Visits
Information and registration
Téléphone : 01 53 79 49 49
The BnF museum
The BnF’s new Museum covers the full extent of the Library’s collections, from Antiquity to the present day. Rare, emotive and often surprising items are on exhibition within its walls, along an itinerary that takes in the Richelieu site’s most beautiful areas. From books to manuscripts, by way of jewellery, coins and medals, maps and plans, musical scores, prints, posters, costumes and photographs, almost 900 outstanding works await your discovery in the heart of Paris.
The Museum’s first wing, which leads from the Column Room to the Louis XV Salon with its lavish rococo decoration from the King’s Cabinet, accommodates a permanent display of items from its collections of antiquities. The Mazarin Gallery, a showpiece of baroque decoration, exhibits ecclesiastical treasures and works on paper, along with audio and visual recordings. At the end of the Glass Gallery in the Richelieu wing, the Rotunda focuses on all aspects of the performing arts. Due to the fragility of certain artworks, some pieces on display in the Mazarin Gallery and Rotunda are rotated every four months. Every year, a new thematic presentation provides a different perspective on the Library’s collections.
The Museum’s first wing, which leads from the Column Room to the Louis XV Salon with its lavish rococo decoration from the King’s Cabinet, accommodates a permanent display of items from its collections of antiquities. The Mazarin Gallery, a showpiece of baroque decoration, exhibits ecclesiastical treasures and works on paper, along with audio and visual recordings. At the end of the Glass Gallery in the Richelieu wing, the Rotunda focuses on all aspects of the performing arts. Due to the fragility of certain artworks, some pieces on display in the Mazarin Gallery and Rotunda are rotated every four months. Every year, a new thematic presentation provides a different perspective on the Library’s collections.
Practical information
Opening times
Tuesday (late-night opening): 10 a.m. – 8 p.m.
Wednesday to Sunday: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Closed on Mondays and select bank holidays*
The Museum is open on 8 May, Ascension Thursday, and 1 and 11 November.
* The Museum is closed on 1 January, Easter Monday, 1 May, Whit Monday, 14 July, 15 August and 25 December
Please note: due to the fragility of certain artworks, some pieces on display in the Mazarin Gallery and Rotunda are rotated every four months, showcasing the breadth of the BnF’s collections. These spaces are closed to the public while the pieces are rotated.
Mazarin Gallery closing dates: From Monday 13 to Friday 24 January 2025 included
Rotunda closing dates: From Monday 7 to Friday 11 April 2025 included
Access
Site Richelieu
5, rue Vivienne
75002 PARIS
Group activities
Reservation obligatory at visites@bnf.fr or on 01 53 79 49 49 (from Monday to Saturday, 9 am to 5 pm)
Rates
Full price entry:
Full price entry – Museum and exhibition:
Concession:
Concession – Museum and exhibition:
Free admission with:
Free admission with:
During the Mazarin Gallery’s closure period, Museum admission rates are lowered to 7 € (full rate), 5 € (reduced rate), 10 € (full rate coupled with an exhibition) and 7 € (reduced rate coupled with an exhibition).
Guided tours of the BnF’s Museum – Reservation
Museum map
The Museum is located on the 1st floor, accessible by lift.
- Column Room
- Valuables Cabinet
- Luynes Room
- Barthélemy Room
- Louis XV Salon
- Glass Gallery
- Rotunda
- Mazarin Gallery
- Roux-Spitz Hall
- Mazarin Chamber
- Conference | Events Room
Accessibility
Disabled visitors and their carers have free, priority access to the Museum, exhibitions and reading rooms.
Accompaniment from outside the Museum, by appointment, on 01 53 79 37 37 or at accueil.handicap@bnf.fr
Independently accessible visit devices are available to visually and hearing impaired visitors – multimedia stations, videos in French Sign Language (LSF) and tactile mediation devices with audiodescription – to help them discover the heritage site, Museum and Oval Room.
The BnF’s Compagnon de visite (“visitor’s companion”) (on loan upon request to disabled visitors) includes two itineraries specifically designed for the visually and hearing impaired, providing access to additional content on the Museum’s architectural areas and works.
Please note: Loans of equipment and wheelchairs at the reception, upon deposit of an identity document.
The Acceo system is installed at all information points inside the site.
The museum in figures
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4500 Years
separate the oldest work presented in the first rotation, a Sumerian tablet with cuneiform inscription, from the most recent, Cahier d’un retour au pays natal (Return to my Native Land) by Aimé Césaire, illustrated by Daniel Buren.
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1200 m²
of surface area for this new museum in the heart of Paris
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280 m²
is the Mazarin Gallery’s surface area; it houses the Museum’s collections from the Middle Ages to the present day, following a chronological itinerary
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900
treasures from Antiquity to the present day, selected from the 900 million documents and artworks conserved at the BnF
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18
digital mediation terminals
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3
rotations each year, to ensure that visitors discover the variety and full scope of the Library’s collections
