10 must-see exhibitions in Paris in May 2026

In May, Paris can be discovered in a whole new way, as museums and cultural venues host exhibitions. From major retrospectives to fashion, photography and contemporary creations, the capital offers a rich itinerary, to be experienced as a sensitive stroll from one place to another.

From emblematic institutions to more confidential spaces, the Parisian art scene displays a diversity of looks and expressions. Some exhibitions invite you to slow down, to observe matter and light, while others capture the zeitgeist with more energy. A selection to explore at your own pace, for a cultural interlude in the heart of spring.

Matisse at the Grand Palais: color as breath

In the bright light of the Grand Palais, the exhibition devoted to Henri Matisse unfolds a universe where color becomes language, rhythm and emotion.

We move through the canvases as if in a succession of suspended moments. Flat tints vibrate, shapes simplify, and everything seems to seek a kind of quiet obviousness. With Matisse, nothing is demonstrative: everything breathes. Reds converse with blues, silhouettes stretch with an almost musical lightness, and the composition always leaves room for emptiness, air and light.

The exhibition takes us through the different periods of his work, from early research to large-scale decorative compositions. The same quest is apparent: that of striking a balance between intensity and calm, between construction and freedom. Faced with his works, the viewer’s gaze shifts, as if invited to slow down, to feel rather than analyze.

In this tour, Matisse not only tells the story of painting: he proposes a gentler, more open way of inhabiting the world, in which color becomes a form of silent consolation.
March 24, 2026 – July 26, 2026

Renoir and love at the Musée d’Orsay

In the soft light of the Musée d’Orsay, the Renoir and Love exhibition explores an essential facet of the painter’s work: that of feeling, connection and tenderness.

Throughout the exhibition, female figures take center stage. Renoir paints them with an almost tactile attention, seeking to capture the softness of a glance, the warmth of a skin, the delicacy of a gesture. Scenes of couples, family moments and intimate portraits make up an ensemble in which love is expressed in different forms, without ever falling into demonstration.

Light, the painter’s signature, envelops bodies and faces in a diffuse radiance, giving the works a feeling of immediate proximity. Colors vibrate without excess, contours fade slightly, as if to suggest emotion rather than freeze it.

The exhibition allows us to rediscover Renoir through this sensitive prism, where painting becomes a way of translating the attachment, presence and gentleness of human relationships. A visit that is almost silent, carried by a simple, universal emotion.

March 12 – June 30 2026
Musée d’Orsay – 1 rue de la Légion d’Honneur, 75007 Paris

Michelangelo / Rodin – Corps vivants at the Musée du Louvre

At the Musée du Louvre, this exhibition compares two major visions of the sculpted body through the works of Michelangelo and Rodin. The exhibition reveals correspondences based on tension, movement and the representation of living matter. Drawings, marbles and preparatory studies testify to a constant search for balance between structure and expressiveness. The works interact across the galleries, creating visual comparisons that underline the continuities and differences between the two artists. Visitors are invited to observe the details of the surfaces, the play of shadows and the volumes that give the body an almost vibrant presence. The exhibition thus offers a cross-reading of two approaches in which sculpture becomes a language in its own right.
March 6 to June 29, 2026
Musée du Louvre – Rue de Rivoli, 75001 Paris

Madame de Sévigné, Parisian letters at the Musée Carnavalet

In the hushed atmosphere of the Musée Carnavalet, the exhibition dedicated to Madame de Sévigné invites us to rediscover Paris through the lively, sensitive eyes of one of its most famous letter-writers.

Her letters reveal a whole world. Social life, court intrigues, everyday emotions… each word seems to capture a moment with almost immediate precision. The tour highlights this spontaneous writing style, at once elegant and profoundly alive, which has survived the centuries without losing any of its freshness.

Manuscripts, portraits and period documents accompany this plunge into the 17th century. We discover a woman attentive to her times, a keen observer of behavior and customs, but also deeply attached to those closest to her, particularly her daughter, to whom she addressed much of her correspondence.

As the tour unfolds, Paris appears differently: a city told from the inside, to the rhythm of salons, events and confidences. An exhibition that reads almost like a story, where each letter becomes a scene, a look, an emotion.

March 15 to June 30, 2026
Musée Carnavalet – 23 rue de Sévigné, 75003 Paris

Calder, dreaming in balance at the Fondation Louis Vuitton

In the luminous architecture of the Fondation Louis Vuitton, Alexander Calder’s world unfolds in a subtle interplay of movement, emptiness and balance. The suspended mobiles seem to float, carried by invisible flows that give them an almost organic presence. The exhibition traces the different periods of his work, from early sculptures to monumental installations. The colorful forms interact with natural light to create an ever-changing visual experience. Each piece invites us to observe variations, oscillations and imperceptible rhythms. Together, they create an environment where the eye can move freely, carried along by a sensation of lightness. A proposal that privileges perception and contemplation, in a direct relationship between the work, the space and the visitor.
February 18 to August 25, 2026 Fondation Louis Vuitton – 8 Avenue du Mahatma Gandhi, 75116 Paris

Beyond Our Horizons at Galerie Le 19M

At the heart of Le 19M, Beyond Our Horizons celebrates textiles as a living language, at the crossroads of tradition and contemporary creation. Here, the material is more than just decorative: it tells the story of gestures, know-how and hours of patient precision.

Delicate embroidery, intricate weaving, threads stretched like narrative lines… each piece reveals the richness of a world where craftsmanship occupies a central place. We discover works that take shape in the dialogue between expert hands and creative visions, between couture houses and exceptional workshops. Textiles become a field of experimentation, a place where ancient techniques meet more contemporary writing.

The exhibition focuses particularly on the notion of transmission. Gestures are repeated, passed down, sometimes reinvented, but always with the same exacting precision. It is these details, invisible at first glance, that give the pieces on display their intensity.

Walking through the rooms, you almost have the sensation of entering an enlarged workshop, where each creation bears the trace of a shared knowledge. Beyond Our Horizons doesn’t just show: it reveals the silent beauty of manual labor and how it continues to inspire the most contemporary forms of creation.
From March 15 to July 15, 2026 Le 19M – 2 Place Skanderbeg, 75019 Paris

Dior / Alaïa – Azzedine Alaïa Foundation

In the intimate spaces of the Fondation Azzedine Alaïa, creations by Azzedine Alaïa and Christian Dior face each other in a silent, almost tactile dialogue, where couture becomes a common language.

The tour reveals two different approaches to the feminine silhouette, which respond to each other without ever merging. On one side, Alaïa’s sculptural rigor and absolute precision of gesture; on the other, Dior’s heritage, more architectural in its volumes, driven by an idea of constructed grace. Between these two visions, a common thread runs: that of the hand, time and exacting standards.

The pieces on display reveal the intensity of studio work, where every seam, every drape, every line contributes to the final balance. Nothing is left to chance, yet everything seems natural, almost obvious.

The exhibition is a silent conversation between two major fashion houses. A meeting that does not seek opposition, but rather resonance: that of two looks that have profoundly marked the history of the Parisian silhouette and elegance.
From March 1 to June 30, 2026 Fondation Azzedine Alaïa – 18 Rue de la Verrerie, 75004 Paris

Marilyn Monroe: 100 years at the Cinémathèque française

At the Cinémathèque Française, the Marilyn Monroe exhibition explores the construction of an icon through archives, photographs and film extracts. The exhibition highlights the duality between public image and private personality, revealing a woman attentive to her artistic trajectory. The documents presented help us understand the stages of her career, her collaborations and her professional choices. As a whole, the exhibition offers a more nuanced vision of her career, far removed from fixed representations. Visitors discover a figure in motion, shaped by cinema but also an actress in her own image. The exhibition aims to show the multiple facets of a personality whose influence continues to span generations.
March 16 to June 30, 2026
Cinémathèque française – 51 Rue de Bercy, 75012 Paris

Lee Miller at the Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris

In the halls of the Musée d’Art Moderne in Paris, the retrospective devoted to Lee Miller reveals a body of work that is at once photographic, intimate and deeply rooted in the upheavals of the 20th century. The exhibition highlights a singular trajectory, between fashion, surrealism and war reporting. The images oscillate between sophisticated compositions and scenes captured on the spot, revealing a great mastery of light, framing and visual narrative. We discover an artist who crosses eras with a personal eye, sensitive to the contrasts between aesthetics and reality. Archival material enriches the journey, providing a deeper understanding of her influences and commitments. Taken together, the result is a dense portrait in which each photograph seems to tell an autonomous story, while at the same time forming part of a more global vision of the world.
April 10 – August 17 2026
Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris 11 Avenue du Président Wilson, 75116 Paris

Brion Gysin, the last museum at the Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris

Brion Gysin’s exhibition at the Musée d’Art Moderne in Paris opens the door to a universe that is free, experimental and profoundly unclassifiable.

A multi-faceted artist with close ties to avant-garde literary and artistic circles, Brion Gysin has developed a body of work in which disciplines intersect without hierarchy. Painting, writing, performances, visual devices: all seem to interact in a constant search for language and perception. The tour highlights this cross-disciplinary approach, in which each creation becomes an attempt to broaden the field of vision.

The works on display reveal a focus on rhythm, repetition and fragmentation. These include his famous cut-up experiments, developed with William S. Burroughs, in which text is deconstructed to reveal new meanings. Visual motifs, often hypnotic, extend this exploration, inviting the visitor into an almost sensory experience.

As the rooms unfold, the exhibition sketches the portrait of an artist on the move, always in search of new forms of expression. A plunge into a world where the boundaries between the arts are blurred in favor of a free and radical vision.
April 10 to July 13, 2026 Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris
11 avenue du Président Wilson, 75116 Paris

• adresses
• paris