A lot has changed since we last visited the Albert Kahn Museum for the blog, in… 2009!

While the gardens are pretty much the same (thankfully – they’re still amazing), the museum itself is completely unrecognisable, with a new retro-futuristic building and a lot more space.

Time to show you the many wonders that await you…

You can’t really miss the Albert Kahn Museum when you come out of the Boulogne – Pont de Saint-Cloud metro station – it’s the huge silver building right in front of you, designed by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma (to be absolutely precise, the entrance is at ///terms.fell.refuses).

The museum’s new building was inaugurated about six months ago after many years of work, and the website says (alas, in French only) that it now covers 4,600 m², half of which is the new building. In all, eight buildings and three traditional Japanese houses have been restored, the new permanent collection is spread over 1,000 m² and 600 m² are allotted for temporary exhibitions.

Plus, there’s the ‘family room’, the new 100-seat auditorium… Suffice to say, the museum has been entirely transformed and looks amazing in its slender new home, with a deliberately dark presentation of the works on show (mostly photos from over a century ago).

Such is the legacy of rich banker Albert Kahn, who sensed at the end of the 19th century that the world was on the brink of radical change, and that the time had come to document what was soon to disappear. Sending photographic teams out across the world, the result is a collection of inestimable value – Les Archives de la Planète – showing a world just prior to the industrial revolution, often in colour thanks to autochromes, the first colour photo system to be produced industriously.

The current temporary exhibition – Autour du Monde (Around The World, which runs until 13th November 2022) – mixes photos from the museum’s archives (including seven never seen before) with views of the world by contemporary photographers.

All the presentation texts are translated into English and there are nearly 400 photos and fourteen films to see. Pace yourself, because seeing everything will take up to two hours.

On the ground floor you’ll find the permanent collection, possibly even darker than the temporary presentation, with 2.000 small images to see (the 9x12cm format is actually the original size of the shots) and a central interactive présentation.

Other small exhibition spaces are nestled in the gardens (La Grange vosgienne, La salle des Plaques…)…

After all that, it’s finally time to explore the jaw-dropping gardens. If you’ve never seen them, you’re in for a treat.

From 1895 onwards, Albert Kahn slowly bought up all the land around his property in order to create a garden unlike any other, with three different forests, a French-style garden, an English garden, a contemporary Japanese garden and even a Japanese village!

It’s an amazing place, absolutely huge, with lots a quiet secret corners, cute little bridges, roses, carp… Again, you’ll need plenty of time to explore.

An incredible garden and an incredible museum – Albert Kahn is one of those places that many people visiting Paris don’t know about. It’s also very reasonably-priced compared to some museums – just 8€ admission, and free for under 26 year-olds! 😃

If you love photography, travel or gardens, get down there and amaze your friends with your photos, just as Albert Kahn did back in the day!

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The Albert Kahn Museum (here) is open every day except Mondays from 11am-6pm (7pm April-September). Last ticket one hour before closing

Late night opening the second Tuesday of each month until 10pm

Admission: 8€ / 5€ / free for under 26 year-olds

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Une publication partagée par Musée départemental Albert-Kahn (@museealbertkahn)