Is the Musée Nissim de Camondo worth visiting?
I get asked this in two forms. Visitors who have heard of the house ask whether it is worth a detour from the Louvre. Visitors who have not heard of it ask what it is. The second group usually becomes the first once they have read the history, so let me answer the detour question, twice: once for the museum that will reopen, and once for the closed building that is there now.
When it reopens
Yes, with one qualification about temperament. The Camondo is a house, not a collection of highlights, and it rewards people who like to see how rooms work: where the light falls in the Library, why the Porcelain Room sits beside the Dining Room, how a kitchen of 1914 fed a table of 1780. If you are the kind of visitor who wants to be shown the six famous things and move on, it will feel slow. If you are the kind who reads the labels in the servants’ dining room, it may be your favourite museum in Paris. It was one of mine before I worked there and it remained so after, which is not true of every museum I have led groups through.
What works
- A complete house kept as its owner left it in 1935, furniture in place
- Named masterpieces in domestic settings: the Buffon service, the Orloff silver, Savonnerie carpets
- Small enough for an unhurried visit of about 1.5 to 2 hours
- Parc Monceau at the garden gate; Cernuschi and Jacquemart-André within ten minutes
- Free for under-26s and disabled visitors with one companion, as at both MAD museums
Worth knowing
- Closed since 4 August 2024; reopening targeted for the end of 2029 (some listings say 2030)
- Closed Monday and Tuesday in normal times, which trips up weekend planners
- The family’s end is part of the visit; it is not a light afternoon
- No café on site before the closure; the quarter has few of them
- A Museum Pass gives no access while the works last
Right now
The house is closed and I will not pretend a façade is a visit. The closure page has the dates. What I can say is that the quarter holds up without it. Rue de Monceau, with the Camondo and Ephrussi houses, Parc Monceau with its follies, the Cernuschi on the far side of the park, the Jacquemart-André ten minutes down the boulevard: that is a real half-day, the kind I would recommend to a friend who had already done the big museums. It is laid out on the around the museum page. And if you want a guide for the Haussmann part of it, the private walk from Opéra to Parc Monceau is the closest thing on offer; I have reviewed it with its small number of reviews in mind.
Best months
April to October, for the park. Parc Monceau stays open late on summer evenings and the quarter is at its best around seven, when the offices have emptied and the light comes low across the Naumachie. When the house reopens the same months will apply, with the difference that the rooms are lit by daylight and look better on a bright morning than a dark December afternoon. The Nuit des Musées, a Saturday in May with free late opening, was a good night here in normal years.
Best time of day
Ten minutes before the doors. Before the closure, visitors who arrived just ahead of the 10:00 opening reported having the rooms almost to themselves, and my groups, which came later, never had that. Weekends were busier and online time-slot booking was recommended for them. The opening hours page records the pre-closure timetable for reference; check it on madparis.fr when the reopening is confirmed.
Who should skip it
Anyone travelling with a child under about ten, unless the child is unusually patient with chairs. Anyone who wants Impressionists; those went to Orsay via Isaac de Camondo, as the family page explains. And anyone whose Paris is a list of the ten biggest things, because this is the opposite of a big thing. For everyone else it is worth the wait, and the quarter is worth the walk in the meantime.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Camondo museum worth it if I only have one day in Paris?
Not while it is closed, and probably not on a first one-day visit even when it reopens; it is a second-trip museum. If you are staying longer, the Monceau quarter is a good half-day now and a better one after 2029.
What is the best time to visit the Camondo?
On reopening: ten minutes before the 10:00 opening on a weekday, in the months from April to October when the park is open late. Pre-closure hours are on the opening hours page.
How long does the Camondo take?
About 1.5 to 2 hours for the three levels and the garden; the how long to visit page gives a room-by-room timing.
Is it suitable for children?
Under-18s get in free, but the house is furniture, porcelain and quiet rooms, and I would not bring a child under about ten. Parc Monceau next door is the compensation.