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🖼️ Museums

Museums in the Grand Est: where to go and when

The Grand Est packs in a remarkable density of museums, and their variety is a surprise: vintage cars and locomotives in Mulhouse, the Isenheim Altarpiece in Colmar, modern art beneath the roof of the Centre Pompidou-Metz, Art Nouveau furniture and glassware in Nancy, stained glass in Troyes, Rimbaud’s manuscripts in Charleville-Mézières. Add to these some more unexpected sites, such as a silver mine at Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines, a coal pithead at Petite-Rosselle or the glass and crystal workshops of the Pays de Bitche. Enough to build an entire trip around, even when the skies are grey.

To plan your visits well, three habits matter more than anything. First, the weekly closing day, which varies: Tuesday at the Centre Pompidou-Metz, the Unterlinden Museum and the Nancy Museum of Fine Arts, Monday and Tuesday at the Musée de l’École de Nancy. Next, the season: the Écomusée d’Alsace, the Tellure mining park and the Parc de Wesserling operate mainly from spring to autumn. Finally, the money-saving deals, such as free entry on the first Sunday of the month at Strasbourg’s municipal museums and the Nancy Museum of Fine Arts. Always check opening hours and prices on the official websites.

What to do this month?

Pick a month: our seasonal ideas and a tip to make the most of it.

October: The last weeks for the seasonal sites, which generally close in early November; during the All Saints’ (Toussaint) school holidays, Le Vaisseau and the Cité du Train are popular with families.

Écomusée d’Alsace (Open-Air Museum)📍 Haut-Rhin Parc Minier Tellure – Silver Mine📍 Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines Parc de Wesserling – Gardens📍 Husseren-Wesserling Le Vaisseau – Hands-On Science Centre📍 Strasbourg

Map: Museums in the Grand Est

Our tips

  • Check the closing day before you set off: Tuesday is common (Centre Pompidou-Metz, Unterlinden, Nancy’s Museum of Fine Arts, Cour d’Or), but the Musée de l’École de Nancy also closes on Mondays, and Le Vaisseau closes on Mondays.
  • Aim for the first Sunday of the month in Strasbourg (the City museums) and at the Nancy Museum of Fine Arts, when entry is free; arrive early, as it gets very busy. In Metz, entry to the Musée de la Cour d’Or is free.
  • If you are staying several days in Alsace or Lorraine, weigh up the Museums-PASS-Musées: valid for one year, it opens the doors of more than 350 sites in France, Germany and Switzerland, for one adult and up to five children. It does not cover Champagne-Ardenne.
  • Book the Villa Majorelle in Nancy: individual visits are by reservation only, in the afternoon from Wednesday to Sunday. During the works that begin at the end of October 2026, only the ground floor is open.
  • For the Écomusée d’Alsace, Tellure or Wesserling, think in seasons (broadly spring to autumn) and bring sturdy shoes: these visits are largely outdoors or underground, where it is cool even in summer.
  • Don’t plan on the Palace of the Dukes of Lorraine – Musée Lorrain: it is closed for renovation, with reopening announced for around 2029; only the neighbouring Église des Cordeliers remains open.

All places and activities: Museums (22)

🏆Alsace-Moselle Memorial📍 Schirmeck · ActivityA powerful museum on the fate of the people of Alsace and Moselle from 1870 to European reconciliation. 🏆Centre Pompidou-Metz📍 Moselle · PlaceThe Metz outpost of the Centre Pompidou: modern and contemporary art beneath a vast undulating roof, an architectural statement. 🏆Cité du Vitrail (Stained Glass Centre)📍 Aube · PlaceA stained-glass interpretation centre in the Hôtel-Dieu-le-Comte, at the heart of the “holy city of stained glass”. 🏆Écomusée d’Alsace (Open-Air Museum)📍 Haut-Rhin · PlaceFrance's largest open-air museum: a reconstructed Alsatian village of around 80 buildings. 🏆Musée de l’École de Nancy📍 Meurthe-et-Moselle · PlaceThe Art Nouveau museum in the villa of patron Eugène Corbin: Gallé, Daum, Majorelle. 🏆National Automobile Museum – Schlumpf Collection📍 Haut-Rhin · PlaceOne of the world’s largest car collections (the Schlumpf Collection), including the biggest collection of Bugattis. 🏆Unterlinden Museum📍 Haut-Rhin · PlaceColmar’s major art museum, home to Grünewald’s famous Isenheim Altarpiece. 🏆Villa Majorelle📍 Meurthe-et-Moselle · PlaceAn Art Nouveau manifesto: the first entirely Art Nouveau house in Nancy, home of Louis Majorelle. Arthur Rimbaud Museum📍 Ardennes · PlaceSet in the Old Mill on the Meuse, the museum celebrates the poet Arthur Rimbaud, born in Charleville. Cité du Train — French Railway Museum📍 Haut-Rhin · PlaceFrance’s national railway museum, one of the largest railway museums in the world. Humanist Library of Sélestat📍 Sélestat · ActivityIts Beatus Rhenanus library is on UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register (2011): unique manuscripts and early printed books. La Grande Place – Saint-Louis Crystal Museum📍 Saint-Louis-lès-Bitche · ActivityA glassworks founded in 1586, making crystal since 1781, with a dazzling crystal museum. Le Vaisseau – Hands-On Science Centre📍 Strasbourg · ActivityAn interactive science discovery centre for families: more than 130 hands-on experiments. Maison de l’Outil et de la Pensée Ouvrière (Museum of Tools)📍 Aube · PlaceIn the Renaissance Hôtel de Mauroy, a museum of hand tools and the craftsmanship of the Compagnons du Devoir. Meisenthal Glassworks📍 Meisenthal · ActivityA home of the hand-blown glass Christmas bauble, revived here in 1998–99: glassblowing demonstrations and a glass museum in the Northern Vosges. Musée de la Cour d’Or📍 Moselle · PlaceMetz’s museum of art and history, from Gallo-Roman baths to medieval art, on the site of the palace of the Austrasian kings. Musée Les Mineurs Wendel – La Mine📍 Petite-Rosselle · ActivityA tour of reconstructed galleries, guided by a former miner or a guide, on an old coal-mine site. Nancy Museum of Fine Arts📍 Meurthe-et-Moselle · PlaceOn Place Stanislas, seven centuries of European art and an exceptional Daum collection. Nancy Museum-Aquarium📍 Meurthe-et-Moselle · PlaceA tropical aquarium and zoology galleries in the heart of Nancy, popular with families. Palace of the Dukes of Lorraine — Musée Lorrain📍 Meurthe-et-Moselle · PlaceThe former ducal palace of the Musée Lorrain, closed for renovation (reopening planned for around 2029); the Église des Cordeliers remains open. Parc de Wesserling – Gardens📍 Husseren-Wesserling · ActivityA former royal textile factory turned textile ecomuseum, surrounded by gardens with the “Jardin remarquable” label. Parc Minier Tellure – Silver Mine📍 Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines · ActivityDon a helmet and descend into a genuine 16th-century silver mine, in the heart of the Val d’Argent.

Frequently asked questions

Which museums are free on the first Sunday of the month in the Grand Est?

The City of Strasbourg’s museums are free for everyone on the first Sunday of the month, as is the Nancy Museum of Fine Arts. The Musée de la Cour d’Or in Metz advertises free entry under normal circumstances. For other venues there is no common rule: check each official website.

Is the Museums-PASS-Musées worth it for a trip to Alsace?

For one year it gives access to more than 350 museums, castles and gardens in France (Alsace, Lorraine, Franche-Comté), Germany and Switzerland, for one adult and up to five children under 18. It becomes worthwhile as soon as you string together several visits or come back within the year. Compare it with local tourist passes depending on the length of your stay.

Which museums are closed on Tuesdays in Colmar, Metz and Nancy?

The Unterlinden Museum in Colmar, the Centre Pompidou-Metz, the Musée de la Cour d’Or and the Nancy Museum of Fine Arts close on Tuesdays. The Musée de l’École de Nancy closes on Mondays and Tuesdays. Occasional closures (public holidays, events) come on top of this: check the official websites.

Is the Musée Lorrain in Nancy open?

No: the Palace of the Dukes of Lorraine – Musée Lorrain is closed for a major renovation and extension project, with reopening targeted for around 2029. The Église des Cordeliers, which belongs to it, remains open and presents part of the history of the duchies of Lorraine and Bar.

Information checked in October 2026. Opening hours, prices and conditions may change: check the official websites before you travel.

Sources consulted (22)

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