Paris Jewish Paris Jewish Museums & Memorials

The 8 Best Jewish Museums & Memorials in Paris (2026)

Updated November 2026 · 8 picks

The best Jewish museums and memorials in and around Paris in 2026 are the Musée d'art et d'histoire du Judaïsme (MAHJ) in the Marais, the Mémorial de la Shoah nearby, the Drancy memorial at the former internment camp, the Vel d'Hiv memorials in the 15th, and the Maison Zola–Musée Dreyfus in Médan. The Mémorial de la Shoah and Drancy are free.

Paris has the largest Jewish community in Europe and a history that runs from the medieval Jewish quarters to the Dreyfus Affair, the deportations of 1942–44 and the North African arrivals of the 1950s and 60s. The Marais, around rue des Rosiers, is the historic heart, and the MAHJ and the Mémorial de la Shoah are ten minutes apart on foot there. Security is tight at Jewish sites: expect bag checks and bring ID. Note that the Musée Nissim de Camondo, the mansion museum of a Jewish banking family, is closed for renovation, with reopening announced for 2030. For places to pray, see our best synagogues in Paris, and for kosher food, our best kosher restaurants in Paris.

1. Musée d'art et d'histoire du Judaïsme (MAHJ) — Le Marais (3rd)

France's main museum of Jewish art and history, in a 17th-century mansion.

$ Budget

The MAHJ fills the Hôtel de Saint-Aignan in the Marais with the story of Jewish life in France and Europe from the Middle Ages: medieval gravestones from Paris, ritual objects, Italian and North African synagogue art, the archive of the Dreyfus Affair, and works by Chagall, Modigliani, Soutine and other artists of the School of Paris.

Its temporary exhibitions are strong, and the courtyard has a memorial to the residents of the building deported in the war. The museum is due to close at the end of 2027 for a major extension.

Good to know: Visit before the end of 2027; the museum then closes until spring 2030. Allow two hours.

71 Rue du Temple, 75003 Paris

Google Maps Website

2. Mémorial de la Shoah — Le Marais (4th)

France's Holocaust memorial and museum, with the Wall of Names.

The Mémorial de la Shoah is France's main Holocaust museum and documentation center. Outside, the Wall of Names lists the 76,000 Jews deported from France; inside are the permanent exhibition, the crypt with the Tomb of the Unknown Jewish Martyr, and a wall of photographs of deported children.

The Wall of the Righteous, honoring French people who saved Jews, runs along the alley beside it. Entry is free.

Good to know: Closed on Saturdays and Jewish holidays; free guided tours in English are offered on some days.

17 Rue Geoffroy l'Asnier, 75004 Paris

Google Maps Website

3. Mémorial de la Shoah, Drancy — Drancy (Seine-Saint-Denis)

The memorial at the camp through which most Jews deported from France passed.

Drancy, in the northeastern suburbs, was the main internment camp for Jews in France; most of those deported from France passed through it. The U-shaped housing block that served as the camp is still lived in today, and across the road the Mémorial de la Shoah runs a museum telling the camp's story.

A railway wagon and Shelomo Selinger's monument stand in front of the buildings. Entry is free.

Good to know: Check opening days before going; reach it by RER B to Le Bourget and a bus, or by taxi.

110-112 Avenue Jean Jaurès, 93700 Drancy

Google Maps Website

4. Vel d'Hiv Memorials — Quai de Grenelle (15th)

The memorials to the 1942 roundup, near the site of the Vélodrome d'Hiver.

The Vélodrome d'Hiver, the indoor cycling stadium where thousands of Jews were held after the roundup of July 16–17, 1942, was demolished in 1959. A monument on the Quai de Grenelle and a plaque on Boulevard de Grenelle mark the site, and a memorial garden nearby honors the children who were deported.

A national ceremony is held here every July. It is a short walk from the Eiffel Tower and the Bir-Hakeim Métro.

Good to know: Take Métro line 6 to Bir-Hakeim; the monument is on the riverside by the station.

Place des Martyrs Juifs du Vélodrome d'Hiver, 75015 Paris

Google Maps

5. Mémorial des Martyrs de la Déportation — Île de la Cité (4th)

A stark underground memorial to the 200,000 deported from France, behind Notre-Dame.

At the eastern tip of the Île de la Cité, behind Notre-Dame, this memorial by architect Georges-Henri Pingusson descends below street level to a narrow opening onto the Seine and a crypt lined with tiny lights for the deportees.

It commemorates all those deported from France to Nazi camps, including Jews, resistance fighters and others. It is free and very affecting.

Good to know: Combine with the Marais and the Mémorial de la Shoah across the river.

Square de l'Île-de-France, 75004 Paris

Google Maps

6. The Pletzl (Rue des Rosiers) — Le Marais (4th)

Paris's historic Jewish quarter, still lined with kosher bakeries and falafel shops.

The Pletzl — Yiddish for 'little square' — is the Jewish quarter of the Marais around rue des Rosiers, rue des Écouffes and rue Pavée, settled by Eastern European Jews in the late 19th century. Plaques on the schools record children deported in the war.

Walk it for the Guimard synagogue on rue Pavée, the bakeries, the falafel queues and the bookshops; many shops close on Saturdays.

Good to know: Come on a Sunday or weekday; much of the street is shut for Shabbat.

Rue des Rosiers, 75004 Paris

Google Maps

7. Maison Zola – Musée Dreyfus — Médan (Yvelines)

Émile Zola's country house, now with a museum of the Dreyfus Affair.

$ Budget

Émile Zola's house at Médan, on the Seine west of Paris, has been restored alongside a museum devoted to the Dreyfus Affair, in which Zola's 'J'accuse…!' defended Captain Alfred Dreyfus, a Jewish officer wrongly convicted of treason.

It is the best place to understand the affair that divided France, and a pleasant half-day out of Paris.

Good to know: Visits are seasonal and often by booking; check the site before you go.

26 Rue Pasteur, 78670 Médan

Google Maps Website

8. Mémorial de l'Internement et de la Déportation, Compiègne — Compiègne (Oise)

The Royallieu camp, from which the first convoy of Jews left France in 1942.

$ Budget

The Royallieu camp at Compiègne held resistance fighters, political prisoners and Jews, and the first convoy of Jews deported from France left from here in March 1942. The memorial in the surviving buildings tells the camp's story.

It pairs with a visit to Compiègne's château and forest, about an hour from Paris.

Good to know: Take the train from Paris Gare du Nord to Compiègne and a short taxi or walk.

2bis Avenue des Martyrs de la Liberté, 60200 Compiègne

Google Maps Website

Frequently asked questions

What is the best Jewish museum in Paris?

The Musée d'art et d'histoire du Judaïsme (MAHJ) in the Marais, in the Hôtel de Saint-Aignan, covers Jewish history and art in France and Europe from the Middle Ages, including the Dreyfus Affair. It is open now but is due to close at the end of 2027 for an extension, reopening in spring 2030.

Is the Mémorial de la Shoah free?

Yes. Entry to the Mémorial de la Shoah in the Marais and to its memorial at Drancy is free. The Paris memorial is closed on Saturdays and Jewish holidays; check its site for hours.

Is the Musée Nissim de Camondo open?

No. It closed for renovation in August 2024, and its reopening has been announced for 2030.

Where is the Jewish quarter in Paris?

The Pletzl, in the Marais around rue des Rosiers, rue des Écouffes and rue Pavée (4th arrondissement). It has kosher bakeries, falafel shops, bookshops and the Art Nouveau Agoudas Hakehilos synagogue by Hector Guimard.

What was the Vel d'Hiv roundup?

On July 16 and 17, 1942, French police arrested about 13,000 Jews in Paris, including some 4,000 children, and held many of them in the Vélodrome d'Hiver cycling stadium before deporting them via Drancy to Auschwitz. A memorial stands near the stadium's former site on the Quai de Grenelle.

1. Musée d'art et d'histoire du Judaïsme (MAHJ) — Le Marais (3rd)

2. Mémorial de la Shoah — Le Marais (4th)

3. Mémorial de la Shoah, Drancy — Drancy (Seine-Saint-Denis)

4. Vel d'Hiv Memorials — Quai de Grenelle (15th)

5. Mémorial des Martyrs de la Déportation — Île de la Cité (4th)

6. The Pletzl (Rue des Rosiers) — Le Marais (4th)

7. Maison Zola – Musée Dreyfus — Médan (Yvelines)

8. Mémorial de l'Internement et de la Déportation, Compiègne — Compiègne (Oise)

Frequently asked questions

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