10 Exhibitions to See Along the Seine This Summer, from Coney Island to the Great Lakes—Without Leaving Paris
This summer of 2026, Paris isn’t just warming up visitors along the waterfront: the city is also offering a program ofphotography and art exhibitions of rare richness, stretching from the banks of the Seine to the footbridges over the Canal Saint-Martin.
When a Photo Tells the Story of a City and Its Boundaries
National Geographic photographers will be exhibiting their work at Parc Rives de Seine (4th arrondissement, Paris) starting July 4, 2026. Their exhibition, “Urban Beaches: USA,” shows how major American cities have transformed their coastlines into hybrid spaces—neither entirely natural nor purely urban. From the legendary beach at Coney Island to the lifeguard towers in Malibu, these images capture the ambivalence of a landscape in a fragile balance.
In this same spirit of blurred boundaries, photographer Ludivine Combe is presenting her work on the banks of the Seine, at Rampe Châtelet (4th arrondissement, Paris), from July 4 to August 30, 2026. Her exhibition “Coney Island Queen” captures, through the delicate grain of expired film, the wild energy of this legendary New York neighborhood, with its cotton candy, giant inflatable bananas, and Puerto Rican dancers. These two photographic exhibitions thus form an unexpected transatlantic dialogue along the Seine.
In addition, the Canadian Cultural Center (130 rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, Paris 8th arrondissement) is hosting a major retrospective of photographer Robert Burley through November 13, 2026. His lens captures the Great Lakes region—this vast territory straddling Canada and the United States, home to Indigenous peoples from several First Nations and tribes. It is a space that serves as both a hub for exchange and a travel destination, as well as an area where exploitation and danger remain ever-present.
Insightful Perspectives on Our Relationship with the World
Some of this summer’s exhibitions go beyond mere visual spectacle. At the MAIF Social Club (37 rue de Turenne, Paris 3rd arrondissement), the exhibition “Voir la mer” brings together some twenty works and installations to explore our relationship with the ocean. It runs through July 25, 2026. The participating artists champion a powerful idea: to stop seeking to possess the sea, but rather to see it for what it truly is.
Similarly, on the walls of the Tour Saint-Jacques (88 rue de Rivoli, Paris Center), the photography exhibition “Le Goût de l’hospitalité” will remain on view through July 15, 2026. Curated by Marine Mandrila and Louis Martin as part of the Refugee Food Festival—whose 11th edition took place from June 6 to 28, 2026—it spotlights refugees and newcomers working in the restaurant industry. Behind every plate lies a talent that blossoms through certified training programs—a hope seeking its place in the world.
- “Urban Beaches: USA” – Parc Rives de Seine, 4th arrondissement, Paris – July 4 through August 30, 2026
- “Coney Island Queen” — Banks of the Seine, Rampe Châtelet, Paris 4th arrondissement — July 4 through August 30, 2026
- “Great Lakes” by Robert Burley — Canadian Cultural Center, Paris 8th arrondissement — June 6 through November 13, 2026
- “Seeing the Sea” — MAIF Social Club, Paris 3rd — through July 25, 2026
- “The Taste of Hospitality” – Tour Saint-Jacques, Central Paris – through July 15, 2026
- “Watching TV” — Pont Saint-Ange, Paris 10th arrondissement — through July 24, 2026
Paris as a Legacy: Memory, Cinema, and Urban Art
The Historical Library of the City of Paris (24 rue Pavée, Paris 4th arrondissement) is hosting the exhibition “This Was Paris in 1970” through October 7, 2026. The exhibition originated from a photography contest launched in the spring of 1970 by the City of Paris and Fnac. At the time, the capital was divided into 1,755 sections measuring 250 meters by 250 meters, each assigned to an amateur photographer selected at random. The result paints a picture of a Paris caught between two decades, captured in the midst of profound transformation.
Along the Canal Saint-Martin (Quai de Valmy, 10th arrondissement, Paris), nine iconic actresses are being honored on the footbridges through October 30, 2026. From Jane Birkin to Arletty, including Maria Schneider, the City of Paris History Committee and the 10th arrondissement city hall are paying tribute to these women whose life stories now mark the paths of Parisian strolls. These outdoor exhibitions thus transform the city into a living gallery.
In addition, the floating urban art center Fluctuart (2 Port du Gros Caillou, Paris 7th arrondissement) is hosting the group exhibition “Chacun cherche son chat” through August 23, 2026. Twelve artists from the urban art scene present their interpretations of the cat—a figure that is both enigmatic and rebellious, a symbol of independence that remains ever-present in contemporary digital imaginations.
Maritime History as Seen from Paris
The National Maritime Museum at the Palais de Chaillot (17 place du Trocadéro, Paris 16th arrondissement) is presenting a unique retrospective through August 2, 2026. The exhibition “The Navy and the Painters. Four Centuries of Art and Power” chronologically traces, from the 17th to the 20th century, the evolution of a maritime world that has served in turn as a theater of naval battles, a source of poetic inspiration, and a guardian of collective memory.
These heritage-themed exhibitions serve as a reminder that Paris, even though it is far from the sea, has a long-standing and deep connection to water. For throughout this summer, the Seine becomes much more than just a backdrop.
Pont Saint-Ange: The Screen as a Mirror of Our Lives
On the Saint-Ange Bridge (39 Boulevard de la Chapelle, Paris 10th arrondissement), artist Olivier Culmann presents passersby with a unsettling photographic series, on view through July 24, 2026. “Watching TV” captures faces mesmerized by television images, in that moment of limbo when the mind lets go and the body relaxes. These outdoor portraits explore our relationship with the media and the construction of reality.
This proposal is part of a broader vision reflected in several events this summer: exhibitions that do more than simply display—they invite visitors to reflect. That is precisely what makes the Paris en Seine 2026 program so unique. It envisions a city where every riverbank, every bridge, and every footbridge can become the setting for an encounter with a work of art.
Thus, from the quays of the 4th arrondissement to the riverbanks of the 7th, from the footbridges of the 10th to the walls of the Trocadéro, ten exhibitions this summer transform Paris into a city open to images and the world, offering everyone, at their own pace, the opportunity to pause, look, and feel.
