The Musée Carnavalet

On a rainy Saturday, a friend and I hoped to discover the history of Paris, as promised by the Marais' beautiful little museum, the Musee Carnavalet. Unassuming, unpretentious and off the radar for most of the tourists flocking to Paris every year, this is the perfect place to visit if you want to get away from the bustling crowds and the tourist trail.

C'était un samedi pluvieux, et je suis allée avec une amie dans l'espoir de découvrir l'histoire de Paris au Musée Carnavalet dans le Marais. J'imagine que la plupart de touristes n'y prêtent pas attention, donc c'est le choix parfait si vous voulez s'échapper des grandes foules et le circuit touristique. 

It's free for European students under the age of 26 with a proof of identity, and you enter into a big hall filled with old signs and other kitschy objects from Paris' past. 

C'est gratuit pour les étudiants européens qui ont moins de 26 ans - avec une pièce d'identité - et on entre dans un grand hall rempli avec tout sorte d'objet kitsch et des grandes signes des magasins anciens de Paris. 

Several rooms are replicas of rooms from old Paris mansions.

You can also see the rooms of Parisian writers such as Proust. 

Plusieurs pièces sont décorées comme des pièces des hôtels et des châteaux anciens.

Vous pouvez aussi découvrez les chambres de quelques écrivains connus tels de Proust. 

  

One of my favourite rooms was the room full of paintings of Parisians scenes.

Ma salle préférée était celle pleine de peintures des scènes Parisiennes.

 The Canal St. Martin

 A Military Parade

 Bastille and a leisure spot frequented by the bourgeoisie.

 The roof of the Gare St Lazare overlooked by Montmartre

 There was a whole wing devoted to Revolutionary history. Below is a military drum with the motto: Liberty, Egality, Fraternity 

Il y avait une aile entière consacrée à l'histoire révolutionnaire. Au-dessus, un tambour militaire avec la devise: Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité 

Pottery with the famous bonnet rouge of the sans-culottes.

De la poterie avec le bonnet rouge notoire des sans-culottes. 

Finish your visit in one of the beautiful gardens that flank the museum, or wander round the cutesy shops in the Marais!

Finissez votre visite avec une promenade dans un des beaux jardins autour du musée, où flânez dans le Marais parmi les magasins mignons.

16, rue des Francs-Bourgeois 

75003 Paris

Standard : 01 44 59 58 58

Ouvert du mardi au dimanche de 10h à 18h.

Dernière entrée à 17h30. 

Fermé le lundi et les jours fériés.

À Bientôt !

x

The Tourist Trail: Invalides

Ah, Invalides. You must be sick of reading about it on my blog and seeing pictures of the gilded dome which the sight of to me has become synonymous with home. [Other Invalides posts here]. The truth is, this overlooked museum has really grown on me, and this visit has been my favourite so far. Each wing of the museum promises a different insight onto the history of battles and warcraft, and this time Neil and I were to delve into two very different worlds, the first a universe of lances, of medieval knights and shining armour, and the second the dirty history of trenches, grenades and swastikas. 

 

(Above right: A bemused looking knight, Below: A child's suit of armour)

Below: Armour for Unicorns ;) 

Helmets that ended up looking amusing rather than terrifying. 

 

Much of the child's armour was designed for King Louis XIV. The amount of skill and patience going into the armour and chain-mail was extraordinary, with some suits taking years to create: Some helmets had clearly been personalised to resemble their owners. You could see where some of the hammered metal had been pierced by a direct stab wound (the metal would only hold up against flat strikes).

Beautifully ornate weaponry from Ancient Chinese Dynasties. 

From the seemingly chivalric world of jousts and jesters to the two Great Wars, the science of war had taken massive leaps in some respects and stayed surprisingly basic in others. Below: propaganda handed to soldiers on being conscripted: "Bon pour les filles" or "Exempte" for those who couldn't complete their two year service to the country.

Below: an advert cashing in on the glamour of war: selling cars and bicycles using the poster-boy image of the solider.

My biggest surprise was the armour which had seemingly regressed on the scale of technological advancements - until I realised that even the plates of metal covering the entire body of a medieval knight couldn't withstand a stab from a well-aimed sword, let alone a bullet. Soldiers of the Crimean War and the First World War forewent any kind of protection, save a gilded hat proclaiming their regiment. 

"Armour" from around the world: The Americas, England and France.

 

Collateral damage: a child's doll and a church's weather vane riddled with bullets.

Sculptures made in the trenches out of bullets and scrap metal.

A fighter pilot's penguin discovered in the wreckage of his plane and a bullet crucifix: the personal stories behind the "greatness" of the war. 

"Uncle Sam" and De Gaulle's "Appel du 18 Juin" published in L'Echo de Paris. 

"Make Love Not War"

Appel du 18 Juin

Jewish stars, Jean Moulin (face of the French Resistance) and a Liberation print dress, polka-dotted with De Gaulle's famous "Appel".

Such a rich and informative visit, which made me sincerely glad to have never lived in a war-torn country. Les Invalides, I'm sure I'll be seeing you again soon.

À Bientôt !

x