Student discounts at Paris museums! 💰

Hi everyone~ I'm Eloïse

I want to share museum and sightseeing discounts students in Paris shouldn't miss!

Paris is already expensive for everything from housing to food,

so if you want to save money, definitely bookmark this~

🌟 This is based on my own experience. I hold both an EU student card and an EU long-stay residence visa

I showed whichever document the museum asked for

and didn't check whether only one of them works

so sorry if I've left anything out🥺

1. Centre Pompidou Rating 🌟🌟🌟

No reservation / free with student card / four ticket stub designs to choose from

I didn't look around inside the museum. My friend and I went straight upstairs to watch the sunset

The sunset was beautiful, and you can see the Eiffel Tower and Sacré-Cœur in the distance!

2. Hôtel de la Marine Rating 🌟🌟🌟🌟

No reservation / free with student card (temporary exhibitions included) / ticket stub / free audio guide

I once saw someone call it a mini Versailles

Maybe because it isn't a big tourist hotspot,

it wasn't crowded, it was comfortable to walk around, and overall I really liked it

The interior is lavish, yet the decor also feels a little fresh and light

I really liked their audio guide headphones. You don't have to operate anything

They detect where you are and play the guide automatically. Very high-tech

(A little hole in one of the doors at Hôtel de la Marine, so cute☺️)

3. Musée d'Orsay Rating 🌟🌟

No reservation / free with student card / no ticket stub

Two stars isn't because it's bad, it's because I don't know how to appreciate art😿

All I remember is a huge line in front of Van Gogh's Starry Night

When I went, Van Gogh's self-portrait had just been moved to the Netherlands, so I didn't see it

(I went with family, and their ticket stub had Starry Night on it🤩)

4. Sainte-Chapelle Rating 🌟

No reservation, 40-minute wait / free for EU students aged 18–25 / no ticket stub

I went because a friend said it was beautiful

but honestly I was really disappointed! It's much smaller than I imagined

My friend and I left after ten minutes

5. Conciergerie Rating 🌟

No reservation / free with student card / ticket stub

It's right next to Sainte-Chapelle

I was actually heading to Sainte-Chapelle,

but my friend led us the wrong way and I didn't notice, so we ended up in here by accident

6. Musée des Arts Décoratifs Rating 🌟🌟🌟

No reservation / free for EU students aged 18–25 / ticket stub

It didn't live up to my expectations,

and some areas happened to be closed for construction

But it isn't just one exhibition.

The day I went there was a jewelry exhibition and a creative hair (?) exhibition

so it wasn't too boring

7. La Galerie Dior Rating 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

No reservation, arrived at the 11:00 opening / two-hour wait / no ticket stub

€8 for under-26s, but they let me buy it without checking any ID

While waiting I noticed they don't let people with reservations in early

You have to go at your booked time,

and then wait about 5–10 minutes to get in

This was probably the biggest surprise! The exhibition is incredibly rich and varied

and the visitor flow is pretty well designed

Afterward I felt €8 was a steal, totally worth it

I went with a friend who studies fashion design, and she teared up haha

8. Musée Yves Saint Laurent Paris Rating 🌟🌟🌟

No reservation / €7 for students (ID checked) / ticket stub

I went in the afternoon with no line at all

The layout is really awkward, and I wandered around confused

Not much on display either

The only plus is the ticket stub, which is beautiful, like a sketch of a design drawing

Personally, I think Dior wins by a mile

9. Musée de l'Orangerie Rating 🌟🌟

No reservation / free with student card / no ticket stub

It's small. There was no line to get in, but it was fairly crowded inside

There are several absolutely enormous Water Lilies paintings

10. Bourse de Commerce – Pinault Collection Rating 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

No reservation / free for ages 18–26 after 4 p.m. / no ticket stub

You first need to sign up as a member on the official site,

then get the €0 Super Cercle ticket for ages 18–26

When you go, show the ticket's QR code

My absolute favorite museum!!! Full of surprises!

It's a former stock exchange redesigned by Tadao Ando

I went around five, and the shadows from the sunlight streaming in were beautiful

There are about seven small exhibitions. The space is huge and the whole place is very comfortable

Some museums make me yawn or want to leave as soon as possible,

but not this one at all. It made me want to sit inside and stay a while

It's also the only museum I'd want to visit a second time

There's plenty on display, and it's presented in really creative ways

I highly recommend going. Don't miss it~~~

11. Palais Garnier (Paris Opera) Rating 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Reservation / €9 for ages 18–26 / e-ticket

This one probably needs no introduction

Super lavish, super beautiful, super photogenic, but also super crowded!!

You can visit one of the boxes

The day I went, a dancer happened to be dancing on stage

There are also some ballet costumes on display

Another place in Paris you shouldn't miss

12. Musée Picasso Rating 🌟🌟🌟🌟

No reservation / no ticket stub / free on the first Sunday of every month

Students get in free, but the day I went was the first Sunday of the month

so I could walk in without any check

Not sure if that's why there was no ticket stub

I love Picasso's style, so I really enjoyed it

13. Maison de Victor Hugo Rating 🌟🌟🌟

Free for everyone

In Paris, where everything costs money,

it's really generous that Victor Hugo's house is free to visit

Anyone with some free time should check it out~

Except for a few, I visited all of these in early July

That was right at the start of peak season, with lots of tourists

but I found afternoons were actually less crowded

Since I never booked ahead, I found mornings were the ones with lines

Not sure if that was just luck, but sharing it anyway~

A lot of people are surprised that I didn't go to the Louvre or Versailles

Partly because I didn't want to go just because they're famous tourist spots,

and partly because I figure that next time I come to France

I'll probably be with friends or a boyfriend,

and they'll definitely want to go to those places

Plus, museums really do wear you out

and I'm not actually that into those famous paintings

so I decided to just skip them this time

That's all!

Writing this up, I realized I really went to a lot of places

I hope this info helps everyone~

And thanks for reading to the end!

Here's my Instagram, feel free to follow if you're interested~

https://www.instagram.com/imeloiise/