Guimet Museum Museum

Address: Musée national des arts asiatiques - Guimet, 6 Place d’Iéna, 75116 Paris, France

Website: https://www.guimet.fr

Hours: Tue-Sun 10:00am-6:00pm, closed Mondays

Admission: Approx. €11 (adult) - check website for current rates and special exhibitions

The Guimet Museum (Musée national des arts asiatiques - Guimet) in Paris is France’s national museum dedicated to the arts of Asia; it was founded by collector Émile Guimet in the late 19th century. The institution houses extensive collections that span South, Central and East Asia.

Exhibition rooms are organised by region and medium, with notable holdings of Buddhist sculpture, Chinese and Japanese painting and South Asian ritual objects. Rotating temporary exhibitions complement the permanent collections and the museum offers guided tours and specialist displays. The museum also supports scholarly research and conservation of Asian artworks.

Émile Guimet assembled the original collection in the 19th century and donated it to the French state; the museum has since been expanded and reorganised to improve display and study of its holdings. Its development reflects scholarly ties between France and Asian art history.

The museum is located in Paris’s 16th arrondissement near the Trocadéro and the Seine, within walking distance of the Trocadéro Gardens and the Palais de Chaillot.

• Focus: The museum specialises in Asian art and is one of France’s leading collections for South and East Asian holdings, with both archaeological material and modern religious sculptures.

What to See#

• Regional galleries: Galleries organised by geographic and cultural regions showcase art and artifacts from South Asia, Central Asia, China, Southeast Asia and Japan, with a mix of sculpture, ritual objects, and decorative arts.
• Temporary exhibition galleries: Rooms for temporary exhibitions that rotate displays on specific themes, periods or new research in Asian art.
• Library and study collections: A reference library and study collections used by scholars of Asian art for research and publication.

Musée Guimet sits at Place d’Iéna in Paris’s 16th arrondissement, a short walk from the Trocadéro area. Take Paris Métro Line 9 to Iéna (about a 1-2 minute walk) or to Trocadéro (Lines 6 and 9) and walk across Place du Trocadéro (about 5-7 minutes). By car it is in central Paris off Avenue d’Iéna, roughly 3 km west of Île de la Cité (allow for traffic and limited parking).

• Use the Iéna metro stop (Line 9) and the museum's main entrance on Place d'Iéna for the most direct access; arriving on a weekday morning will generally mean fewer groups and a quieter visit.
• Musée Guimet's strength is its Asian collections-pick which region (South Asia, China, Japan, Southeast Asia) you want to focus on before you go so you can see highlights in limited time, and check the museum's website for temporary exhibitions and online ticketing to avoid queues.