One of the world’s great film archives — in Frank Gehry’s striking Bercy building, with the Méliès Museum, 40,000 films, and daily screenings.
Individual ticket
€8
With Museum Pass
Included
Timed slot
Not required
Open
Mon, Wed–Sun
Hours
Mon, Wed–Fri 12–7pm · Sat–Sun 11am–8pm
Last updated: February 2026 · Prices and details verified
Is the Cinémathèque Française included in the Paris Museum Pass?
Yes — the Paris Museum Pass covers entry to the Cinémathèque Française museum (including the Méliès Museum), saving you €8 per person. No reservation required for the museum — walk in during opening hours. Film screenings require separate tickets.
About Cinémathèque Française
The Cinémathèque Française was founded in 1936 by Henri Langlois and Georges Franju to preserve and show cinema from around the world. It moved to its current Frank Gehry building in Bercy in 2005. Today it holds 40,000 films, 5,000 film-related objects, and runs around 1,300 film screenings per year — one of the great specialist cultural institutions in Paris.
The pass covers the Musée Méliès — 800 square metres dedicated to Georges Méliès, the pioneer of special effects and science fiction film, with over 300 machines, costumes, posters, and models, plus virtual reality experiences and Méliès’s own films. Film screenings, temporary exhibitions, and conferences require separate tickets.
No reservation required. No reservation required for the museum. Walk in at 51 Rue de Bercy any day except Tuesday. Note the unusual opening hours: the museum opens at noon on weekdays; 11am on weekends.
Note: Film screenings are separate from the museum and not included in the Museum Pass — individual film tickets cost €7–12. The Cinémathèque screens around 40 films per week across multiple screens, covering everything from silent classics to world cinema rarities. Check the programme at cinematheque.fr. The Café Lola in the building is open from 9am and accessible without a museum ticket.
Practical Tips
Tip 1
Check the film screening programme at cinematheque.fr before your visit — the Cinémathèque screens extraordinary rarities and retrospectives that you will not see elsewhere. Screenings cost €7–12 separately from your pass.
Tip 2
The Bercy neighbourhood is pleasant for a stroll after the museum — Parc de Bercy (free) is immediately behind the building, and the Cour Saint-Émilion wine warehouse complex is 10 minutes walk with good restaurants.
Cinémathèque Française — Fast Facts
Address
51 Rue de Bercy, 75012 Paris
Nearest Metro
Bercy (Metro 6 & 14) — 3 min walk
Bus
24, 64, 87
Opening hours
Monday, Wednesday–Friday 12pm–7pm · Saturday–Sunday 11am–8pm · Closed Tuesday, 1 January, 1 May, 25 December
Closed
Tuesdays, 1 January, 1 May, 25 December
Individual ticket
€8 (2026)
With Museum Pass
Free — included
Reservation
Not required
Ready to Visit Cinémathèque Française?
€8 entry included with the Museum Pass. Plus 50+ more venues across Paris.
Yes — the pass covers entry to the Cinémathèque Française museum, specifically the Musée Méliès, saving €8 per person. Film screenings, temporary exhibitions, and events require separate tickets. No reservation required for the museum.
Georges Méliès (1861–1938) was a French filmmaker and illusionist who is widely credited as the inventor of narrative cinema and special effects. His 1902 film A Trip to the Moon (Le Voyage dans la Lune) — featuring the iconic image of a rocket landing in the Moon’s eye — was the first science fiction film. He pioneered stop-motion, double exposure, time-lapse, and dissolve techniques. The Méliès Museum in the Cinémathèque is the most comprehensive collection of his surviving materials.
The Cinémathèque screens approximately 40 films per week across multiple programmes: retrospectives of directors, national cinema cycles, silent film with live music, and screenings of recently restored prints. Programmes change weekly. Film tickets cost €7–12 separately from your Museum Pass. Check cinematheque.fr for the current programme — it is one of the most adventurous film programming institutions in the world.
