Institut Culturel Suedois sur Paris

Not really keen to share this little corner, which is as intimate as can be.

Quiet place with a garden and a café serving Swedish food. Free access and restroom.

The programming is generally interesting and there is a very pleasant garden where you can simply relax for a while, not forgetting the courtyard with a cafe where you can enjoy fika.

An interesting art exhibition featuring the painter Olle Baertling and other artists like Brooklyn Soumahoro (a superb discovery for us), very well presented by the commentary of a captivating cultural mediator (sorry we didn't ask your name). The small permanent collection contains some gems (on relations with the Sami, about which the 18th-century French were very curious, Montgolfier's experiments, the economic crash of 1720) and, of course, Franco-Swedish relations.

Great, it's free, the staff are friendly, and there's a tea room where you can enjoy Swedish pastries.

🇸🇪 Swedish Institute: When Stockholm meets the Marais and art seduces us 🇸🇪 Head to the iconic Swedish Institute and what an elegant interlude in the heart of Paris ✨ At the reception desk, a calm, composed, and warm woman. The security guard is very pleasant. A delicate, almost minimalist introduction, like Scandinavian design itself... 🎨 Exhibition: Open Forms: Immerse yourself in nearly thirty years of work by Olle Bærtling, a major figure in abstraction, presented in dialogue with seven international contemporary artists. Here, geometry never closes: it surges forth, overflows, breathes. Bærtling rejected closed forms; his triangles seem to flee the frame as if they want to pass through the walls. The exhibition questions abstraction today: is it still a universal language? Can it still move us? Personal answer: yes. Absolutely 💯 Vibrant colors, lines stretching to infinity, perpetual motion. Nothing is static. Everything is alive. You don't just look at the artwork, you almost walk through it. My favorite scene? “The Wonderful World of Abstraction” (2026, ribbons and metal): playful, immersive, almost magical. I rediscovered my inner child, and that… that's priceless 🤩 The first floor, bathed in a nocturnal atmosphere, added an almost mysterious touch. The art there seemed suspended in time. 🕯️ Permanent Exhibition: A New World A change of era, heading to the 18th century. Paintings, drawings, sculptures: a fascinating dialogue between France and Sweden during the Age of Enlightenment. Here, we explore: – the birth of the modern figure of the artist – the tensions between progress and catastrophe – the fascination with Antiquity – the perspective on the North It's intelligent, historical, and structured, but never stuffy. The past engages in a dialogue with the present with rare elegance. In short: ⬇️ A refined, cultured, and accessible space. Two different yet complementary exhibitions. A true artistic journey from the 18th century to contemporary abstraction. The Swedish Institute doesn't just exhibit: it connects, it illuminates, it opens doors. And as they say in Swedish: “Lagom är bäst” (translation 🇫🇷: balance is best). Here, the balance between modernity, history, and emotion is perfectly achieved...

Excellent experience, highly recommended, very clean and professional

Cool free museum and a cozy cafe with great coffee. Lovely atmosphere. Crowded at times, but that's not their fault! Just come early

Nice cafe. Expect a bit of a queue on weekends.

Excellent, quiet and beautiful place