The Musée Carnavalet, or the museum of the history of Paris, was one of the first museums I ever visited in the city. An elegant (though traditional) collection displayed in the 16th-century Hôtel de Carnavalet in the heart of the Marais, it was one of the reasons I decided I wanted to write about Paris … More Le Nouveau Musée Carnavalet
Paris is a city of paradoxes, both positive and negative. The metro is not only one of the most efficient and logical transport systems in the world; it can also be one of its most bordélique circles of hell during peak hour or a strike (which occurs far more frequently than you might expect). Food … More La Gaîté Lyrique
I’ve always felt that libraries and archives have a misleading reputation. The cliché of the library as a boring place (or worse, a place for boring people) is unfair. Libraries may be quiet, they may contain some occasionally inexplicable entries, and they may attract frazzled students cramming for stressful exams. But libraries and archives are … More Le Musée des Archives Nationales
What do we want to see when we go to a museum? Sometimes we’re looking for the strange and new, something that makes us think or feel differently about the world around us. Sometimes we want to see the familiar, something we’ve read or learned about but never had the chance to see in the flesh. And sometimes … More Le Musée Cognacq-Jay
I’ve never been religious, unless you count my childhood ritual of listing my toys’ names before falling asleep as a strange, abstract dedication I called “prayer”. I was baptised Catholic, but only as a formality, and my views have evolved from uncertain to agnostic to atheist over the years. But the way many peaceful people … More Le Musée d’art et d’histoire du Judaïsme
Despite my penchant for peter pan collars and pretty stationery, and to the bemusement of my friends and family, I love horror. Be it literature, film or television, I’m all about the sinister, the gory and the macabre. I love zombies and vampires. I’ll take a horror movie over a romantic comedy any day. My … More Le Musée de la chasse et de la nature
There are a number of things I always miss about Australia when I’m living in France, though none more so than my rambling family of five younger siblings. I miss my sixteen year old sister, with whom the nine year age gap never seems to matter. I miss my 20 year old musician brother who’s … More Le Musée des Arts et Métiers
The musée Carnavalet, established in 1880 in the stately Hôtel Carnavalet, is perhaps the most ‘Parisian’ of Paris’ museums. With a vast collection of artworks, furniture and historical artefacts, the Carnavalet tells the story of Paris’ history, from its Roman origins as the town of Lutèce, right up to the twentieth century. Though it seems … More Le Musée Carnavalet
Les Musées de Paris 