Cité de la Musique

Do not miss this gorgeous museum! The best museum experience we had in a week in Paris, and we went to all the famous art museums. I’d give it more than 5 stars if I could! The building itself is beautiful, and all the instruments are displayed and lit in a lovely way. The best part is the audio recording of the instruments so you can hear what they sound like. The recordings are gorgeous… I was immediately transported. 5 different Stradivarius violins on display! And excellent examples of rare old instruments restored to playable condition. And a wide variety of world instruments. Depending on how much of a fan you are of historic instruments and classical/world music, you can easily spend the whole afternoon here. The full tour of all the instruments takes 4 hours, and the highlights tour 90 minutes. It was not at all crowded. One difficulty we experienced is that the acoustics don’t allow for hearing the audio recordings well at the same time as the artist in residence is performing, so it is best to arrive right at opening and complete the highlights tour before the live music starts. You can also wander around and call up the recordings of additional instruments as you please afterwards. I also loved the stories connecting paintings with the musicians pictured, including Paganini thanking Berlioz for composing Harold in Italy and the singer and gamba player painting with a recording of the same piece pictured! Sublime. Easily accessible by metro.

Absolutely gorgeous place , we enjoed concert there on the 13th of November. Yuja Wang with Paris phil orchestra , Esa Pekka Salonen and wonderful program Prokoffiev piano concerto 2, Bach Prelude in E major with following Fuge on the Bach's Prelude by conductor , then Wagner Isolda's death and Scriabin Poem de l' extase. Absolutely wonderful. We enjoyed it so much.

Stunning museum - really great collection of period keyboard instruments. We particularly enjoyed all the interactive elements too!

I visited it for Kandinski exhibition. And even if I had a ticket bought in advance, I had to wait 25 minutes to come in. Otherwise, a high level expo, interesting and impressive

Today I had a totally unsettling experience in the Museum’s CD store. While my friend and I were browsing the jazz section, an older male staff member was standing across from us. At first, we assumed he was simply another jazz enthusiast exploring the collection. However, we soon realized that he was systematically watching us. Every time we picked up a CD or moved to another aisle, he followed us and immediately inspected the exact spot we had just touched. When I accidentally placed one CD back in a slightly incorrect position—on a shelf that was already poorly indexed—he suddenly called out to me and approached with aggressive gestures and a condescending tone in French. He forcefully shoved the CD back into its original place, behaving like we are ridiculous or trying to steal that CD?? I tried to explain in both English and German that it was unintentional, but he continued speaking over me, seemingly to himself, and eventually walked back to the counter while still yelling in French. My friend and I are professional jazz musicians. We came to this international music museum out of admiration for French music and its cultural legacy. Being met with such groundless suspicion and scrutiny was deeply disappointing. We came for art but left feeling angry and confused. We cannot help but wonder whether this treatment might have something to do with our Asian appearance? A world-class museum shop should be a space that welcomes everyone with every races.

Loved this museum! There were so many cool instruments and you could listen to recordings of how they sounded. The physical audioguides were only in French, BUT other languages were available if you scan a QR Code. Had a great time!

A truly wonderful music center. If you're a music lover or a student, it's a must-see. It has a wide variety of musical instruments. The atmosphere is pleasant. Headphones are provided for listening to explanations.

Marvelous Salle de musique...the Pierre Boulez Salle has perfect acoustic, elegant and modern facilities. Coat rooms and bars abound. And of course William Christie and Les Arts Florissants were etonnant!

Please note: Due to renovation music du munde room is temporarily closed till May 17th, 2025 You can still find some of the magnificent instruments being displayed at 1st floor

Les Amis du Musee de la Musique was nice, however the modern wing was closed and my former love was disappointed, as a avid music fanatic, who was not able to see Frank Zappa's equipment or instruments to create his masterpieces. This music museum showcase instruments from early era to modern instruments.

Quelle expérience. La salle Pierre Boulez est une ouvre d'architecture extraordinaire. On a eu la chance de voir le Concerto pour piano et orchestre n° 23 de Mozart, dirigé par Mikko Franck et le piano a été joué par Evgeny Kissin. L'une des meilleures expériences jamais vécues dans ma vie. Même s'il y avait un grand publique, l'accès à la salle est très facile et bien organisé. Pareil pour la sortie, assez simple et rapide. Le siège était confortable et la vue était parfaite. Au niveau du son, la salle m'a permis d'écouter et de vivre une expérience unique.

Musician alert!!!!! This is the most awe inspiring collection of instruments on planet earth. 1000's of them. Yeah, the majority of instruments are legacy wooden and brass from centuries ago. The 17th to 19th century pianos are gorgeous. But there are rooms with synthesizers from the 1950's to 2000's. Free high fidelity wifi audio guide with Siennheiser headphones are included with admission. Hear commentary and 1 minute samples of the instruments. Live in the flesh musicians also perform several times per day. The player I met who performed on the viola de gamba (a 7 string looking cello that is tuned like a guitar) was a virtuouso. I'm an advanced level guitarist, we had a great conversation. Bring your camera, you'll take 100's of photos. Also in the sales gift shop are lots of CD's. Yeah I know, ancient technology but the selection is grand and the prices are low. There was a 10 CD box set of the female jazz vocalists from 1930 to 2010 on sale for 29 euros. I'm kind'a ambivalent about Paris after 20 visits. My wife loves the city way more than I do. But this museum is my favorite in the world. More than the Louvre or the Vatican.

What a wonderful museum! At the entrance you're given an audio guide & headphones in whatever language you need. (I chose English.) The guide needs you to input a number that's on the exhibit you're looking at, then it will give you some history and music from whatever instrument you're looking at. My family and I enjoyed walking through all 5 floors of exhibits and listening to music along the way. I highly recommend visiting.

Get the audio guide for this one! The museum is laid out chronologically, and does a beautiful job portraying the evolution of instruments and composition. I do not know of any other museum that aims to do this. The audio guide had snippets of music that go with the musical artifacts. I really dorked out on Lizst's piano. The audio guide introduced me to Francisco Tárrega who re popularized the guitar. For the music buff this is a must see.

For any music lover this is a must see. My BFF and I were in Paris a few days before the rest of our two families showed up and we made our way over to this museum because we knew we wouldn't be able to get the whole group of nine in on this one. So glad we did. Having grown up in a musical household, I was taking piano lessons in elementary school and joined the middle school band (through high school) on the flute. To see room after room of every imaginable instrument - some having only read about - this was a music lovers dream. It may be outside the heart of the city, but it's worth every metro stop and footstep you take to have to get there.

Myself and my wife (both pianists) visited. There was a huge queue for the exhibition which was on but if you're just going to the museum you don't have to wait. Also, if you're under 26 it's free, which is a bonus! The museum has an audio guide to accompany your tour and has hundreds of instruments to look at and hear. Of particular interest to us was a piano Chopin owned in later life and a piano Liszt played at a concert. There's a great collection of old synths too. Worth a visit if you're in any way interested in music.

One of the most solemn experiences we had in Paris. The museum is quiet and relaxing, yet its exhibitions are nothing short of mesmerizing. The museum is mostly dedicated to European music from the middle ages to the early 20th century: It is in Paris after all. However, if you have enough time to get past the first few floors, there are some interesting gems from other regions of the world. A must excellent experience this museum was...

This museum is one of my favourites!! I think it's a hidden gem as part of the Paris Museum Pass. If you are a lover of music this is the place for you with historical instruments, the audio guide giving you an overview of all sorts of different music played by various instruments as you click on the number you want. It really has stuff from the 1900s though but still a very relaxing way to spend an afternoon.

Last year I flew into Paris, to catch the last week of the "We Want Miles" exhibit at La Cite de la Musique.....first off, what a sight to see Miles posters abounding...Once I entered.. I was happy to see some materials they had in English.... they were friendly...getting inside was a breeze and finding my way... its a classy space... with tons of great insight into the life of Miles... his music... I can go on and on.... I'd definately recommend visiting this "smithsonium" of music .... I had a meal at the attached restaurant...and it was deliscious... the subway was a short walk away....

Whenever I have the good fortune to go to Paris, I always stop here. I love the concept of this museum and wish we had a similar museum here in the States.