Dive into the Petit Palais’s enchanted garden for Museums Night 2026 in Paris.

On the occasion of Museum Night, held on Saturday, May 23, 2026, the Petit Palais opens its doors to visitors free in the evening, offering a variety of activities inside the museum. Discover what awaits you during this nocturnal edition.

The Night of Museums 2026 in Paris is shaping up to offer a wealth of cultural discoveries, and the Petit Palais is preparing to throw open its doors for an unprecedented after-dark experience on Saturday, May 23. This splendid building, nestled between the Champs-Élysées and the Seine, stands as one of the capital’s architectural gems. Come explore the venue’s history and marvel at its exceptional art collections during this special evening. Take advantage of this unique opportunity to dive into the Parisian cultural scene and see the Petit Palais in a whole new light.

The Petit Palais was designed by architect Charles Girault and inaugurated in 1900, during theParis Universal Exhibition. It was built in parallel with the Grand Palais and the Pont Alexandre III, forming a harmonious architectural ensemble emblematic of the Beaux-Arts style. Since 1902, the Petit Palais has been home to the Musée des Beaux-Arts de la Ville de Paris, whose collections range from antiquity to the early 20th century. In 1974, the building was classified as a historic monument, testifying to its heritage importance.

The Petit Palais in Paris and its hidden treasures, the free museum, opening hours and exhibitions
The Petit Palais, home to the Musées des Beaux-Arts de la Ville de Paris, is a true architectural masterpiece. Designed by Charles Girault for the 1900 Universal Exhibition, this museum is a treasure trove. And since admission is free, you'd be wrong not to take advantage of it. [Read more]

What’s planned for the 2026 Night of Museums at the Petit Palais in Paris:

The Enchanted Garden
Saturday, May 23, 2026 — 6:00 PM to 10:30 PM
The Petit Palais invites you to celebrate the reopening of its garden and the restoration of its peristyle, in a festive, discovery-filled atmosphere.

Speakers and visual artists accompany you on a journey through the painted and sculpted décor. Guided by clues, let yourself be drawn under the peristyle in search of your astrological sign at the heart of the fresco, and discover the seasons through floral motifs and mythological tales. Will you spot a banana leaf in the garden? A guide reveals the diversity of plants and the architecture that surrounds them. Extend the experience with a plastics workshop. Create your own vision of the seasons, freely composing from the motifs and details of the fresco. Throughout the evening, the restoration project curators share with you behind-the-scenes insights: the history, the techniques, and the secrets of a rediscovered fresco.
The Enchanted Garden - Ambroise Tézenas screening and concert by the Cité des Compositrices
Saturday, May 23, 2026 — 6:00 PM ⤏ 10:30 PM
The Petit Palais invites you to celebrate the reopening of its garden and the restoration of its peristyle in an atmosphere of festive discovery.

The Grand South Gallery lights up with photographic projections documenting the peristyle’s restoration, signed Ambroise Tézenas. This visual journey will be complemented by two 30-minute musical sessions presented by the Cité des Compositrices, from 8:00 to 8:30 p.m. and from 9:30 to 10:00 p.m. The musical program, crafted for voice, cello, and piano, brings together works where the texts, the vocal line, and the instrumental colors closely respond to one another. Thus, the musical parcours reveals garden, night, sea, and dawn, aligned with the cycles of time and an all-encompassing nature, echoing poetic figures that evoke the seasons, the months, and the hours of day and night from Paul Baudoüin’s majestic fresco adorning the peristyle vault of the Petit Palais.
« The Class, the Work! » - The Enchanted Garden
Saturday, May 23, 2026 — 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
The Petit Palais invites you to celebrate the reopening of its garden and the restoration of its peristyle in an atmosphere of festive discovery.

On the agenda: a session with students from Alfred Costes High School in Bobigny as part of the “La classe, l’œuvre!” project to witness the culmination of the work carried out at the museum this year, the successor to the “Jardin graphique” project launched last year, which aimed to create mediation approaches around the garden and its plant life.

The students will unveil to the public the pieces produced in the museum workshop and the graphic research done in class: botanical illustration creations and graphic mock-ups for plant labels, and the production of a herbarium leaflet.