L'Institut du Monde Arabe

L'Institut du Monde Arabe is devoted to cultures from the Arab world. It's located in another beautiful building by Jean Nouvel along the Seine river.

The Institute hosts permanent collections and temporary exhibitions. In summer 2016 you can visit a gorgeous exhibition about oriental gardens. The Institute also organises workshops for children above 6.

To reach the Institute from Ivry, simply take subway line 7 toward la Courneuve and get off in station Jussieu. The Institute is a five minutes walk away.

Discovering Paris by boat

If you want to discover the city along the Seine river, we recommend you use the Batobus service. It works with a daily pass (17€ for adults, 8€ for kids until 15), and it allows you to get on and off in eight stations located along the river. On a sunny day it's a lovely cruise and in summer there are boats every 20 minutes. You just have to know that the cruise does not include audioguides or extended commentaries regarding the monuments along the river, so just make sure to take you guidebook with you !

Unlike most sightseeing cruises that start from the western part of the Seine, you can board on the Batobus at their boat station Jardin des Plantes, near Gare d'Austerlitz, which is only two stations from Ivry with the RER C.

Le Musée des Arts et Métiers

Le Musée des Arts et Métiers was founded some two hundred years ago and is dedicated to technological innovations. It is less famous (and therefore much less crowded) than the other parisian science museums Palais de la Découverte and the Cité des Sciences, but it hosts an amazing collection of scientific tools dating back to the 17th century that are well worth a visit.

The museum organises workshops for children aged 7 and above (which is about the right age to discover the place), in addition the local restaurant has a lovely outdoor area in the courtyard where you can make a nice break after your visit.

To reach the museum from Ivry, take subway line 7 toward la Courneuve, change in station Châtelet for line 11 toward Mairie des Lilas and get off in Arts et Métiers (by the way, have a look at the amazing decoration of the subway station). The museum entrance is right in front of the subway station.

With its copper covered walls Arts et Métiers is probably one of Paris most beautiful subway stations...

Palais Garnier

The Palais Garnier is probably one of the most magnificent parisian buildings. It was built at the end of the 19th century to host the national opera but is now mostly dedicated to ballet representations.

You can visit it every day and grasp a look of the gorgeous staircase and the beautiful auditorium with its red velvet seats and its ceiling painted by Marc Chagall.

To reach the Palais Garnier from Ivry, simple take subway line 7 toward la Courneuve at Mairie d'Ivry and get off in Opéra, the building will be right in front of you when exiting the subway station !

Direct connections with the bus

(nice places that are not in Paris, I swear it's possible !)

Next to the subway station «Mairie d’Ivry», take the bus line 132 toward «Vitry sur Seine».

• Station Exploradôme: The Exploradôme is a science museum for kids, smaller than the Cité des Sciences in the north, it’s also much closer from home and far less crowded....

From the same station, you can walk on the opposite direction toward the MacVal a modern art museum with very interesting collections.

Architecture in Ivry

For the french speaking visitors (but not only, since there are lots of pictures to see), that are interested in architecture, I recommend two very interesting blog posts dedicated to the city and its remarkable buildings :

• Balade architecturale à Ivry-sur-Seine.

• Ivry-sur-Seine : Laboratoire d'architecture en centre ville.

PS : By the way, did you know that parts of the last Hunger Games movie were shot in Ivry-sur-Seine ? It seems that our city center looks like the Capitol (but I'm not so sure it's meant to be taken as a compliment...)

Le Musée du Quai Branly

Le Musée du Quai Branly (aka Musée des Arts Premiers), is dedicated to non european art and hosts collections from Africa, near east Asia, Oceania and America from the neolithic period (circa -10 000 B.C.) to the 20th century. It's located in a modern (2006) building designed by Jean Nouvel and surrounded by a beautiful garden.

The museum organizes several workshops and guided visits for children and families.

To reach the museum from Ivry, simply take RER C westward (any train toward Paris will do) and get off in Pont de l'Alma, from there the museum is a just 3 minutes walk away.

Le Musée Bourdelle

Antoine Bourdelle was a french sculptor and a student of Auguste Rodin. Le Musée Bourdelle was built around its original workshop near the Montparnasse station and hosts both small pieces and very monumental sculptures. The museum is hidden in a tiny street so it's never much crowded, and with its small quiet gardens it's the perfect place to visit if you want to make a break from the big city. 

Since the museum belong to the city of Paris, the entrance to the permanent collection is free, and it also organizes workshops about sculpture for children.

To reach the Musée Bourdelle from Ivry take subway line 7 till Place d'Italie, there change for line 6 toward Charles de Gaulle-Etoile and get off in Montparnasse. The museum is a quick 5 minutes walk away.