The Louvre shines bright at night. Photo:Simon Sees

For those on the hunt for a good cultural bargain, “La Nuit des Musees in Paris” (Museum Night in Paris) is always an excellent bet. If you’re not familiar with it, in 2005, the French Department of Culture launched this program to provide free admission to select museums in Paris and throughout France, keeping museum doors open until late in the evening.

The development of free museum nights has really taken off across Europe, with city after city opening their doors once or twice a year for a free evening. Paris usually holds its free night each year on the third Saturday in May.

This year, Cheapos headed to Paris should mark their calendar for May 19, 2018, when most museums will be free and museums will keep their doors open later than usual to give guests the experience of a lifetime.

Paris hotels:  Our favorite budget picks for 2018

“La Nuit des Musees”: Museum Night in Paris

While there will be more 1,600 museums participating throughout France, we’ve narrowed down a list of 10 museums in Paris that will be open. Follow this Museum Night guide to quench your thirst for adventure and art while exploring the different neighborhoods that Paris has to offer.

1. Le Musee Nissim de Camondo

63 Rue de Monceau
8th arrondissement
website

Have you ever wondered what kitchen looked like the housed the inspiration for the movie Ratatouille? The museum of Nissim de Camondo was given by Nissim’s father, Moise de Camondo, to the French government upon his death. After his son and only heir died in World War I, Moise de Camondo was heartbroken and dedicated his house to his son in order to carry on his child’s memory and legacy.

This museum will give you a history lesson of what it was like to live in the 1% in France during the early 1900s. Amenities include two elevators (one for the guests and one for the maids), a food lift (forget farm-to-table fresh, Moise de Camondo demanded kitchen-to-table fresh), color-coated tile bathrooms (green, blue, and white for dad, his sister, and Nissim), heated floors and walls, a grand staircase, and many more opulent perks that were simply unimaginable in the early 20th century.

2. Musee Gustave Moreau

14 Rue de la Rochefoucauld
9th arrondissement
website

After enjoying stunning architecture in the 8th, we’ll take a stroll into the 9th arrondissement to have a look at the house of the symbolist painter, Gustave Moreau. This three-floor museum is filled with his paintings that draw inspiration from the Italian Renaissance. Furthermore, you even get to see some of his unfinished paintings and sketches to truly experience the life of a Parisian artist of the mid- to late-1800s.

3. Musee de la Franc-Maconnerie

16 Rue Cadet
9th arrondissement
website

What’s a French vacation without a little conspiracy theory? The Museum of Freemasonry is also located in the 9th arrondissement, and it’s sure to scratch whatever itch you’ve had about the 14 US Presidents that were part of this organization. Yup, George Washington, the first president was indeed a Mason, and the Museum of Freemasonry will give you all the inside scoop on the French history of this secret society, complete with many paintings and drawings of the famous triangular Illuminati eye. You might have to unstrap your Ben Stiller Night at the Museum character for a more appropriate Nicholas Cage in National Treasure while you peruse through this museum.

Accommodations: Cheap Paris hotels in the 9th arrondissement

4. Musee des Arts et Metiers

60 Rue Reaumur
3rd arrondissement
website

Now that you have enjoyed the architecture, art, and organization of Paris, it’s only fitting that you also explore the scientific innovations that kept this city running. Located in 3rd arrondissement of Paris, this industrial museum of art and trade houses seven sections about the history of scientific instruments, materials, energy, mechanics, construction, communication, and transportation. You’ll get to explore early prototypes of carriages, printing presses, airplanes, industrial sewing machines, steam engines, satellites, locomotives, and many more technological inventions.

Visitors during Museum Night 2011 at Musee de la Chasse et de la Nature. Photo: Knowtex

5. Musee de la Chasse et de la Nature

62 Rue des Archives
3rd arrondissement
website

For this visit, we’ll need a bit of help from our Ben Stiller character from the Night at the Museum because this museum of “hunting and nature” is not so much about hunting as it is about animals and their relationships with humans. The exhibit has been heralded as one of the best-curated museum in Paris… as long as the animals don’t come back to life at night!

6. Musee Picasso

5 Rue de Thorigny
3rd arrondissement
website

Although he is a Spanish artist, Paris has a Picasso Museum that’s worth visiting. It includes over 5,000 works of art by Picasso including paper art, ceramics, sculptures in wood and metal, and paintings. The museum also houses the African art that inspired Picasso’s cubism style, as well as paintings that Picasso did when he was much older.

Accommodations: Cheap Paris hotels in the 3rd and 4th arrondissement

7. Centre Pompidou

Place Georges-Pompidou
4th arrondissement
website

The Centre Pompidou is not for the faint of heart (or legs). It is a large complex that houses three important structures: The Public Information Library, the Musee National d’Art Moderne, and Institute for Research and Coordination in Acoustics/Music. Most people go for the Modern Art Museum aspect because it not only holds the largest collection of European modern art, but the top floor boasts one of the best panoramic views of Paris.

8. Musee Curie

1 Rue Pierre et Marie Curie
5th arrondissement
website

As we cross into the Rive Gauche (Left Bank), we’re met by a blast from the scientific past. Formerly Marie Curie’s laboratory, the Museum of Curie is a historical institution located in the 5th arrondissement focusing on radiological research. It holds archives and documentation about the history of radiology and oncology — the same two topics that allowed Marie Curie to become the first woman to win a Nobel Prize.

9. Musee des Arts Decoratifs

107 rue de Rivoli
1st arrondissement
website

A trip to Paris is incomplete without a visit to the Art Decoratifs. Not only does it house artifacts of decorative arts and design, but it also includes must-see exhibits that explore the Haute Couture fashion aspect of Paris (think Dior, Hermes, and Margiela). Furthermore, it even has part of the actual house of French designer, Jeanne Lanvin of the House of Lanvin! The Art Deco, as it goes by for short, houses jewelry, furniture, tableware, and carpets of the Art Nouveau and Art Deco styles. It gives visitors a chance to see how the French upper class lived.

10. Musee du Louvre

Place du Carrousel
1st arrondissement
website

It’s always high on everyone’s list, so we certainly couldn’t leave the dear Louvre off of ours. Because it’s so big, it may be more beneficial to experience the Louvre when you have a full day and use Museum Night to take advantage of the smaller Parisian museums with free admission. Nonetheless, the Louvre is phenomenal and has come to represent the epitome of Paris and the resting place of Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa. And it is here, at the Louvre, in the center of Paris, that we end our Museum Night journey!

One caveat: We tried getting into the Louvre at midnight during previous Nuit des Musées only to find the entrance closed at 11 pm, so check the hours in advance. Our advice? Plan ahead. Fortunately, the Louvre’s terrace bar overlooks the pyramids. And, of course, there’s the adjacent Jardin des Tuileries, with its much more hospitable hours.

Hotels: And if you need a place to stay close to this world-famous museum, you can browse our list of cheap hotels near the Louvre.