Grand palace in France. Grand Palais - Grand Palace in Paris. Tickets to the Grand and Small Palaces

The Grand Palais in France (Grand Palais) is an absolutely amazing imagination, a majestic architectural creation, made in the Beaux-Arts style. The Grand Palace is comfortably located near the Champs Elysees. It was built in 1897, in Paris, especially for the World Exhibition, which was held in France in 1900 from April to November. And since then the Grand Palace has been known and […]

Grand Palace in France ( Grand Palais) is an absolutely amazing imagination, a majestic architectural creation, made in the Beaux-Arts style. The Grand Palace is conveniently located near champs elysees.

It was built in 1897, in Paris, specifically for the world exhibition, which took place in France in 1900 from April to November. And since then Grand Palace known and revered as the largest exhibition and cultural center of the French state.

An interesting fact is that the world-famous Eiffel Tower was also built for the World Exhibition, which was held in 1889. Above the two entrances of the Grand Palace are copper quadrigas, made by the magnificent Georges Resipon. From the side of the Seine there is a statue of "L'Harmonie triomphant de la Discorde", which means "Harmony triumphs over discord", and from the side of the Champs Elysees one can see the statue "L'Immortalité devançant le Temps", translated from French, this expression means "Immortality is ahead of time itself." The western wing of the Grand Palace is occupied by the Museum of Inventions and Discoveries, and the Art Gallery is located in the northern wing.

In a buiding Grand Palace interesting exhibitions and events are held. So, from the end of 2010 to January 2011, there was an art exhibition Claude Monet. By the way, in order to be able to get to this magnificent exhibition, one had to stand in a two-hour queue.

Grand Palace (fr. Grand Palais)
1 Avenue General Eisenhower, 75008 Paris, France
grandpalais.fr

Take the metro to the station Champs-Élysées – Clemenceau

How do I save on hotels?

Everything is very simple - look not only on booking.com. I prefer the RoomGuru search engine. He searches for discounts simultaneously on Booking and 70 other booking sites.

The Grand Palace (fr. Grand Palais) in Paris is located to the left of the main street of the French capital - the Champs Elysees, this is in the 8th district of the city. Its majestic architectural appearance in the eclectic Beaux-Arts style is able to impress even seasoned connoisseurs of art and antiquity. It is a major cultural and exhibition center.

For the glory of French art

From April 15 to November 12, 1900, the World Exhibition was held in Paris, which was visited by more than 50 million people - a number that remains a record today. For its opening, timed to coincide with the meeting of the new, XX century, it was decided to build a palace. It was planned that it would be one of the sites of the landmark exhibition event.

To implement the project, it was necessary to “move” the Palace of Industry that stood here, that is, to dismantle it and make room. In 1897, the construction of this facility began. And in 1900, before the eyes of the Parisians and guests of the city on the Seine, he appeared, the Grand Palais, which shocked every imagination with its appearance. On one of its pediments you can see a pompous inscription that the Republic dedicated this building to the glory of French art.

The Grand Palace was rapidly gaining fame as a serious cultural center. Almost all the capital's official cultural events began to be held here. As for the World Exhibition itself, thanks to it, Paris acquired several more attractions: the Eiffel Tower, the Orsay train station (now a museum), and the Pont Alexandre III.

When the Grand Palace and other objects specially built for that grandiose exhibition (we named them above) were put into operation, many skeptics predicted a short fate for them. But they stand to this day, being among the most important symbols of the capital of France. In 1925, the Grand Palais became the site for another World Exhibition - modern industrial and decorative arts.

Architectural features of the Grand Palais

The full name of the object, adopted then: Grand Palace of Fine Arts. The entrances to it from the northeast and from the southeast are crowned with two copper quadrigas by Georges Resipon. The artistic image of each contains its own allegory. The first - the one from the side of the Champs Elysees - symbolizes Immortality ahead of time. The other, from the side of the Seine, personifies Harmony triumphing over discord. The roof of the building also attracts attention: it is not quite ordinary, glass. At night it is illuminated by hundreds of lights - an incredibly beautiful sight!

The architecture of the Grand Palais also attracts attention with contrasts - a strict 240-meter facade and structures decorated in the Art Nouveau style, which, however, harmoniously combine with each other. And next to the Grand Palace is his "younger brother" - the Small Palace (fr. Petit Palais). Although they are the same age: the Petit Palais was also built for the World Exhibition at the beginning of the last century. The palaces are separated by Place Clemenceau, named after the French Prime Minister during the First World War, Georges Benjamin Clemenceau.

Grand Palace: today

Today, the palace houses two museums. The Art Gallery is located in the northern wing, and the Museum of Discoveries and Inventions is located in the western wing. The latter appeared in 1937, when another world-class exhibition was held in Paris. It was originally conceived as the Museum of Science, as opposed to the Museum of Arts and Crafts, which had a technical focus. Since about the 70s of the last century, the lines between them began to gradually blur. Now everything has come down to the fact that Parisian students can see within its walls the practical embodiment of the theoretical calculations taught by him at school.

The art gallery does not have its own permanent exhibition. However, its territory is a venue for various artistic and cultural events. And of the highest level: for example, the Chanel Fashion House (Chanel) holds its shows here every year. If you ask any artist or sculptor from any country in the world, he will definitely tell you that exhibiting your work here means achieving a high level of recognition of your work.

Location map:

JavaScript must be enabled in order for you to use Google Maps.
However, it seems JavaScript is either disabled or not supported by your browser.
To view Google Maps, enable JavaScript by changing your browser options, and then try again.

In the center of the Petit Palais there is a beautiful, cozy cafe "Le Jardin Du Petit Palais", where it is pleasant to sit in silence away from the bustle of the big city. Exquisite furnishings are conducive to relaxation - exotic plants, columns, and a mosaic pattern is present even on the dishes. The cost of the dish of the day with dessert is 15.90 euros.

The institution is open daily 10:00-17:00, on Friday until 19:00. Monday is a day off.

The Grand Palais has its own restaurant, which offers a tasting of honey collected directly on the territory of the palace. It is open during Palais opening hours.

Opening hours and cost of visiting the Palaces

Although the Grand and Small Palaces stand side by side, looking at each other, their opening hours are different.

Opening hours of the Grand Palace:

• The Grand Palace welcomes guests daily: 9:00-22:00.
• Tuesday is a day off.

Small Palace opening hours:

• The Small Palace is open: daily 10:00-18:00.
• Monday is a day off.

Tickets to the Grand and Small Palaces

• Temporary and permanent exhibitions of the Grand Palais will cost 6-12 euros.
• The permanent exhibitions of the Petit Palais are open to everyone free of charge, which is very encouraging, although unusual.
• Temporary ones cost 4-11 euros.

For reference: in Paris there is a wonderful tradition - to announce the "night of museums". This means that any museum in the capital after 18:00 until midnight is free of charge.

The queues are getting long, but is this an obstacle to the opportunity to see the best masterpieces of world art?

Location and how to get to the Grand and Small Palaces

Walking through the expensive boutiques on the Champs Elysees, peeking into the legendary bars, admiring the sights or walking along the Pont Alexandre III, it's hard not to notice two magnificent buildings, reminiscent of caskets, where the most valuable treasures are usually stored.

The Grand Palace in Paris and its permanent neighbor, the Petit Palace, have taken pride of place south of Chance-Elise, located between the central street of the capital and Place de la Concorde, where the Luxor obelisk of Pharaoh Ramses II, presented to the city by the Egyptian ruler Mehmet Ali in 1831, proudly rises.

You can get to the Museum of Fine Arts and the Palace of Discoveries by taking a taxi, and comfortably reach from anywhere in the city.

If you prefer to lay the route yourself, you have to resort to the services.

Grand and Small Palace on the map

Contact Information

Grand Palais Address: 3 Avenue du Eisenhower 75008 Paris, France
Contact phone: +33 1 44 13 17 17
Official website of the Grand Palais: www.grandpalais.fr
Address of the Petit Palace: Avenue Winston Churchill, 75008 Paris, France
Contact phone: +33 1 53 43 40 00
Petit Palais official website: www.petitpalais.paris.fr

Grand Palais in Paris (Video)

Grand and Small Palace (Photo)

Photo gallery of the Grand Palais in Paris

1 of 15

Grand and Petit Palace in Paris

The Grand Palais (Grand Palace) on the Champs Elysees is a luxurious building in the Beaux-Arts style, a major cultural and exhibition center.

It was built for the 1900 World's Fair. At first, they doubted whether it would be possible to outshine the success of the Eiffel Tower at the last exhibition? We decided that this time the emphasis would be on art. The Grand Palais des Beaux-Arts (full name of the Grand Palais) became part of a massive redevelopment of the western part of Paris.

Construction was difficult. The soil could not bear the weight of the building, 3400 oak piles were needed, because of this the estimate was greatly exceeded. It required a huge amount of stone, steel, rubble, bricks, equipment and labor. One and a half thousand builders also created problems - strikes broke out.

The result was worth it. A majestic building with a steel frame, a huge glass roof, a large number of statues, friezes, and mosaics appeared. Bronze quadriga by Georges Resipon crown both wings of the facade - allegorical statues represent Immortality, ahead of time, and Harmony, triumphant over discord. An inscription on the pediment proclaims that the Republic dedicates this building to the glory of French art.

From the very beginning, the Palace has become a venue for exhibitions - dedicated to innovation and technology and, of course, art. It was here that Matisse and Gauguin gained recognition, it was here that cubism first made itself known, led by Picasso, who was still unknown to anyone.

During World War II, the building was requisitioned as a military hospital with a thousand beds. Artists and sculptors who were not subject to mobilization decorated the wards or made molds for prostheses. During the occupation, the palace was used for Nazi propaganda exhibitions, and during the liberation of Paris, as the headquarters of the Resistance.

Today, the Grand Palais is still an artistic center. Exhibitions, fashion parades (the Chanel fashion house holds its shows here), car dealerships, horse shows, book fairs, live concerts, the World Fencing Championship - it is difficult to list all the events taking place under the glass roof of the Grand Palace of Fine Arts.

The majestic Grand Palace of Fine Arts (Le Grand Palais) adorned Winston Churchill Avenue at the very end of the 19th century. The construction of a major exhibition center in the Beaux-Art style began in 1897 and was completed in the spring of 1900 in time for the opening of the World Exhibition.

Thoughts about the beautiful and their embodiment

The beginning of the construction of the Grand Palais was preceded by a competition of architectural projects, which did not determine a single winner. By decision of the competition committee, the ideas of the architects Henri Deglane, Albert Louvet, Albert Thomas were recognized as the most interesting, and Charles Giraud was entrusted with the overall coordination of the work.

The building of the Grand Palace with a facade 240 meters long was erected on a part of the territory that was formerly occupied by the Palace of Industry, which did not meet the requirements of the time. It represents the culmination of the development of the eclectic Beaux-Arts style. Elements of classicism architecture are harmoniously combined in it with the constructions of the Art Nouveau era. The Paris Grand Palace belongs to those examples of architecture at the turn of the century, when the engineer acquires equal rights with the architect in shaping the aesthetic appearance of the building.

The impressive building with an area of ​​77 thousand m2 is located along the "republican axis" running from east to west. The large nave of the palace and the transverse paddock were designed by A. Deglan. He also owns the authorship of the colonnades along the facades, the model for which was the work of V. Lalu during the reconstruction of the Louvre.

Designed by A. Louvet, the central part of the building is covered by a magnificent dome. The weight of its metal structure and glass panels is 9 thousand tons, and the highest point of the vault is located at a height of 45 m. The west wing or Antin Palace (Palais d'Antin) was built by the architect A. Thomas. The use of a huge amount of glass in the construction of the Grand Palace allows us to call it the heir to the aesthetics of D. Paxton, who built the Crystal Palace in London in 1851.

decor art

The monumental copper sculptural compositions of Georges Rechipon are symmetrically installed on the sides of the palace portal at a height of about 40 m. Closer to the Champs Elysees is the sculptural group “Immortality Conquering Time”, and from the side of the Seine, the composition “Harmony triumphing over Discordia” is the first to be installed. The facade of the palace is also decorated with numerous bronze statues by sculptors Alexander Falgier and Victor Peter.

Many halls of the Grand Palace are decorated with mosaic drawings. The floor of the Elliptical Hall is paved with brown, beige and greenish sandstone tiles. Its pattern repeats the cardboards proposed for interior decoration by the artist Louis Gist.


Ten mosaic panels are located at a great height under the peristyle of A. Deglan. Their total area is 273 m2, and the total length of the work of art is 74 m. The plot of the mosaic paintings by Auguste and Rene Martin, created according to the sketches of Louis Fournier, was the history of great civilizations. Each episode focuses on the art of a particular region: Ancient Greece, Mesopotamia, Ancient Egypt, the French Middle Ages, the Italian Renaissance, India, South=East Asia, Africa, China, Japan and the Americas.

Unity in Diversity

Upon completion of the construction of the Grand Palais, as expected, it became one of the leading cultural and exhibition centers in Paris. But if its western wing is the Antin Palace, since 1937 it has been constantly occupied by the exposition of the Museum of Discoveries and Inventions, then the eastern part of the palace has been used very diversely.

Along with the organization of indispensable temporary art exhibitions, in a number of halls there were architectural workshops, a customs office, a police station, the Center for German and Slavic Studies, a regional center for cultural affairs, the Mission for Photographic Heritage, and the National Gallery in different years.


The creation in 2007 of a single center of culture and art made it possible to introduce greater rationality in the use of the palace. Now it houses the National Gallery du Grand Palais, the Palace of Discoveries, the rehearsal rooms of the Comédie Francaise theater. The large-scale reconstruction of the Grand Palace, which is coming in 2020-2023, will transform the building with more than a century of history and prepare it to host fencing and taekwondo competitions during the Paris 2024 Olympics.