This is the museum of the history of Paris from the 1500's to the present.

As Paris was and is the heart and soul of France, the city's history mirrors that of all France.

Here are Marie Antoinette's personal effects left behind when she went to the guillotine, models of the Bastille fortress (now completely gone), the storming of which by the mob signalled the beginning of the French Revolution. The museum also has numerous paintings of the guillotine in use, as well as small models of this infamous executioner.

The museum is housed in two adjoining mansions. One, a Renaisance palace dating from 1544, was renovated and transformed (1655-1661) by the renowned architect François Mansart, just in time for it to become the palatial home of Madame de Sévigné.

Located in the heart of the Marais, this museum provides a wonderful sense of the history of Paris. The collection ranges from the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, adopted in 1789, to historic merchants' signs, to a couple of the original carved heads from the Pont Neuf, to souvenirs of Napoléon.

Admission is free. It's closed on Monday.

Métro: St-Paul or Chemin Vert

Musée Carnavalet-Histoire de Paris
23 Rue de Sévigné
Paris 75003
Tel: +33 1 44 59 58 58

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