Art Basel Paris opens its doors this week, and the fair is already under way for some. The gallery preview, called the Avant-Première, starts on 20 October. The Vernissage is on Thursday 22 October and the public days run from 23 to 25 October at the Grand Palais. This guide covers the Paris schedule and passes as Art Basel publishes them, then the practical side of the week, and then what comes after: Miami Beach in December and the 2027 calendar.
We do not sell Art Basel passes. They are sold by Art Basel, and we say how below. What we arrange is everything around the fair: cars, tables and rooms.
The Paris schedule
The fair is at the Grand Palais, Avenue Winston Churchill, in the 8th arrondissement. Per Art Basel’s 2026 press dossier, the days are:
- Avant-Première: from 20 October, a gallery preview.
- Preview, by invitation only: Wednesday 21 October, 10am to 8pm, and Thursday 22 October, 11am to 2pm.
- Vernissage: Thursday 22 October, 2pm to 8pm, for Vernissage ticket holders or invitees.
- Public days: Friday 23 to Sunday 25 October, 11am to 7pm daily.
Art Basel lists 211 galleries from 41 countries and regions. Most are in the main Galeries sector (183). Emergence has 16 solo booths on the Grand Palais balconies, and Premise has 12 galleries, now in the larger Salon Seine. A programme called Oh La La! has galleries presenting new works at their booths on the Friday and Saturday. Free public panels run in the Grand Palais Auditorium on 22, 23 and 24 October.
Passes and how to buy
Tickets are sold by Art Basel through its own ticket shop, linked from artbasel.com/paris. Buy there. Art Basel also publishes a scam alert page, which is worth reading if a stranger offers you a pass. The prices below are Art Basel’s own, as listed on 16 October 2026:
- Day ticket, €47, for one of the public days.
- Reduced ticket, €30, for students, under-26s and eligible Louvre card holders, with proof.
- Evening ticket, €40, Friday 23 October, 5pm to 7pm.
- Vernissage ticket, €120, Thursday 22 October, 2pm to 8pm, with a complimentary drink.
- Permanent ticket, €130, all public days.
- Permanent+ ticket, €220, the Vernissage plus all public days.
There are also two premium tiers, the Premium Pass and the Premium Connection Pass, which carry VIP benefits. The press dossier does not print their prices and we have not been able to confirm them on an official page, so check the ticket shop. The Premium Connection programme lists a private studio visit with Jean-Michel Othoniel on 23 October, a conversation with Audemars Piguet on 24 October and a private night tour of the fair on 24 October. It also includes complimentary entry to the Bourse de Commerce (22 to 25 October) and to Design Miami Paris. We have not confirmed whether these are sold out.
Two things worth understanding. The Vernissage ticket gets you in on the Thursday afternoon, but the invitation-only preview comes before it. We explain how that works, and why no pass obliges a gallery to sell you a work, in how Basel, Frieze and 1-54 really work. And a gallery relationship is what gets you the work, not a ticket. If you are weighing a purchase rather than just attending, our art advisory page sets out how we can help.
Beyond the Grand Palais
Art Basel’s public programme spans nine venues across Paris, most open from 20 to 25 October. Tracey Emin’s sculptures on the Parvis des Droits de l’Homme run from 14 October to 1 November. Alice Diop’s Geste de Consolation is at the Palais d’Iéna from 21 to 25 October. Kennedy Yanko’s show at the Cité de l’architecture et du patrimoine runs until 3 January 2027.
Design Miami Paris is at L’hôtel de Maisons, 21 to 25 October, 11am to 7pm (Sunday until 6pm), per Design Miami’s website. Many Paris galleries open exhibitions during fair week; Art Basel names Gagosian’s Lee Krasner show (19 October to 18 December) and Galerie Poggi (21 October to 28 November). Those shows outlast the fair, which is useful if you are reading this after the weekend.
Where to stay
We do not recommend a single hotel for the fair, because the right one depends on how you will spend the days. By neighbourhood:
- The 8th, around the Golden Triangle and the Champs-Élysées. Closest to the Grand Palais, so you can walk to the fair. Best if you want the shortest day and the easiest return between the preview and dinner.
- The 1st, around the Tuileries and Place Vendôme. A short drive along the river, with the Louvre and the Bourse de Commerce within reach on foot or by a short car ride.
- The 7th and Saint-Germain. Quieter evenings on the Left Bank and a good base for galleries and dinner, at the cost of a car to the fair.
Fair-week rooms tighten across all three, so decide early. If you want a suite booked through a hotel we know well, say so when you message us; we place guests in hotels we book with, not in a single appointed property.
How to spend the days
A workable plan for a first visit is one long day at the fair and two shorter ones. Use the first for a slow walk through the main sector without stopping to talk. Go back the next day to the booths that held you, and keep the third for the city programme and the shows that outlast the fair. Eat lunch away from the Grand Palais if you can; a thirty-minute break outside makes the afternoon far better. If you are attending with a spouse or colleagues who do not share your interest, the public programme and Design Miami Paris give them something to do that is not a queue.
Dinner, cars and the days themselves
Fair week fills restaurants in a way a normal October does not. The Vernissage, galleries’ own dinners and the weekend all draw on the same short list of tables, so a booking made on the day is a gamble. Lunch near the fair is easier than dinner. If you have a gallery dinner, tell us the time and place and we will build the rest of the evening around it. For a wider list of Paris rooms, see our Paris guide and the Paris dinner and nightlife notes, or ask for a table through restaurant booking.
Cars matter more than people expect. The Grand Palais is a security-controlled building with a limited drop-off, and Paris traffic around it is slower in fair week. Allow extra time, agree a pick-up point with the driver in advance, and keep the same driver for the preview, the Vernissage and dinner so that nobody has to explain the day twice. Our Paris concierge arranges drivers by the day.
After Paris: Miami Beach and 2027
If you miss Paris or want the next one, Art Basel Miami Beach is on 4 to 6 December 2026, per artbasel.com. The page gives dates and says tickets are sold through the official online shop, with limited availability. It does not yet list the preview days, pass prices or venue, so we are not going to guess them; check the ticket shop when they appear. The usual advice holds: decide early whether you need the preview, because that decision drives hotels and flights. Our Miami in winter guide covers the fair week and the season around it.
The 2027 calendar, per Art Basel: Qatar on 28 to 30 January 2027, Hong Kong on 25 to 27 March 2027, and Basel on 17 to 20 June 2027.
If you want a driver, a table or a room arranged around any of them, message our WhatsApp concierge with your dates and what you are attending.