Art Basel Paris returns to the Grand Palais October 23–25 for its fifth edition, with 211 galleries from 41 countries and regions. But the bigger story this year is how much the fair is trying to spill out of the building and into Paris itself.
New director Karim Crippa is putting the city more directly at the center of the fair, with 64 participating galleries operating spaces in France and an expanded public program spread across museums, plazas, schools, and other cultural sites. It feels less like a three-day art fair and more like an attempt to make Paris itself part of the exhibition.
Inside the Grand Palais, 183 galleries will be in the main Galeries sector, alongside 16 solo presentations in Emergence and 12 historically focused projects in Premise. Premise moves into the larger Salon Seine this year, giving those research-driven presentations more room. Thirty-two galleries are participating for the first time, while six are moving up from Emergence into the main sector.
There are some smaller changes worth watching, too. Conversations moves into the Grand Palais Auditorium, while the new Square Jean Perrin entrance gives visitors another way into the fair. And Oh La La! returns for its two-day booth rehang, with French actress Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu art-directing this year’s edition around “Myths and Legends.”
Outside the fair, the public program stretches to the Petit Palais, Palais d’Iéna, Cité de l’architecture et du patrimoine, Beaux-Arts de Paris, Avenue Winston-Churchill, Place Clemenceau and other locations around the city. The emphasis is on moving between disciplines—painting, sculpture, installation, photography, performance, film, literature, dance and new media.
Last year’s edition drew more than 73,000 visitors, and France remains a major force in the international art market. Art Basel and UBS reported $4.5 billion in French art-market sales in 2025.
The interesting question for 2026 is how much of the fair will actually feel like a fair—and how much will feel like Paris.