The first Sunday of the month: the list that really matters

On the first Sunday of each month, some national museums open for free. The effect is mechanical: queues form outside the most famous ones from opening time. The right strategy is to aim for the permanent collections of mid-sized museums rather than the big machines.

The Musée national du Moyen Âge, the Musée Rodin (outside the garden), the Musée Gustave-Moreau and the Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature remain manageable that day, even at three in the afternoon. The two to avoid at all costs: the Louvre and the Musée d’Orsay, where the wait often exceeds an hour and a half.

Two details that save time: free entry does not always exempt you from booking a ticket online, and the City of Paris museums — Carnavalet, the Petit Palais — are free all the time, every day of the month.