The Electricity Fairy
Six hundred square metres of colour wrapping an entire curved hall — the world's largest painting, before which Dufy's 1937 hymn to progress explains itself.
Maciej Zgadzaj — CC BY 2.0 · Jean-Pierre Dalbéra — CC BY 2.0 · dalbera — CC BY 2.0 · dalbera — CC BY 2.0
Another secret of the free City of Paris museums: the Musée d'Art Moderne (MAM) in the east wing of the Palais de Tokyo, its permanent collection holding Matisse, Picasso, Modigliani, Delaunay and Dufy — no ticket, no queue, and an Eiffel Tower view from its river terrace. Its twin jewels are two incomparable rooms: Raoul Dufy's "Electricity Fairy" — the largest painting in the world, six hundred square metres telling electricity's history from Aristotle to the light bulb in an overwhelming festival of colour — and the "Dance" room with Matisse's two facing murals. Around them runs a full course in Parisian 20th-century modernism, its Cubists, Fauves and abstractionists. Its neighbour in the west wing is the Palais de Tokyo, Europe's largest contemporary-art centre with experimental shows and fashionable restaurants — the two wings together, with Galliera opposite, make the lightest, least-crowded art day in Paris.
Six hundred square metres of colour wrapping an entire curved hall — the world's largest painting, before which Dufy's 1937 hymn to progress explains itself.
Two versions of "The Dance" facing each other in one hall — the rare chance to watch a single idea evolve in the master's hands.
MAM free, Palais de Tokyo for experiment, Galliera for fashion — three art worlds within two hundred metres, directly opposite the Eiffel Tower.
Avenue du Président Wilson, across from the Eiffel Tower, 75116 Paris
Palais GallieraParis's fashion museum, in a nineteenth-century Italianate palace with its garde2 minutes walk4.5
Guimet MuseumOne of the greatest Asian-arts museums on earth stands quietly on Place d'Iéna b4 minutes walk4.5
Musée du quai BranlyFive minutes from the Eiffel Tower stands Paris's most different museum: the Qua5 minutes walk4.5
jardins du TrocadéroIf Paris has an official balcony for receiving guests, it is the Trocadéro garde9 minutes walk4.7
Cité de l'Architecture et du PatrimoineThe third museum in the **Palais de Chaillot** at Trocadéro, and the strangest i9 minutes walk4.3Looking for halal food near Musée d'art moderne de Paris? 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 7 minutes walk · $$$4.4
Ministry of SpiceHalalModern halal Indian cooking, the sit-down option for an unhurried dinner. About 21 minutes walk · $$$
Berkeley GardenHalalHalal Indian cooking that suits families and group dinners, about eight minutes'6 minutes walk · $$$
Snack&RushHalalHalal fast food at budget prices, about five minutes' walk from the tower. The m14 minutes walk · $
NouraHalalNoura is not a discovery; it is the institution every Arab visitor to Paris has 8 minutes walk · $$$4.5
Pullman Paris Tour EiffelThe Pullman Paris Tour Eiffel is genuinely the closest of the large Paris hotels13 minutes walk · $$$4.7
Paris Marriott Champs-ÉlyséesThe Paris Marriott Champs-Élysées is one of a very small number of hotels with a11 minutes walk · $$$4.4
Four Seasons George VThe George V is the benchmark the rest of luxury Paris is measured against. It o7 minutes walk · $$$$4.9
The Peninsula ParisThe Peninsula Paris is a modern hotel inside an old building: the house dates to11 minutes walk · $$$$4.8
Prince de GallesThe Prince de Galles is a direct neighbour of the George V on the same avenue, b7 minutes walk · $$$$4.4The Pompidou is the vaster national collection (closed for full renovation until late this decade); MAM is the city's elegant free one — with the Pompidou dark, MAM is unquestionably Paris's first address for modernism.
Trocadéro views first, the free MAM circuit, Palais de Tokyo lunch, then Galliera or a riverbank descent toward the Tower — an art half-day of perfect rhythm and thinner crowds.