Grand Palais

From Paris Hotels Reviews

The 45-metre-high glass cupola of the Grand Palais (www.grandpalais.fr; M° Champs-Elysées-Clemenceau) can be seen from most of the city's viewpoints and forms the certrepiece of the nef (nave), a huge, impressive exhibition space, whose glass and steel ceiling allows light to flood the interior. The nave has just emerged from a lengthy restoration project – it was hastily closed in 1993 when a metal rivet fell 35m from the ceiling. The glass of the dome – covering some 15,000 square metres – has been entirely replaced and the steel supports given a fresh coat of sea-green paint. Renovation work on the exterior is ongoing, but the palais has now all but resumed its role as the city's premier special events venue, hosting music festivals and art exhibitions, as well as trade fairs and fashion shows.

In the west wing of the building is the Galeries Nationales (Mon & Wed-Sun 10am-8pm, till 10pm on Wed; €10; www.rmn.fr/galeriesnationalesdugrandpalais) one of the city's major exhibition spaces and well known for its blockbuster shows, such as the Courbet retrospective in 2007.

The Grand Palais's eastern wing houses the Palais de la Decouverte (Tues-Sat 9:30am-6pm, Sun & hols 10am-7pm; € 7, combined ticket with planetarium €10.50; www.palais-decouverte.fr), Paris's original science museum, which was opened in the late 1930s. Although it can't really compete, it's been brightened up considerably since the Cité des Sciences came on the scene and has plenty of interactive exhibits, some engaging temporary exhibitions on subjects such as climate change and the Brazillian rainforest, as well as an excellent planetarium.