After four years of renovation, the oldest museum in Paris reopened its May 29. Museé Carnavalet is the museum dedicated to the history of Paris. Another bonus: access to the permanent collections is free.
Located in the heart of the Marais district, the Musée Carnavalet has over 625,000 works tracing the history of Paris from ancient times until present day. The beautiful mansion underwent four years of renovation to expand and redesign the exhibition space and make the presentation more accessible and fluid. Improvements include more interactive digital devices and hanging 10% of the works at a child-friendly height. 60% of the works now on display had previously been kept in the reserves and have all been restored professionally.
Designed as a journey into Paris’ past and present, the displays are in continuous chronological order for the first time. The ground floor is home to period rooms such as the improuved Marcel Proust bedroom and newer rooms that illustrate the history of Paris thanks to paintings, sculptures, furniture, signs, photographs, drawings and more. In the basement, which is open to the public for the first time, visitors will discover collections covering the period from the Mesolithic (9600-6000BC) to the Renaissance.
In addition to these remarkable permanent collections, Museé Carnavalet is also home to a temporary exhibition on Henri Cartier-Bresson, one of France’s most celebrated 20th century photographers. The exhibition, Revisiting Paris, examines the link between Paris and Cartier-Bresson. The exhibition runs from June 15 to October 31.
For further details, please see the full press kit below.
