concorde, 8th arrondissement
‘Facing the Sky: Paul Huet in His Time’ at the Musée de la Vie Romantique
It’s no coincidence that the Musée de la Vie Romantique is choosing Valentine’s Day to reopen its doors after a 17-month facelift. Visitors can finally rediscover Ary Scheffer’s restored house and studios, featuring a fresh layout for the permanent collection and a spotlight on Paul Huet. Heavily influenced by Turner and Constable, this overlooked pioneer of French Romantic landscape painting deserves his flowers – especially for those majestic, moody skyscapes which have been curated alongside the works of his contemporaries.
📅 When: Feb 14 – Aug 31 2026
🖼️ Where: Musée de la Vie Romantique, 16 Rue Chaptal, 9th arrondissement
‘Chiaroscuro’ at the Bourse de Commerce
Moving beyond the painting technique made famous by Caravaggio, the Bourse de Commerce’s latest show treats the contrast between light and shadow as a visual language for the soul which has metaphysical implications. Contemporary artists are still using the motif to navigate the darkness of our own era, and that’ll be illustrated here by gems from the Pinault Collection, alongside a special ‘carte blanche’ commission by Laura Lamiel.
📅 When: March 4 – Aug 31 2026
🖼️ Where: Bourse de Commerce, 2 Rue de Viarmes, 1st arrondissement
‘Renoir and Love’ at the Musée d’Orsay
With 2026 marking the 150th anniversary of the iconic Bal du moulin de la Galette, the d’Orsay is dedicating a major show to Auguste Renoir’s romantic side. The goal? To deconstruct the cliché of Renoir as merely ‘sentimental’ and highlight his profound, affectionate gaze through both his subjects and his obsessive attention to detail. Not only will this shine a new light on Renoir, but it’s the biggest gathering of his early career masterpieces in Paris since 1985.
📅 When: March 17 – July 19, 2026
🖼️ Where: Musée d’Orsay, 1 Rue de la Légion d’Honneur, 17th arrondissement
‘Nan Goldin: This Will Not End Well’ at the Grand Palais
Following a high-profile tour of Stockholm, Amsterdam, Berlin and Milan, Nan Goldin’s immersive show finally hits Paris. Set across the Grand Palais’s Salon d’Honneur and the Saint-Louis de la Salpêtrière chapel, the exhibition features unique pavilions designed by architect Hala Wardé. Despite the bleak title, the curator promises a look at Goldin’s ‘unshakeable joie de vivre’, focusing on her work as a filmmaker through videos and slide shows, including the world-famous ‘The Ballad of Sexual Dependency’.
📅 When: March 18 – June 21, 2026
🖼️ Where: Grand Palais, 17 Avenue du Général Eisenhower, 18th arrondissement
‘Matisse: 1941-1954’ at the Grand Palais
Centred around the twilight years of this lauded master of Fauvism, this show proves that Matisse never stopped reinventing himself. A joint effort between the Centre Pompidou and the Grand Palais, it brings together more than 230 works, including an exceptional haul of his famous cut-outs (gouaches découpées) and some of his most vibrant late-stage paintings. It’s set to be a vivid and rich journey through the work of this artist who continues to fascinate us.
📅 When: March 24 – July 26, 2026
🖼️ Where: Grand Palais, 17 Avenue du Général Eisenhower, 8th arrondissement
‘Henri Rousseau, The Ambition of Painting’ at the Musée de l’Orangerie
The first museum to benefit from loans from the Barnes Foundation of Philadelphia, this spring the Musée de l’Orangerie will present a groundbreaking retrospective featuring some fifty works by the artist known as ‘Le Douanier Rousseau’. In addition to revisiting his career and the sheer materiality of his work, the show pays homage to Paul Guillaume – the legendary art dealer and fervent collector of Rousseau’s work (and former owner of a significant portion of the Orangerie’s collection).
📅 When: March 25 – July 20 2026
🖼️ Where: Musée de l’Orangerie, Jardin des Tuileries, 1st arrondissement
‘Africa Fashion’ at the Musée du Quai Branly – Jacques Chirac
Originally curated by London’s Victoria and Albert Museum, the smash-hit Africa Fashion arrives in Paris after stops in the likes of Australia, Canada and the US. It’s an opportunity for the African fashion scene to shine in the capital of haute couture, while also creating a dialogue between contemporary designs and the Quai Branly’s historic collections. The confrontation between past and present will highlight a different vision of fashion, shaped by both local expertise and a new generation of designers.
📅 When: March 31 – July 12, 2026
🖼️ Where: Musée du Quai Branly – Jacques Chirac, 37 Quai Branly, 7th arrondissement
‘Video Games & Music’ at the Philharmonie de Paris
Video game scores are an art form that rarely get the credit they deserve, but from April 2, the Philharmonie aims to rectify that, charting how musicians fueled the rise of the world’s biggest cultural industry. From early technical limitations, the integration of sound into game mechanics, and the creation of cult-classic soundtracks that trigger instant nostalgia, this is a genuine video game odyssey for more than just the hardcore gamers out there.
📅 When: April 2 – Nov 1, 2026
🖼️ Where: Philharmonie de Paris, 211 Avenue Jean Jaurès, 19th arrondissement
‘Lee Miller’ at the Musée d’Art Moderne
Artist, muse, and model: Lee Miller’s extraordinary life (recently seen on the big screen in the 2024 biopic) gets a major retrospective this spring. Working with Tate Britain and the Art Institute of Chicago, the MAM is showcasing the full breadth of her photography – from high fashion and landscapes to her harrowing 1940s war reportage. The artistic and biographical exhibition will take visitors on a journey through photographs captured in a life of constant movement.
📅 When: April 3 – July 26, 2026
🖼️ Where: Musée d’Art Moderne, 10 Avenue du Président Wilson, 16th arrondissement
‘Calder: Dreaming in Balance’ at the Fondation Louis Vuitton
To mark 100 years since he arrived in France and 50 since he left us, the Fondation Louis Vuitton is going big on Alexander Calder. Billed as one of the most important exhibitions ever dedicated to the artist, it features nearly 300 works, and we can expect those famous mobiles and stabiles to look incredible against Frank Gehry’s architecture, alongside wire portraits, wood sculptures, and even jewellery.
📅 When: April 15 – Aug 16, 2026
🖼️ Where: Fondation Louis Vuitton, 8 Avenue du Mahatma Gandhi, 16th arrondissement
‘Look, 40 Years of Fashion’ at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs
The MAD is blowing out 40 birthday candles for the Musée de la Mode et du Textile this year, which opened its doors back in 1986, and this accompanying anniversary show goes behind the scenes of couture conservation, looking at the life of a garment before and after it hits the museum archives. To celebrate, 40 iconic silhouettes will take over the nave of the Pavillon de Marsan, and will evoke major fashion exhibitions from the last four decades.
📅 When: Sept 29, 2026 – April 4, 2027
🖼️ Where: Musée des Arts Décoratifs, 107 Rue de Rivoli, 1st arrondissement
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