The Louis Vuitton Foundation is a unique art museum in Paris that both art lovers and architecture fans will enjoy.
Opened in 2014, Fondation Louis Vuitton is a relatively new cultural institution in the city, with a main focus on contemporary and modern art.
It’s not a museum dedicated to luxury hangbags, as the name might suggest đ
Paris is full of art galleries, but it’s worth making a short trip outside the city centre to visit the Louis Vuitton Foundation, for the art, the architecture and the beautiful green surroundings.
How to get to the Louis Vuitton Foundation
While many attractions in Paris are within walking distance or a short metro ride from each other, the Louis Vuitton Foundation is located a bit farther away in the 16th arrondissement in western Paris.
The easiest way to get there and back is by going on a short ride on the Louis Vuitton Foundation’s shuttle service.
I booked my ticket online in advance, including two shuttle bus rides. I just had to show the ticket on my phone to the shuttle bus driver.
The shuttle service leaves from a bus stop near Arc de Triomphe.
To get there, take the metro to the Charles de Gaulle â Ătoile stop on Metro line 1 (the yellow line).
From there take the exit marked Avenue de Friedland. When you exit, you’ll see the bus stop a few steps from there.
The shuttle service ride takes about 10 minutes (or a little bit longer if there’s heavy traffic).
It will drop you off next to the Louis Vuitton Foundation entrance.
On the way back, take the service from the same stop where you got off and it will take you back to the same bus stop near Arc de Triomphe.
This is the simplest way I found to reach the museum. For alternative ways, you can check on the official public transport in Paris website.
Tickets for the Louis Vuitton Foundation
Book an entry ticket online. In Paris it’s best to book tickets in advance with a time slot.
I got a skip-the-line ticket, after seeing online reviews from other visitors complaining about long lines (especially on Saturdays) and after witnessing the long, long lines at some of the city’s most popular museums like the Louvre, Centre Pompidou and d’Orsay. If you want to save time in Paris, a skip-the-line ticket is always a good idea.
When you arrive, go through the security check and then show your ticket on your phone for scanning when you enter the building.
The Louis Vuitton Foundation art museum
When you enter, you’ll easily find the main galleries. There are 11 of them on several floors, and it’s quite easy to get around the building.
There’s a map at the entrance that you can pick up and I also found the staff very friendly and helpful.
The Louis Vuitton Foundation runs temporary exhibitions focusing on themes, artists and collectors.
Its collection includes contemporary and modern art, featuring 20th and 21st-century artists from the 1960s onwards.
What you see depends on when you visit. Some of the artists in the collection include well-known names, such as Marina Abramovic, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Gilbert & George, Gerhard Richter and others.
Apart from the current temporary exhibition, you can also find installations around the building and terrace. These are site-specific pieces commissioned by artists in recent years.
Exhibition texts are in French and English.
The architecture of the Louis Vuitton Foundation
The striking glass and steel vessel with twelve glass âsailsâ is designed to look like a sailing ship.
The building is certainly exceptional, both as an exhibition space and as an unusual, bright and shiny glass structure inside a green space.
Innovative Canadian-American architect Frank Gehry designed the building in his typical, iconic style, with his signature use of sweeping curves that create a sense of movement. He called it a “magnificent vessel”.
While you visit Paris, you can also see a more modest expression of his style in the French cinÊmathèque in the 12th arrondissement.
Other famous buildings by Ghery that you may have seen before include the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, the Dancing House in Prague and the Golden Fish in Barcelona.
Frank Gehry said about the architecture of the Louis Vuitton Foundation that it looks unfinished on purpose, in order to invite people to interact with it.
You can spend quite a bit of time exploring the building from the inside and outside.
Step outside to see the terraces for some views of Paris and the forest nearby and climb up and down the staircases. You probably won’t get lost, but this building is certainly designed to leave you just a little bit bewildered.
That said, when it comes to the layout of the galleries, it is conveniently straightforward. They are wonderfully spacious, with high ceilings that can quite quickly inspire that “larger than life” mood, like great museums often do.
A section of the museum is dedicated to the architecture and development process of the building.
I especially enjoyed the beautifully made documentary film, that shows the building as a work of art.
Screened on two adjacent walls at the same time, it has an endlessly fascinating display of shots of the building from all angles, with close-ups, unique perspectives and a construction hyperlapse.
You can take a virtual tour of the building here:
More tips about visiting the Louis Vuitton Foundation
- The ticket also gives you access to the beautiful garden called Jardin dâAcclimatation next to the museums. Note that the garden closes earlier than the museum.
- How long to spend at the Louis Vuitton Foundation? I spent about 3 hours at the exhibitions and the terrace, plus some time outside the building to take pictures. It can easily be a half-day activity if you include the travel time there and back and if you spend some time in the garden and the forest nearby.
- The LVF is open late, usually till 8 pm.
- There’s an auditorium on the same site that hosts events such as concerts and talks, so you can time your visit according to the schedule of events, if there’s anything you want to attend.
- What else to see nearby? Bois de Boulogne, the nearby forest, is a vast green space, that you can explore while you’re in that part of the city.
A bit more about Louis Vuitton
If you’re curious about the story of the Louis Vuitton brand, this short video from Curious Muse sums up its history.
Save this guide to Visiting the Louis Vuitton Foundation on Pinterest
