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Shot by a City Insiders curator.
Musée des Arts Décoratifs (Le)
★ 4.0(1 review)Museum
elegantquietinspiring
About the Vibe
Tucked inside the Palais du Louvre's Rohan wing, this museum is where you go to see how the French lived — and decorated — from the Middle Ages to now. With over 150,000 objects spanning furniture, fashion, jewelry, glassware, and toys, it's a design lover's dream that gets a fraction of the crowds its famous neighbor pulls. Skip the Louvre scrum and come here for the Art Deco and Art Nouveau rooms alone — they're spectacular.
Why it's worth it
Over 150,000 decorative objects from medieval to modern — Art Deco rooms, period interiors, and jewelry galleries — all in the Louvre's wing with a fraction of the crowds.
Highlights
Art Deco roomsperiod roomsuncrowdedfashion galleries
Before you go
Check the temporary exhibition schedule before visiting — they're often the main draw and can sell out, especially on weekends.
Known For
- •Art Deco and Art Nouveau collections
- •Period rooms with original decor
- •Fashion and jewelry galleries
- •150,000+ decorative objects from Middle Ages to present
Best For
design enthusiastsrainy-day museum visitsescaping Louvre crowds
1 review
City InsidersEditorialJuly 10, 2026
French design history without the Louvre crowds
If you've ever wandered through the Louvre and wondered what the furniture, the jewelry, the everyday objects of those eras actually looked like up close — this is your museum. The Musée des Arts Décoratifs occupies the Rohan wing of the Palais du Louvre, and it's a staggering collection of over 150,000 objects that trace French design from the Middle Ages through to contemporary pieces. The Art Deco and Art Nouveau rooms are the headline acts: walk through them and you'll understand why "Art Deco" literally takes its name from a Paris exhibition. The period rooms, reconstructed with their original paneling and furnishings, let you step into the homes of French aristocrats and bourgeoisie across centuries.
What makes this place special isn't just the collection — it's the calm. The museum drew fewer than 700,000 visitors in 2023, which sounds like a lot until you remember the Louvre pulls over eight million. You can actually breathe here, actually look at things without someone's selfie stick in your face. The fashion and jewelry galleries (Galerie de la Mode and Galerie des Bijoux) are particular highlights — beautifully curated and surprisingly intimate.
A few practical notes: the museum also runs excellent temporary exhibitions that are often worth the visit on their own. The café and bookshop are solid. And if you're doing a Louvre day, this is the perfect palate cleanser — you can walk between the two in minutes. Just don't expect to see everything in one go; the collection is vast and the layout can be a bit labyrinthine, so pick a wing or a period and dive deep.