Paris became a beacon of modern architecture in the mid-nineteenth century, when Baron Georges-Eugène Haussmann—civil servant and urban planner—radically reshaped the city. Boulevards, vistas, infrastructure: Haussmann’s modernization not only transformed the French capital, it established an urban model exported worldwide. A century later, in 1925, came another pivotal moment: the Exposition internationale des arts décoratifs et industriels modernes—from which the very term Art Deco derives—reinforcing the idea of a city able to reconcile innovation, tradition, and art de vivre. It is also here that France’s enduring attention to the métiers d’art took root, a cornerstone of its culture of luxury and design.
Art Déco and great museums
The Musée des Arts Décoratifs, next to the Louvre, is an ideal starting point. Here (through 26 April 2026) a blockbuster exhibition—over a thousand objects—celebrates the centenary of Art Deco, offering a rare opportunity to read the style as a global phenomenon. Not to be missed is the permanent collection devoted to the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, installed in one of the building’s towers: an essential compendium for understanding the evolution of contemporary design.
Still within the Louvre–Halles district stands a project long awaited and inaugurated last October: the new headquarters of the Fondation Cartier, designed by Jean Nouvel. Together with the Bourse de Commerce, renovated by Tadao Ando for the Pinault Collection, it helps transform the area into an arts hub of extraordinary density, with few rivals worldwide.
Renewed icons and contemporary masters
The itinerary continues to the Grand Palais, recently restored under the guidance of Chatillon Architectes and awarded the 2025 Prix Versailles as one of the seven most beautiful museums in the world. Particularly striking is the intervention in the central spaces (ticketing and boutique), where modular elements in glazed terracotta structure the space with elegance and rhythm.
Paris is also one of the key cities for the work of Renzo Piano. The Centre Pompidou – a mecca of contemporary culture, closed for renovation until 2030 – is the most famous, but it is worth tracing a small itinerary devoted to the Genoese architect (Pritzker Prize, 1998): the new Tribunal, the Fondation Jérôme Seydoux-Pathé, and – an insider’s curiosity – the Pathé Palace, the city’s most luxurious (and expensive) cinema.
Design districts and spaces to discover
For design professionals, Paris offers several must-see areas. Saint-Germain concentrates an exceptional array of furniture showrooms and textile publishers at the highest level: Cassina, B&B Italia, Boffi, Poltrona Frau, Arclinea, Roche Bobois, Rubelli, Loro Piana Interiors, Dedar (the list goes on). Faubourg Saint-Antoine, near the Bastille, is an area historically tied to craftsmanship, now animated by names such as Ligne Roset and spaces like Boon Room, devoted to experimental design. Added to these are satellite zones, such as the area around Parc Montsouris, home to showrooms like ICG Gallery of Iris Ceramica Group or Tecno, whose TClub is housed within the Maison Ozenfant, the studio-house designed by Le Corbusier.
Manifesto houses and period interiors
Among domestic architectures, certain visits are essential. While awaiting the reopening of Pierre Chareau’s Maison de Verre—a masterpiece accessible by reservation only—visitors can see Le Corbusier’s Maison La Roche-Jeanneret (rue Nungesser-et-Coli) and the house he designed for the collector Raoul Albert La Roche. A lesser-known but unmissable gem is Theo van Doesburg’s house in Meudon, just outside Paris.
Equally compelling are historical interiors reconstructed within museums: at the Musée Carnavalet, the Fouquet jewelry shop, an Art Nouveau jewel; at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Jeanne Lanvin’s apartment, recreated in its most public rooms; and at the Cité de l’Architecture & du Patrimoine, an entire apartment from the Ville Radieuse, once again by Le Corbusier.
Postmodernism and new landmarks
To conclude on a monumental scale, two icons of postmodernism by Ricardo Bofill: the Abraxas ensemble in Noisy-le-Grand and Les Échelles du Baroque at Place de Séoul. Yet Paris continues to grow. Jean Nouvel’s Tours Duo signal a return to verticality—the Tour No. 1 is now the tallest building in the city after the Eiffel Tower and the Tour Montparnasse. The most curious can finally glimpse the construction site of Herzog & de Meuron’s Tour Triangle, a future landmark of the French capital.
