Palais de Tokyo

The Palais de Tokyo is a contemporary art centre in the western wing of a 1937 exhibition palace at 13 avenue du Président-Wilson, in Paris's 16th arrondissement, across the Seine from the Eiffel Tower. It has no permanent collection and runs several exhibitions at once in large, partly raw spaces, open until 21:00. It suits visitors interested in current art and anyone looking for an evening cultural stop.

The building was completed for the 1937 International Exposition of Art and Technology in Modern Life and inaugurated by President Albert Lebrun on 24 May 1937. It takes its name from the Avenue de Tokio, the riverside street below, renamed Avenue de New-York in 1945. The eastern wing belongs to the City of Paris and houses the Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris, with its own entrance and collection. The western wing belongs to the French state and has held the art centre since March 2002, when it opened under Nicolas Bourriaud and Jérôme Sans.

The art centre presents exhibitions, installations and performances by French and international artists, organised in themed seasons. The season that opened on 21 October 2026 explores the many meanings of territory. Large installations are common, and the stripped-back industrial interior is part of the experience. Each season opens with night events, and the centre closes between seasons while new shows are installed.

The colonnaded terrace between the two wings looks toward the Seine and the Eiffel Tower and is a popular meeting point. Restaurants and a bar inside keep the building busy late into the evening.

Official prices are €13 full and €9 reduced for visitors aged 18 to 25, students and over-60s; under-18s, job seekers and visitors with disabilities and a companion enter free, and the Tokyopass gives unlimited entry to exhibitions. One ticket covers every exhibition running at the time, so arrive with enough time for the whole season. The centre opens from 12:00 to 21:00 every day except Tuesday, and ticket sales stop 45 minutes before closing. Evening is the best time to come. Allow about two hours. The entrance is accessible and lifts serve the floors; there is a bookshop and a cloakroom.

Iéna on metro line 9 is about 200 metres away, and Alma-Marceau on the same line is also close. The Palais Galliera fashion museum stands opposite, the Trocadéro is about 800 metres away and the Eiffel Tower about a kilometre across the river.