Institut du Monde Arabe & the Paris Museum Pass 2026

Last updated: February 2026 · Prices and details verified

Is the Institut du Monde Arabe included in the Paris Museum Pass?

Yes — the Paris Museum Pass covers full entry to the Institut du Monde Arabe museum, saving you €12 per person. No reservation required — walk in Tuesday to Sunday during opening hours. Note: the rooftop terrace is free to access without a museum ticket.

Is Institut du Monde Arabe Included in the Paris Museum Pass?

The pass covers the permanent museum collection across floors 2–7: 7,000 years of Arab civilisation from pre-Islamic antiquity through medieval Islamic art to contemporary Arab culture. Temporary exhibitions may require a separate supplement — check imarabe.org before your visit.

No reservation required. No reservation required. Walk in at the museum entrance on Rue des Fossés Saint-Bernard, Tuesday to Sunday. The Institut du Monde Arabe is one of the most relaxed entry experiences on the entire pass — rarely crowded, no queues, no booking required.

Note: The rooftop terrace (9th floor) is free to access without a museum ticket — spectacular views over Notre-Dame, the Île Saint-Louis, and the Seine. Access via the museum lifts during opening hours or separately from the main building entrance. The building’s southern facade is covered in 240 traditional mashrabiyya light screens — geometric metallic panels that open and close like camera apertures to regulate sunlight. Worth examining up close from outside.

What to See — Collection Highlights

The Institut du Monde Arabe was founded in 1987 by France and the Arab League states to promote Arab culture and dialogue. The building by Jean Nouvel is considered one of the great works of late 20th-century architecture — its southern facade of light-regulating metal screens won the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 1989.

Highlight 1
The permanent collection — 560 works tracing Arab civilisation from pre-Islamic antiquity (ceramics, bronzes, manuscripts) through the Islamic golden age to contemporary Arab art, across 6 dedicated floors

Highlight 2
The building’s southern facade — 240 geometric metallic mashrabiyya panels that open and close automatically to regulate the penetration of sunlight, creating a constantly changing pattern of light inside the galleries

Highlight 3
The rooftop terrace — 9th-floor panoramic views over Notre-Dame, the Île Saint-Louis, the Seine, and the Left Bank skyline; free to access without a museum ticket

Suggested Itinerary — 1.5 Hours

Start with the museum collection (floors 2–7), then end on the rooftop terrace. The collection reads chronologically from the earliest floors upward.

10:00am

Pre-Islamic and early Islamic collections (floors 2–4)

The lower floors cover 7,000 years of Arab civilisation before and during the early Islamic period — ceramics, glass, bronzes, coins, and calligraphy from the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, and the Levant. Allow 30 minutes.

10:30am

Medieval Islamic art and scientific instruments (floors 5–6)

The Islamic golden age: astronomical instruments, illuminated manuscripts, textiles, metalwork, and ceramics from the Abbasid, Fatimid, and Mamluk periods. The astrolabes and celestial globes are extraordinary. Allow 30 minutes.

11:00am

Contemporary Arab art and rooftop terrace (floors 7–9)

Contemporary paintings, sculpture, and photography from the modern Arab world. Then take the lift to the 9th-floor rooftop terrace — views over Notre-Dame and the Seine. Allow 30 minutes including the terrace.

Practical Tips

Tip 1

The rooftop terrace (9th floor) is free — you don’t need a museum ticket to access it. Take the lift from the ground floor foyer. The view over Notre-Dame and the Île Saint-Louis is one of the best in the Latin Quarter and costs nothing.

Tip 2

Stand outside the southern facade and watch the mashrabiyya panels — on a bright day, the geometric metal apertures visibly adjust to the sunlight, opening and closing like camera diaphragms. It is one of the most remarkable facades in Paris.

Tip 3

The IMA is 12 minutes walk from Notre-Dame and 8 minutes from the Panthéon — a natural addition to a Latin Quarter museum day. All three are pass-covered.

Getting There

Institut du Monde Arabe — Fast Facts

Address	1 Rue des Fossés Saint-Bernard, 75005 Paris
Nearest Metro	Jussieu (Metro 7) — 5 min walk · Cardinal Lemoine (Metro 10) — 5 min walk (Metro 7, 10)
RER	RER C — Saint-Michel–Notre-Dame — 10 min walk
Bus lines	24, 63, 67, 86, 87, 89
Opening hours	Tuesday–Friday 10am–6pm · Saturday–Sunday 10am–7pm · Closed Monday · Closed 1 January, 1 May, 25 December
Closed	Mondays, 1 January, 1 May, 25 December
Individual ticket	€12 (2026)
With Museum Pass	Free — included
Timed slot required	Not required
Book at	imarabe.org/en/practical-information/admission
Walking note	12 min walk to Notre-Dame; 8 min walk to Panthéon; 10 min walk to Musée de Cluny

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Frequently Asked Questions

Yes — the pass covers full entry to the permanent museum collection at the Institut du Monde Arabe, saving €12 per person. No reservation required. Note that temporary exhibitions may require a supplement — check imarabe.org before your visit.

Yes — the 9th-floor rooftop terrace is free to access without a museum ticket. Take the lift from the ground floor foyer during opening hours. The terrace offers panoramic views over Notre-Dame, the Île Saint-Louis, the Seine, and the Left Bank. It is one of the most spectacular free viewpoints in Paris.

The building was designed by a team led by Jean Nouvel and completed in 1987. The southern facade is its most celebrated feature: 240 traditional Arabic mashrabiyya light screens reproduced in high-precision metalwork, each containing multiple geometric apertures that open and close automatically (like camera diaphragms) to regulate the penetration of sunlight. The building won the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 1989 and is considered one of the great works of late 20th-century French architecture.

The collection traces Arab civilisation across 7,000 years — from pre-Islamic Arabian ceramics through the Islamic golden age (Abbasid, Fatimid, Mamluk periods) to contemporary Arab art. Highlights include extraordinary astronomical instruments, illuminated manuscripts, medieval metalwork, and a significant contemporary art gallery. The exhibition language is primarily French, with some English descriptions on larger panels.

No — it is one of the most relaxed pass venues in Paris. Rarely crowded, no queues, no advance booking required. Walk in at any time during opening hours. This makes it particularly valuable as a spontaneous addition to a Latin Quarter day when other venues feel overwhelming.

The IMA is ideally positioned for a Latin Quarter day. Notre-Dame Cathedral is 12 minutes walk (tower climb €15, pass-covered, reservation required). The Panthéon is 8 minutes walk (pass-covered, no reservation). The Musée de Cluny is 10 minutes walk (pass-covered, no reservation). The Seine riverbank walk toward the Île Saint-Louis is directly outside.