Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, Guía del visitante y qué hacer cerca

The Musée des Arts Décoratifs is a museum of decorative arts and design at 107 Rue de Rivoli in Paris, housed in the Marsan wing of the Louvre palace. It brings together furniture, ceramics, glass, tapestries, jewellery, toys, graphic design and fashion, and it is one of the best places in the city to see how people lived and dressed over the centuries.

The story behind it

The museum grew out of the Union centrale des arts décoratifs, an association created in the 19th century to encourage quality in design and the applied arts. Its collections were eventually given a home in the Marsan wing of the Louvre palace, along the Rue de Rivoli, and the museum opened there in 1905.

The collections follow everyday beauty from the Middle Ages to the present day: carved chests, tapestries and painted panels from the early centuries, then the furniture and porcelain of the 17th and 18th centuries, and finally Art Nouveau, Art Deco and contemporary design. Alongside the permanent displays, the museum is known for temporary exhibitions on fashion, textiles, advertising and graphic design, which have often been devoted to major Paris couturiers.

What to look for

• The long Marsan wing on the Rue de Rivoli, which sits at the edge of the Louvre palace and is easy to walk past if you are looking only at the main courtyard.
• The furniture and ceramics from the 17th and 18th centuries, which show how craftsmanship and taste changed from court to court.
• The Art Nouveau and Art Deco pieces, where glass, metalwork and furniture show the playful and the geometric sides of early 20th century design.
• The fashion and textile exhibitions, with period costumes, accessories and fabrics laid out to show how clothing changed over time.

Tips for your visit

• Allow about two hours for the permanent collections, longer if a temporary exhibition interests you. Check current opening hours and exhibition dates before you go.
• Yes, you can go inside. It is a working museum, so look at the official website for current tickets and which galleries are open.
• The nearest Metro stops are Palais Royal-Musée du Louvre and Tuileries, and the Tuileries Garden is just beside the museum, which makes a good pause before or after your visit.
• The Louvre, the Palais Royal and the shops of Rue Saint-Honoré are all within a short walk, and so is Chanel's address at 31 Rue Cambon, so the museum fits easily into a day on foot.

See it on a quest

The museum is one stop on Coco Chanel's Paris, a self-guided walk through the streets of the 1st arrondissement and beyond. You reach the museum on foot as part of a longer route, the app tells you about each place as you arrive, and you solve a puzzle on the spot. With its focus on fashion, the museum suits a walk themed around Chanel. One ticket covers the whole group, and you can start whenever you like, with no guide and no set departure time.