When you think of Roman ruins, it’s pretty likely that you think of, well, Rome. And it’s true that many of the most spectacular and well-preserved Roman sites are in the capital of the former empire. But Roman imperialism spread across most of Europe and the Mediterranean between the 1st century BCE and the 5th … More Les Arènes de Lutèce
When I was little, I attended a Steiner primary school. The creative, alternative institution drew a fair number of metaphysical types who wanted us to only play with natural items. No plastic, no branding and, as this was the mid-90s, no tamagotchis. Instead, there was a lot of hand-woven rainbow wool, organic German crayons, gnome … More Le Musée de la Minéralogie
The fifth arrondissement serves a wide range of people. It is home to the Sorbonne, the original buildings of the University of Paris, and to the city’s greatest concentration of universities and private grandes écoles, with a corresponding array of bookshops and stationery boutiques. It is a tourist magnet, the site of the Latin Quarter, … More La Grande Mosquée de Paris
For those who don’t know, I am only la Muséophile in my spare time. My main work is as a Senior Lecturer in French and Cinema Studies. Contemporary French film holds an even dearer place in my heart than Paris museums (though it feels sacrilegious to say so on this site) and as my students … More Les Petits cinémas de Paris
Note: while this post refers in particular to the ‘Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle’, the Jardin des Plantes and its many buildings house the Musée de la Minéralogie, the Cabinet d’Histoire du Jardin des Plantes, the Ménagerie du Jardin des Plantes zoo, the Galerie de la Paléontologie and the Galerie d’Evolution. All are connected and worth visiting. While … More Le Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle
When it comes to history, cities and sightseeing, why are we so fascinated by death? It seems whenever I research a city I’m visiting, beyond the obvious castles, museums, town squares and theatres, many city highlights tend to come back to the dead. Going to Edinburgh? Head to Greyfriars graveyard and the (purportedly) haunted vaults. … More Le Panthéon
I won’t be surprising anybody when I say that Paris is a multicultural and cosmopolitan city. But there are certain little corners of Paris that will truly transport you elsewhere, and you may not even know that they exist. For instance, if you get off the metro at Louis Blanc up in the North-East, before … More L’Institut du monde arabe
Although I’ve never lived in the Latin Quarter, it’s always been an important part of my Paris life. Ever since my first visit as a wide-eyed teen, I’d dreamed of a slope-roofed matchbox apartment in one of the narrow, meandering streets of the fifth arrondissement (although I have no reason to complain these days, with … More Le Musée Cluny du Moyen Age
Les Musées de Paris 