Eurostar tells Londoners to visit Paris for a Renoir that is in London

London Tube passengers are being told to go to Paris to see a painting that is in London.

The advert is for Eurostar, the cross-Channel train operator. It uses an image of Pierre-Auguste Renoir's Dance at the Moulin de la Galette (1876) to promote travel to Paris, according to The Art Newspaper.

The timing is awkward. The painting belongs to the Musée d'Orsay in Paris, but it is on loan to the National Gallery in London for the exhibition Renoir & Love.

The advert shows the sunlit dance scene beyond an open, sliding train door. The slogan beside it reads: "Why wouldn't you?"

For a Tube traveller who follows the instruction, the trip would be in the wrong direction. The work they are invited to see in Paris is currently a short walk or Tube ride away in central London.

The painting depicts the entertainment venue at the top of Montmartre, the hilltop district in northern Paris. Renoir painted friends, dancers and drinkers gathered at tables in the afternoon light.

It is a large work in oil on canvas. The Musée d'Orsay, which holds it under inventory number RF 2739, lists its size as 131.5 cm high by 176.5 cm wide.

The National Gallery in London opened Renoir and Love on 3 October 2026. The exhibition brings together 45 works and runs until 31 January 2027, according to the gallery and The Art Newspaper.

Its full title is Renoir and Love: The Happy Modern Life (1865–1885). It was organised to mark 150 years since Renoir painted the Bal du moulin de la Galette. The gallery also lists Friday evening opening and events tied to the show from 23 October 2026 to 15 January 2027.

What makes this stand out is the mix-up of addresses. Paris owns the picture. London has it for now. Passengers standing on a London platform are looking at a reason to stay where they are.