Petit Palais

Golden mosaics, grand staircases and a glass-domed gallery make Paris’s Petit Palais feel more like a palace than a museum. Built for the 1900 Exposition Universelle, the building became the Musée des Beaux-Arts de la Ville de Paris and now houses one of the city’s major collections. Paintings, sculptures, decorative arts and works on paper span antiquity to the early 20th century, with highlights by artists including Rembrandt, Monet, Cézanne and Delacroix. The collection is displayed throughout the richly decorated building, while a peaceful inner garden offers a striking contrast to the monumental galleries around it.