Petit Palais

Standing in front of the Petit Palais, you're looking at a building born from a spectacular underdog story. When the city of Paris announced a competition for the 1900 Exposition Universelle, architect Charles Girault submitted his design alongside 250 others. He finished fourth. And yet, somehow, the commission was handed to him anyway. What you see today is the work of a man who technically shouldn't have built it at all.

Step inside and you'll immediately notice the mosaic-tiled floors, the painted murals stretching across the entrance hall, and the monumental ceiling works by Cormon and Roll. Albert Besnard's Mysticism greets you as you enter, a swirling vision that sets the tone perfectly.

But the real surprise is what lies at the heart of the building. The entire structure wraps around a hidden garden courtyard, a quiet half-circle of arcades, reflecting pools, and greenery tucked completely out of sight from the street. Check the photo included here, because it really is worth seeing before you walk through.

And all of this is completely free. As a city museum of Paris, the permanent collection costs nothing, and yet it holds Rembrandt, Monet, Cézanne, Rubens, and Modigliani under one roof.