Musée des Arts Décoratifs ticket and audio tour review: the 3.7, explained
My verdict: the right ticket for the wrong expectations, which is how it ended up at 3.7 from 225 reviews. This is entry to the Musée des Arts Décoratifs at 107 rue de Rivoli, run by Les Arts Décoratifs, the same institution that owns the Camondo, plus an audio guide on your own phone and a separate Paris-landmarks audio app. Reviewers who came for design, craft and the view over the Tuileries were happy. Reviewers who came for rooms of 18th-century furniture found more fashion and jewellery than they bargained for. Know which one you are before you book.
What it is
An entry ticket to the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, known as the MAD, which occupies the Pavillon de Marsan in the west wing of the Louvre palace. It is not part of the Louvre museum, and people who buy this ticket thinking it is are one source of the low reviews. The ticket covers all current exhibitions on the day you book it. The audio guide plays on your own phone, in English, French, Spanish, Italian, German or Chinese, so bring headphones. There is also a separate audio app for walking between Paris landmarks, which is a bonus rather than the reason to buy.
Why a Camondo reader should care: this is the museum that inherited Moïse de Camondo’s house in 1935 and has run it since 1936. Its own period rooms and its furniture, ceramics and silver galleries cover the same French 18th century that fills the Camondo, at a larger scale and with less of the domestic feeling. While the house is closed, it is the only place to see this institution’s collections in person. The sister museum page goes into what is on and how it compares.
Usually included
- Entry to the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, 107 rue de Rivoli
- Access to all current exhibitions
- Audio guide on your own phone in six languages
- Separate Paris-landmarks audio tour app
- Free cancellation up to 24 hours before
Not included
- Headphones — bring your own
- Entry to the Louvre museum, which is a different ticket
- The Musée Nissim de Camondo, which is closed
- A live guide
What the reviewers say, and why 3.7
Two hundred and twenty-five reviews is enough to see a pattern, and the pattern is expectation. Roger, from Canada, put it fairly: “less furniture than expected and more jewellery, but a wonderful array”. That sentence is the whole review page in miniature. Irina, from Kyrgyzstan, called it “a great place if you appreciate design, craftsmanship and history”, with the emphasis on the if. Sylvia, from Germany, wrote about the views from the upper floors: the Ferris wheel, the Olympic flame, the pyramid. Those windows over the Tuileries come up again and again as the thing people did not expect and liked most.
Oksana, from Germany, bought tickets for the next day when everything else she wanted was sold out, which is a use case worth naming: this museum rarely sells out, and it is open when the Camondo is not. What the 3.7 is not: a verdict on a bad museum. I have never met a Camondo guide who thought so. It is the gap between the word “decorative arts” in the title and the fashion and jewellery galleries that take up a good share of the floor. If you know that going in, the score stops mattering.
What works
- The same institution as the Camondo, with 18th-century rooms you can see now
- Upper-floor views over the Tuileries that reviewers keep mentioning
- Audio guide in six languages on your own phone
- Rarely sold out; Oksana booked for the next day when the rest of Paris was full
Worth knowing
- 3.7 because people expected furniture and found fashion and jewellery
- The Louvre palace, not the Louvre museum — a common confusion
- You need your own headphones and a charged phone
- Two hours is the listed duration; the period rooms alone will not fill it
Go for the floors with the furniture and the silver first and treat the rest as a bonus. If you want the Camondo comparison, look for the Riesener, Oeben and Carlin names that fill the Camondo rooms, and then walk to a window on the upper floor.
Who should book it
People who wanted the Camondo for its furniture and objects and will take the institution’s other museum as the nearest open substitute. Design and craft people. Anyone who needs a museum for tomorrow when the big names are full. Under-26s and disabled visitors should not book it at all, because they get in free at both of the institution’s museums.
Who should skip it: visitors who want a house rather than a museum, who should wait for the Camondo or take the Haussmann walk past a different collector’s mansion; and anyone already holding a Paris Museum Pass, who should check whether the pass covers their visit before buying twice.
Other listings to consider
Passes Parc MonceauHaussmannian Paris 2-Hour Private Walking Tour
60+ museumsParis Museum Pass: 2, 4, or 6 Days
2 hoursParis: Jewish Heritage & Hidden Gems of Le Marais
Frequently asked questions
Is the Musée des Arts Décoratifs part of the Louvre?
It is in the Louvre palace, in the Pavillon de Marsan at 107 rue de Rivoli, but it is a separate museum with its own ticket, run by Les Arts Décoratifs. This ticket does not get you into the Louvre museum. The sister museum page explains the relationship to the Camondo.
Why is this ticket rated only 3.7?
Mostly expectation. Reviewers who came for rooms of furniture found more fashion and jewellery than they expected; Roger called it “less furniture than expected and more jewellery, but a wonderful array”. The museum itself is not the complaint. If you know what the galleries hold, the score is not a warning.
Do I get in free anywhere with this?
Not with this ticket, but you may not need it. Under-18s, 18-to-25-year-olds and disabled visitors with a companion enter both of the institution’s museums free; see who gets in free. Everyone else can book here and cancel free up to 24 hours before.