The Khmer galleries
Angkor's stone smiles and naga heads in the largest collection outside Cambodia — Asian sculpture's summit in central Paris.
Lionel Allorge — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Jean-Pierre Dalbéra — CC BY 2.0 · Jean-Pierre Dalbéra — CC BY 2.0 · Jean-Pierre Dalbéra — CC BY 2.0
One of the greatest Asian-arts museums on earth stands quietly on Place d'Iéna between Trocadéro and the Champs-Élysées: the Guimet, sixty thousand works spanning Afghanistan to Japan across five millennia — Khmer sculpture from Angkor in the largest collection outside Cambodia, Chinese ritual bronzes from 3000 BC, Mughal miniatures, and the Gandhara Buddhas where Asia meets the Greeks. The route ascends almost deliberately toward the spirit: you begin with Southeast Asia's stone Angkor smiles on the ground floor and end high in the Himalayan wing among Buddhist thangkas — and in the upper Japanese rotunda, a tea pause overlooks Paris from an angle nobody knows. For anyone worn down by the great museums' crowds, the Guimet is the antidote: a Louvre-grade collection with neighbourhood-library crowds — and with the Maison de la Culture du Japon and Palais de Tokyo nearby, Paris's "Asia line" completes in a single afternoon.
Angkor's stone smiles and naga heads in the largest collection outside Cambodia — Asian sculpture's summit in central Paris.
Tripod vessels from Chinese civilisation's dawn, their beast-masks intact — five thousand years gazing back through the glass.
Behind the annexe Buddhist Pantheon hides a free Japanese tea garden — among the quietest, least-discovered corners in all Paris.
Place d'Iéna, 75116 Paris
Palais GallieraParis's fashion museum, in a nineteenth-century Italianate palace with its garde3 minutes walk4.5
Musée d'art moderne de ParisAnother secret of the free City of Paris museums: the Musée d'Art Moderne (MAM) 4 minutes walk4.6
Cité de l'Architecture et du PatrimoineThe third museum in the **Palais de Chaillot** at Trocadéro, and the strangest i6 minutes walk4.3
jardins du TrocadéroIf Paris has an official balcony for receiving guests, it is the Trocadéro garde7 minutes walk4.7
Chaillot PalaceThe two curved wings embracing the Trocadéro plaza are the Palais de Chaillot, b7 minutes walk4.5Looking for halal food near Guimet Museum? There are several options nearby, from Moroccan and Indian kitchens to quick casual spots and places with a view. Confirm the halal status and opening hours before you go — these can change.
New JawadHalalNew Jawad is an Indo-Pakistani restaurant on Avenue Rapp, a short walk from the 10 minutes walk · $$$4.4Quai NedyHalalHalal international cooking with a view of the Eiffel Tower, which is what sets 24 minutes walk · $$$
Ministry of SpiceHalalModern halal Indian cooking, the sit-down option for an unhurried dinner. About 25 minutes walk · $$$
Berkeley GardenHalalHalal Indian cooking that suits families and group dinners, about eight minutes'10 minutes walk · $$$
Snack&RushHalalHalal fast food at budget prices, about five minutes' walk from the tower. The m15 minutes walk · $
Pullman Paris Tour EiffelThe Pullman Paris Tour Eiffel is genuinely the closest of the large Paris hotels13 minutes walk · $$$4.7
Paris Marriott Champs-ÉlyséesThe Paris Marriott Champs-Élysées is one of a very small number of hotels with a13 minutes walk · $$$4.4
Four Seasons George VThe George V is the benchmark the rest of luxury Paris is measured against. It o8 minutes walk · $$$$4.9
The Peninsula ParisThe Peninsula Paris is a modern hotel inside an old building: the house dates to8 minutes walk · $$$$4.8
Prince de GallesThe Prince de Galles is a direct neighbour of the George V on the same avenue, b8 minutes walk · $$$$4.4Complements, not competitors: Guimet for Asia's great classical civilisations in archaeological depth, Branly for Africa, Oceania and the Americas in theatrical display — choose by the continent calling you.
The Khmer floor, the Gandhara Buddhas, straight up to the Himalayan wing, closing in the Japanese rotunda — the collection's spiritual spine in one concentrated visit.