Palais de Tokyo in Paris

Located between the Eiffel Tower and* the Champs Élysées, the Palais de Tokyo** is the largest center for contemporary artistic creation in Europe and a one-of-a-kind exhibition space. This monumental building, conceived in art deco style* is dedicated to both emerging and established artists from France and around the world. This is the place where you will also find the biggest Parisian art library.

Two wing building

Designed in 1937 for the International Exhibition, the Palais de Tokyo was built to house two separate museums: the Musée d’art moderne de la Ville de Paris and the Musée national d’art moderne. The Musée d’art moderne de la Ville de Paris (The museum of modern art of the city of Paris) has been located in the east wing of the building and presents the municipal collection of modern and contemporary art, rich of more than 10 000 works. This museum houses works by Pablo Picasso, Juan Gris, Henri Matisse, Alberto Giacometti, Georges Braque and Yves Klein. The west wing, that what we refer to as the present-day Palais de Tokyo, has hosted a number of different institutions, projects, and creative spaces, all centered around visual arts. Today, this part of this building houses one of the largest centers for creation and contemporary art in Europe. It is an anti-museum in permanent transformation.

The west wing

The west wing of the Palais de Tokyo offers visitors exhibitions, meetings, screenings, concerts and performances in a 22,000 m² space spread across 4 floors. And this is also the place where you can find one of the biggest art bookshop in Paris - Walther König & Cahiers d'Art. This bookshop offers a large selection of books, magazines, contemporary art objects, design, books for children, DVDs and also a wide range of the international press and catalogues of exhibitions in France and abroad. Two restaurants are also on your disposition - Les Grands Verres and Monsieur Bleu. Monsieur Bleu is a chic neo-brasserie with a beautiful art deco dining room decorated in marble, gold and black lacquer tables. A new space opened in September 2013 – the Yoyo. It is an artistic venue that hosts numerous events like concerts, DJ sets, contemporary art exhibitions, and private events (cocktail parties, fashion shows, etc.) and on the weekends, the Yoyo transforms in the night club.

Practical information

The Palais de Tokyo in Paris is open every day except on Tuesdays, from midday to midnight. The restaurants are open every day. Metro: line 9, Iéna and Alma Marceau stations.