Musée Cognacq-Jay

The Musée Cognacq-Jay is a free museum of 18th-century French art in the Hôtel Donon, a 16th-century mansion at 8 rue Elzévir in the Marais, Paris's 3rd arrondissement. Paintings by Boucher, Fragonard and Watteau hang among period furniture, porcelain and snuffboxes in panelled rooms. It suits visitors who enjoy the Enlightenment and want an hour-long stop on a Marais walk.

Théodore Ernest Cognacq and his wife Marie-Louise Jaÿ, who founded the La Samaritaine department store, built the collection between 1900 and 1925. They left it to the City of Paris, and the museum opened in 1929 on boulevard des Capucines. It moved to the Hôtel Donon, which dates from around 1575, in 1990. Paris Musées runs it.

The museum holds about 1,200 works centred on 18th-century France. The paintings include Boucher, Fragonard, Chardin, Greuze, Watteau, Hubert Robert and Boilly, along with Canaletto, Tiepolo, Thomas Lawrence and two paintings by Rembrandt. Sculpture by Houdon, Lemoyne and Saly sits with furniture attributed to Oeben, European and Chinese porcelain, jewellery, miniatures and a large set of snuffboxes.

The panelled rooms recreate an elegant private home over several floors, and the courtyard gives a sense of the mansion's age. Temporary exhibitions often look at fashion, portraiture or daily life in the 18th century.

The permanent collection is free; temporary exhibitions can have a separate ticket. In 2026 the museum opens Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 18:00 and is closed on Monday and some public holidays. Last entry is about 30 minutes before closing. Weekday mornings are calmest. An hour to 90 minutes is enough. The historic mansion has a lift to some floors only; there is a bookshop.

Saint-Paul on metro line 1 is about 400 metres away, and Chemin Vert on line 8 is also close. The Square Georges-Cain garden lies opposite. The Musée Carnavalet, the museum of the history of Paris, is about 200 metres away, the Musée Picasso about 400 metres, and Place des Vosges and the Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature about 500 metres each, so the Cognacq-Jay fits easily into a half day in the Marais.