The top exhibitions to catch in France in 2026

May 8, 2025 to February 2, 2027

For its 15th anniversary, the Centre Pompidou-Metz is thinking big. From rarely seen pieces to icons such as the wall of André Breton's studio and Marcel Duchamp's chess table, the entire diversity of the Centre Pompidou collection is on display in the Grande Nef and the museum's galleries through an alphabetical list of 27 sections combining humor, commitment, and imagination. Adding to the exhibition are the facetious works of Maurizio Cattelan, from the famous banana taped to the wall (Comedian) to the huge cat skeleton (Felix), inviting visitors to explore a world where art challenges certainties and reinvents Sunday as a space of freedom.

Visit the Centre Pompidou-Metz in Lorraine 

14 February – 7 December 2026

For the very first time, the Louvre-Lens brings together around twenty paintings and sculptures that are usually scattered throughout the Comédie-Française in Paris. Portraits of Sarah Bernhardt, Jeanne Samary and Adrienne Lecouvreur, captured on stage or in character, tell the story of the “House of Molière”. Founded in 1680, it’s now the oldest theatre company still treading the boards. Staged in a theatre-inspired setting, the exhibition raises the curtain on a little-known heritage and brings back to life the great figures who shaped the French stage.

Visit the Louvre-Lens in Hauts-de-France

11 June 2026 – 10 January 2027

Through an exceptional selection of masterpieces on loan from the Louvre, this exhibition shows how images and works of art were woven into every aspect of Roman life. Gladiator helmets, marble statues, mosaics, jewellery and fine tableware were used for decoration, but also to honour the gods, show off one’s status or keep alive the memory of a loved one. By returning these pieces to their original context, the exhibition invites you to see them in a new light. They’re not just museum pieces, but living witnesses to the beliefs, power and everyday life of the Roman Empire.

Visit the Musée de la Romanité in Nîmes, Occitanie

10 July 2026 – 3 January 2027

Thanks in part to loans from the Centre Pompidou, the CCC OD brings together eight contemporary artists whose works take Alexander Calder’s explorations of movement, balance and gravity in new directions. Sculptures, installations and plays of light transform the space as you go. The works shift and change depending on where you stand and how you move. In the nave, a monumental piece by Marc Fornes rounds off this journey into the invisible forces that shape how we see the world.

Visit the Centre de création contemporaine Olivier Debré in Tours, Loire Valley

From May 8, 2026, to April 25, 2027

Château Borély, home to the Museum of Decorative Arts, Ceramics, and Fashion, highlights an essential chapter in Marseille's creative history, where the floral elegance of Art Nouveau meets the modernist lines of Art Deco. Nearly 180 works, on loan from major French institutions and from rarely seen local collections, reveal the richness of an artistic heritage that is still little known. This exhibition offers visitors from around the world a spectacular immersion into the creative effervescence that shaped the style of Marseille at the turn of the 20th century.

Visit Château Borély in Marseille, Provence

Suzanne Valadon at the Centre Pompidou, Pablo Picasso at the Atelier des Lumières, Niki de Saint Phalle at the Grand Palais, Pierre Bonnard at the Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris and David Hockney at the Fondation Louis Vuitton. Discover our selection of not-to-be-missed exhibitions in Paris museums and digital art centres.