The Grand Palais, Paris, France has thrown open its monumental glass doors once more. After four years of scaffolding, the Beaux-Arts landmark returns with a gleaming 35-meter-high skylight, free public entry to its nave and a program of boldly eclectic exhibits. The project's €466 million overhaul, completed on June 20 2025, signals a new era for one of the city's most historic yet overlooked venues. For travelers planning a Paris stop, the renovated palace promises fresh reasons to linger on the Right Bank.
Key Points
- €466 million, four-year restoration completed June 20 2025
- 35 m glass roof crowns a 17,500 sq m nave, now free to enter
- Eight opening exhibits span art, design and immersive installations
- Why it matters: landmark aims to rival the Eiffel Tower in visitor draw
- Chairman Didier Fusillier targets 5 million annual visitors by 2027
Grand Palais, Paris, France Snapshot
Opened for the 1900 Universal Exhibition, the Grand Palais, Paris, France is once again an architectural showstopper. Measuring 72,000 sq m-larger than both the Louvre and Versailles-it now pairs its iron-and-glass grandeur with modern visitor comforts: accessible ramps, energy-efficient climate control and bilingual signage. Free access to the main hall breaks with past ticket-only policies, inviting passers-by to stroll beneath the vaulted skylight that once ranked second only to London's Crystal Palace. The palace's inaugural roster mixes ticketed and complimentary experiences, with prices capped at €17 to keep culture within reach.
How a Century-Old Icon Got Its Second Wind
The current Grand Palais renovation began in 2021 after decades of patch-and-paint fixes proved inadequate. Engineers replaced 6,300 roof panes, reinforced trusses that had sagged dangerously and cleaned more than a mile of stone balustrades. Work crews raced the clock to reopen parts of the building for fencing and taekwondo during the Paris 2024 Olympics, then sealed the site again to finish galleries, boutiques and cafés. Throughout, the public decamped to the Grand Palais Éphémère pop-up on the Champ de Mars-evidence of the landmark's draw even in exile. Now, with the Champs Élysées district eyeing its own facelift, civic leaders see the restored palace as a keystone for Right-Bank revival.
Inside the Reopening: Glass, Art and Big Ambitions
Friday, June 20, 2025 marked the palace's full reopening, hailed by chairman Didier Fusillier as the moment Paris regains "the world's best glass roof." Visitors entering from Avenue Winston-Churchill walk straight into Ernesto Neto's fragrant "Nosso Barco Tambor Terra," woven from cotton, bark and spices. Nearby, Mohamed El Khatib's fleet of battered Renault 12s evokes migrant road trips across France's colonial past. Balloon sculptures tower beside a retrospective of Niki de Saint Phalle and Jean Tinguely, while Danish tapestries and an art brut survey round out eight very different shows. Crucially, the Grand Palais, Paris, France lets travelers sample several exhibits free before deciding whether to buy tickets.
The palace wants to welcome five million guests a year-roughly half of the Eiffel Tower's footfall. To get there, managers have extended late-night hours, added pop-up food stalls and promised rotating "fun" displays meant to counter what Fusillier calls France's "culture of miserabilism." Behind the scenes, gains are just as dramatic: a new geothermal plant cuts carbon output by 40 percent, while smart-glass louvers keep temperatures stable without hiding the sky. The overhaul puts safety first too. In the 1990s a falling rivet nearly doomed the building; today, sensors monitor every beam in real time.
Car shows, boxing matches and even a World War I military hospital once filled this space. The latest chapter leans into that eclectic DNA-"everything possible at the same time," says Fusillier. By spring 2026, curators plan a digital art festival and an equestrian gala beneath the glass vault, underscoring the venue's new flexibility. Travelers eager to map out a visit can check schedules on the Official Grand Palais site, while our Paris Travel Guide offers neighborhood tips.
Analysis
For U.S. travelers, the rebirth of the Grand Palais, Paris, France rewrites the cultural itinerary. Louvre fatigue is real, and crowds at the Eiffel Tower grow each summer. The palace provides a spacious, climate-controlled alternative with changing content and no mandatory entry fee. Its central location-steps from the Seine and a pleasant walk to Place de la Concorde-makes it an easy addition to a first-time or repeat Paris trip. Budget visitors benefit most: wandering the nave costs nothing, and paid exhibits stay well below blockbuster museum prices.
The renovation also enhances Paris's year-round event calendar. Fashion Weeks regain their historic runway, art fairs gain a dramatic stage and Olympic legacy investments show tangible payoff. Travelers focused on architecture will appreciate interpretive panels explaining how the iron lattice distributes weight-knowledge rarely shared when the palace was a pure event hall. Meanwhile, sustainability upgrades dovetail with rising eco-consciousness among U.S. tourists deciding where to spend their dollars.
Final Thoughts
The Grand Palais, Paris, France is back-and bigger than memory. Its Crystal vault, eclectic programming and free entry reset the city's cultural pecking order. Expect lines on weekends; visit early or book timed exhibit tickets online. Pair the palace with a stroll down the Champs Élysées to watch urban renewal in motion. Pack a light jacket-the glass nave is bright yet breezy-and leave time to linger under what may now be Paris's most dazzling ceiling.
