Paris is hardly short of museums and is a real paradise for art lovers. Not only could you spend weeks hopping between its biggest hitters—namely the Louvre , Musée d'Orsay , and Musée de l'Orangerie —but the city also has an incredible collection of smaller museums and galleries that are less frequented by tourists, yet definitely deserve some love. If, like me, you have a particular soft spot for contemporary art, Gagosian and Perrotin are just two of the many galleries worth visiting in the city, and they're among my favorites to browse on a rainy Parisian day.

Although the city center has countless museums to visit , this autumn, one of the French capital's most exciting cultural openings is happening somewhere you might not immediately think to look: on a small island in the Seine just beyond the city limits.

Île Seguin sits at Boulogne-Billancourt, southwest of central Paris and around a 10-minute walk from the end of Métro line 9.…