Yes, the Louvre is one of the best museums in the world, and you should definitely visit it (with a very strategic game plan in mind!). But I find myself gravitating to other museums over and over again. Museums of all scales in Paris can get incredibly crowded with long entry lines, and I highly recommend either buying a MuseumPass or tickets online before your arrival so you can skip to the front. The cafés and restaurants at the museums are also top-notch and worth a visit, particularly MiniPalais at the Grand Palais, Loulou at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs and Les Grands Verres at the Palais de Tokyo.
PALAIS DE TOKYO
The Palais de Tokyo is a contemporary arts museum in the 16th, with a rotating array of cutting edge art and installations. Its close proximity to the Trocadero with its famous view of the Eiffel Tower and the fantastic farmers' market set up in front of it on Avenue Woodrow Wilson on Saturdays add to its appeal.
PALAIS GALLERIA
Directly across the avenue from Palais de Tokyo is the Palais Galleria, which is Paris' fashion museum (or Musée de la Mode, because that sounds better). They are not always open, so check their exhibitions and hours online, but I've seen some pretty incredible exhibits there, including an Azzedine Alaia retrospective.
Petit Palais
GRAND PALAIS & THE PETIT PALAIS
The Grand Palais hosts visiting exhibitions, ranging from the small to the x-large with photo festivals and antique car shows. Check its website to see what's on, but the beautiful 1900 World Fair architecture is reason enough to visit if it is open. The Petit Palais is directly across the street and is the City of Paris' Fine Arts Museum. While it is on the smaller side, I've never seen a bad exhibition there — and again, the architecture and interior gardens make it a go-to.
A Manet masterpiece at Musée d'Orsay
MUSEE D'ORSAY & MUSEE DE L'ORANGERIE
If you love Impressionist art, these are your must-sees. You can buy a combined ticket online to visit them both within a few days of each other, but I love doing both at once and doing the scenic stroll across the Seine and through the Tuileries between them. Musée d'Orsay was once a train station, and it's iconic clock is as well-recognized as its spectacular collection of Manet, Monet, Renoir, Degas and more. It does get crowded so try to time your visit to off-hours if possible. Musée de l'Orangerie is a jewel box of a museum, tucked into a leafy corner of the Tuileries Gardens. Downstairs, there are two rooms with 360 degree, wrap-around canvases of Monet's Water Lilies series that are truly dreamy.
A section of a Monet at Musée de l'Orangerie.
The Thinker in the garden of Musée Rodin
MUSEE RODIN
Housed in Auguste Rodin's former 18th century mansion on the Left Bank, this beautiful home museum is a chronology of his artistic life, including pieces he collected that influenced his sculptures. The garden outside of Musée Rodin is filled with his famous works, including The Thinker and the Gates of Hell (you might recognize it from photos — parties and fashion shows by the likes of Dior and Valentino have been held there).
The main stairwell at Musée Picasso
MUSEE PICASSO PARIS
Recently renovated, this stunning mansion-turned-museum is filled with a permanent collection of Picasso's works across periods and mediums, along with rotating exhibits (I saw one recently that featured the work of Alberto Giacometti alongside his own). The top floor of the Musée Picasso Paris features the artist's personal collection along with lesser-known works and is the highlight of the space, especially if you have seen Picasso's more well-known pieces before.
Brancusi's studio recreated at Atelier Brancusi
CENTRE POMPIDOU & ATELIER BRANCUSI
The Centre Pompidou is best-known for its wild architecture, but the 40 year old institution also hosts some of the best fine art exhibitions in the city of Paris. In the past year, I had the pleasure of seeing retrospectives there of René Magritte, Walker Evans, Cy Twombly, and David Hockney. Visit Café Georges on the top floor for a drink outdoors in nice weather for some of the best views of Paris, especially around sunset. Just outside the Pompidou is Atelier Brancusi, where the stillness and quiet elegance of the space and art stand in stark contrast to the riotous main building. See Brancusi's studio recreated along with his most iconic sculptures in a generally empty museum, truly a moment of Zen in the middle of the city.
A section of the Dior exhibition at Les Arts Décoratifs
LES ARTS DECORATIFS
Musée les Arts Décoratifs has to be one of the finest decorative arts museums in the world, ranking with the V&A in London in my personal estimation. The Dior retrospective this year was one of the largest fashion exhibitions ever mounted, and it was truly spectacular in the old-fashioned sense of the world. From Ralph Lauren's vintage car collection to Dries van Noten's RTW, I've never seen an exhibition here that didn't blow me away—and it's conveniently located in the Louvre complex.
FONDATION LOUIS VUITTON
The most major addition to the museum scene in Paris is the Fondation Louis Vuitton, perched on the far western edges of the city in the Bois du Boulogne. Check the website for a rotating selection of exhibitions with timed admission, and make sure to wander out onto the terraces of the Frank Gehry-designed building for amazing slices of the sailboat-inspired architecture.