Built for the 1900 Exposition Universelle ("universal exhibition"), it now houses the City of Paris Museum of Fine Arts (Musée des beaux-arts de la ville de Paris). The Petit Palais is located across from the Grand Palais on the former Avenue Nicolas II, today Avenue Winston-Churchill. The other façades of the building face the Seine and Avenue des Champs-Élysées.
 
The Beaux-Arts style Petit Palais was designed by Charles Girault, and is around an octi-circular courtyard and garden, similar to the Grand Palais. Its ionic columns, grand porch, and dome echo those of the Invalides across the river. The tympanum depicting the city of Paris surrounded by muses is the work of sculptor Jean Antoine Injalbert.
Interesting facts….
 The imposing, gilded entrance door isn’t just beautiful: it was designed personally by architect Charles Girault and features the Parisian coat of arms. This massive wrought-iron gate is widely considered one of Paris’s most magnificent—yet many visitors rush past without noticing the craft involved