The Musée national de l'histoire de l'immigration
The National Museum of the History of Immigration is much more than a museum. It is a place of memory, dialogue and discovery, where the history of France is told through the lens of migration. Your own story may be part of it, too. Here, visitors do more than simply observe the past: they gain a deeper understanding of how it has shaped our society, discover powerful human stories, and reflect on the challenges and issues of the present day.
Legende
Salle d'exposition du Musée national de l'histoire de l'immigration
Credit
Photo : Anne Volery © Palais de la Porte Dorée, 2024
A museum for understanding France, past and present
Since its opening in 2007 within the Palais de la Porte Dorée, the Musée national de l'histoire de l'immigration (National museum of the history of immigration) has worked to shed light on the journeys, contributions, and challenges linked to immigration in France, from the 17th century to the present day. Its mission is to collect, preserve, showcase, and make accessible to the widest possible audience the history of immigration, in order to acknowledge and recognize its role in France past and present.
With more than 8,000 cultural objects in its collections, it is the only museum in Europe to address this topic in such a comprehensive and multidisciplinary way.
The permanent exhibition : exploring a shared history
Lucile Casanova © Palais de la Porte Dorée
Renovated in June 2023, the museum’s permanent exhibition offers a chronological and immersive journey into the history of immigration in France. Organized around 11 key dates, from 1685 to the present, it highlights major events, migratory flows, and cultural representations that have shaped this history.
Here, you won’t find just dates and statistics. You will walk in the footsteps of those who shaped this history, through life stories, everyday objects, contemporary artworks, and archival documents. Each section of the exhibition addresses a variety of themes : successive migrations, the reception of foreigners, the economy, daily life, culture, art, as well as racism, discrimination, and the legacies of slavery and colonization.
Temporary exhibitions to explore the present
The museum also offers temporary exhibitions that examine contemporary themes through a historical, artistic, and human lens. Through cross-disciplinary perspectives, societal questions, historical highlights, and artist portraits, these exhibitions reveal lesser-known aspects of our history or delve deeper into themes from the permanent exhibition.
These exhibitions are built on in-depth research, exceptional loans, and original creations to provide fresh perspectives on often complex subjects. Among the most recent:
- Migrations & Climate (October 17, 2025 – April 5, 2026) : From Vendée to Mayotte, from the Mekong Delta to the Pacific Islands, this exhibition explores the impact of natural phenomena on human and animal movements.
- Banlieues chéries (April 11 – August 17, 2025) : An intimate look at these unique territories, at the crossroads of art, history, and social dynamics.
- Chaque vie est une histoire (November 8, 2024 – February 9, 2025) : 200 perspectives, artistic, historical, and testimonial, explore memory, invisibility, and anonymity to rediscover faces and reconstruct stories.
- Olympism : A History of the World (April 26 – September 8, 2024) : On the occasion of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, this exhibition traces 130 years of social and political history through crises, struggles, and achievements that have shaped our contemporary world.
These exhibitions offer opportunities to discover untold stories, challenge our preconceptions, and gain a deeper understanding of contemporary issues related to migration, identity, and diversity.
Legende
Banlieues chéries
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Photo : Quentin Chevrier © Palais de la Porte Dorée
Migrations and climate
Cyril Zannettacci © Palais de la Porte Dorée
Rich and diverse collections
The museum is responsible for building, preserving, and presenting a collection that represents the history and cultures of immigration. It safeguards and showcases a unique heritage of over 8,000 documents, videos, contemporary artworks, objects, and testimonies.
The collections are organized into three complementary areas:
- History collection : based on the material traces of the past (archives, photographs, administrative documents, objects, newspapers, posters, etc.).
- Testimonies and society collection : recognizes the importance of personal testimonies in museum storytelling and the national heritage.
- Contemporary art collection : offers a subjective, aesthetic, and emotional interpretation of migration through works by artists of immigrant backgrounds or those inspired by these themes.
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A committed museum open to all
The museum does more than preserve and display. Relying on facts, scientific data, public statistics, and academic research, it aims to challenge preconceived ideas.
It offers tools and initiatives to reach all audiences, with particular attention to school groups (teaching materials, traveling exhibitions, workshops, online resources). The museum positions itself as a key actor in education for citizenship and diversity.
Dedicated spaces for children, interactive trails, and activity booklets also allow younger visitors to explore history in an engaging way.
The museum is also a recognized research center, hosting conferences, publications (such as the journal Mondes & Migrations), and the Abdelmalek Sayad Resource Center, a unique space for documentation on the history and cultures of immigration, alongside academic partnerships.
The Museum and the world
The museum does not operate alone. It sits at the heart of a national and international network, sharing knowledge through traveling exhibitions, artwork loans, and exchanges with other museums. It also works on the ground in partnership with local authorities, associations, and cultural institutions to promote a positive and inclusive vision of migration.