Musée de l'Homme (Museum of Mankind)

Updated on September 30, 2026

Housed in the Passy wing of the Palais de Chaillot, facing the Eiffel Tower, the Musée de l'Homme tells the story of the human species, from its origins to its future. Part of the National Museum of Natural History, it brings together biology, prehistory and anthropology. The museum reopened in 2015 after six years of renovation. Its permanent exhibition, the Galerie de l'Homme, is organised around three questions: Who are we? Where do we come from? Where are we going?

Highlights

The Galerie de l'Homme and its busts

The first section of the route asks what makes the human species both unique and diverse. A wall of 91 plaster and bronze busts, 19 metres long and 11 metres high, shows how 19th-century scholars tried to depict the peoples of the world. Anatomical casts and wax models complete this section.

The Venus of Lespugue

Carved from mammoth ivory about 25,000 years ago, this 15 cm statuette was discovered in 1922 in the Haute-Garonne department. It is one of the best-known female figurines of the Upper Palaeolithic. It is displayed in the "Where do we come from?" section, alongside other masterpieces of prehistoric art.

The La Madeleine mammoth plaque

Discovered in 1864 in the La Madeleine rock shelter in the Dordogne, this piece of mammoth ivory is engraved with a mammoth. It helped prove that humans lived at the same time as this extinct animal. It is shown close to the Venus of Lespugue.

Infos pratiques

Tips

A full-price ticket costs €15 and a reduced ticket €12 (prices checked in September 2026); it covers both the permanent collection and the temporary exhibitions. Entry is free for everyone under 26, whether or not they live in the European Union, on presentation of proof of age. The museum is closed on Tuesdays and on 1 January, 1 May, 14 July and 25 December. Until 3 January 2027, the temporary exhibition "Les grands âges" is on show at the museum.

How to get there

Entrance: 17 place du Trocadéro, 75016 Paris Metro Trocadéro (lines 6 and 9), exit 6 "Avenue Paul Doumer – Musée de l'Homme" Bus 22, 30, 32 and 63 (Trocadéro stop), 72 (Pont d'Iéna stop)