The oldest Paris history museum having opened in 1880. The former mansion is located in the Marais, an easy walk from the hotel I was staying in. I wanted to check it out for both the preserved architecture and the immense number of city artifacts spanning 450 years. The permanent collection is free to the public. Short term exhibits are ticketed. At your own leisure you can stroll room after room. Some are furnished with their original decorations, , others have been recreated with furnishings of a certain period. Rooms from historic residences in Paris from the 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th centuries are in the museum. It made a nice introduction to the history of the city as I wandered Paris for the next 5 days. It was a bit confusing in some areas to follow the arrows through rooms that had so many nooks to explore. Allow easily 2-3 hours to start your exploration. read more

Musée Carnavalet - Display of centuries old Parisian signs - Museums Near Me - Paris, 75

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While Paris has no shortage of world-class museums, one of my favorites is Musée Carnavalet. Located in Le Marais, the museum provides a fun break from shopping - plus, it's free admission. Each floor is packed with historical artifacts (furniture, paintings, store signage, etc.) from Paris's history, beginning in pre-historic times and going through the 20th century. Walking through each of the exhibits from the ground floor to the top floor provides a chronological view of Paris's evolution through the centuries. The museum itself is housed in an impressive former mansion with a peaceful courtyard where you can rest and enjoy a cafe drink when the weather is nice. I'd highly recommend checking out Musée Carnavalet for a visual history lesson of Paris. read more

Musée Carnavalet - Le Chat Noir - Museums Near Me - Paris, 75

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Wow! What a gem. This is an amazing museum for the history of Paris. We spent about 3 hours and barely scratched the surface. And it's FREE! We're coming back over and over until we see it all! read more

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Too much to see and too little time! I greatly enjoyed it but I was there for 3 hours and didn't see everything I wanted to see. The exhibits are set up to have a nice way of guiding you through them, so it was never crowded or congested. Lots of benches to sit on and a nice cubby system for bags and coats. Trop de choses à voir et trop peu de temps ! J'ai adoré, mais je n'y suis restée que trois heures et je n'ai pas pu tout voir. Les expositions sont bien agencées et le parcours est fluide, ce qui évite les foules. Il y a plein de bancs pour se reposer et un système de casiers pratique pour les sacs et les manteaux. read more

Amazing, and seemingly overlooked, museum on the history of Paris. Great exhibits and artifacts. And it's free!

On a recent trip to Paris, I had the opportunity to spend an hour and a half in the fabulous Musee Carnavalet Historic de Paris. Opened in 1880, (mind boggling that the city fathers recognized the need so early on), the museum is part art museum, history lesson, and historic home tour. I loved it! In my short time there, I didn't even scratch the surface, of all that delightful museum contains. It's wonderfully well done, easy to follow, and unbelievably it's FREE!! read more

The Musée Carnavalet is flying somewhat under the radar in a city famous for many outstanding museums but it's one of my favorites because it covers the history of the city of Paris, from prehistoric times to now, and it is a FREE museum yes you read that right! Right in the heart of Le Marais, this is a great stop for working up an appetite in between your many food stops. You might be tempted to just pop in to kill time. because it's a free museum but the Musée Carnavalet houses huge collections, we actually had to come back another day to finish seeing everything because we were enjoying learning about this city and its rich history so much. The history of France isn't the same as the history of Paris, but of course this city has been an important city in France throughout history and its history is closely intertwined with that of the country, so I really felt like I got a good comprehensive trip through time visiting these exhibits. Honestly, as someone who really loves specifically city histories when I visit prominent cities, this museum was everything I wanted and more. There are a lot of really interesting gems scattered throughout the exhibits as you travel through Paris's history and it was hard for me to do my "read every single sign on every single thing" routine in this truly jam-packed museum. Definitely bookmark it for your visit if you love Paris and history! read more

Beautiful museum in the Marais! So glad we made it there and will look forward to another visit in the future.

The free museum is a great place to learn the history of Paris. It's large and beautiful. It's easy to get lost on the top floor as it's a maze of rooms and wings. read more

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Not to be missed! Impressive historic treasures of Paris on display- including the dauphin's luggage, ancient artifacts, luxe Renaissance rooms and gorgeous cafe gardens. The best part- it's free admittance and uncrowded! Free lockers and restrooms as well. read more

I will give the museum a 5 star because it should not be missed! It is within two historically important mansions so of course it is beautiful and the building a museum itself. See the staircase, the windows, the courtyard. Even see to an odd, long not used but once much used part of the old house. But you can only see this through plexi glass window. But it is neat, the original bricks and such. The museum displays revolutionary period artifacts, town signage, home and personal items. So, visiting this museum is a way to pay respects to the people that contributed so much to making France and Paris such a fascinating country and city. read more

Musée Carnavalet - Museums Near Me - Paris, 75

An excellent museum of history of Paris. Huge collection. Free. Recommended. We went to learn more about Paris and we did. There was also a special Philippe Starck exhibition which was weird and a waste of time. €zero read more

Location: Exiting Metro #1, "St. Paul". This is one of the museums in the area. Admission: FREE Love the entrance, nice garden, I bet during spring/summer it will be very beautiful with all the flowers blooming. Really enjoy all the french decoration inside the museum. Small museum, no big crowd. If you are in this area, definitely include this museum on your to-go places. read more

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Musée Carnavalet is a museum covering the history of Paris, housed in two neighboring mansions, with a beautiful garden in between. The museum covers the French Revolution. Heads up: It's one of the only sections with signs in English; the rest of the exhibits only have signs in French. So, just wander around the sprawling, complicated labyrinth of rooms and take your guess at what time period is represented. The museum also has some lovely recreated rooms like the lavish, 20th century Art-Deco ballroom and Marcel Proust's bedroom. You'll also see French Revolution lawyer Georges Couthon's wheelchair, the chair where Voltaire passed away, or the ornate cradle that belonged to the imperial prince. The museum takes about an hour to tour; there's a lot of rooms, but you'll likely move quickly through them. I had Rick Steve's Paris book which has a short tour of the museum covering just the French Revolution exhibit which helped with the context and the museum layout. Don't miss the beautiful, sculptured gardens. Also, try to find the Picasso painting! I noticed it right away, even though I didn't know this museum contained any pieces by him. Best of all, this museum is entirely free! It's not a must-see for a first visit, but on a repeat trip, it's nice place to check out and it's pretty cool to wander the mansions and take in the history and art work. read more

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When you're tired of paying for museums in Paris, Musee Carnavalet is the place to go. Admission is free and you can learn about the history of Paris. Since this is much less crowded than the Louvre or Musee d'Orsay, you can enjoy the collections at your own pace. Our favorite was the collection on the French Revolution. Highly recommend visiting for a more low-key afternoon at a museum. read more

My husband and I almost always check out city museums when we visit a place. They're often free (the Carnavalet is) and never as busy as places like the Louvre. As a bonus, this museum is located in two of the very few remaining townhouses from the 1500's left in the Marais. It's ironic that Haussman destroyed so much of the medieval city but was the one to preserve these homes as a museum. Anyway, the collections and the layout can feel a bit disjointed - they have a Neolithic canoe, Napoleon's shaving kit, Proust's bedroom and a lot of middling-quality oil paintings. My favorite stops were the big gallery of antique advertising signs and the magnificent Fouquet shop by Mucha. As a plus, the surrounding neighborhood is an absolute delight to explore - tons of great shops, patisseries and small restaurants. read more

Cool place to come to! In a great area, right in the Marais. Pretty gardens, and my favorite part was seeing the very French interior design! Small place. I enjoyed coming here. read more

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An excellent museum of Parisian and French history. Oh, and it's free. Housed in two mansions, the Carnavalet includes many paintings, pieces of furniture, and other artifacts. Generally pre-Revolution and Revolution, it provides nice background to more modern eras. Signage is sometimes in English, enough to be useful. There's a nice garden in the middle, some unusual artifacts, and a helpful staff and small giftshop. I'd gladly go back. read more

This is the museum of Paris, and is an interesting catch-all of the city's history. In addition to seeing many, many images of the city throughout time, you'll also see art related to people associated with Paris (such as a rather mod painting of the singer/actress Juliette Greco, and another of Natalie Barney, who held court over an expat literary salon for years in the city). There are other gems, such as the room showcasing the design of Art Nouveau's Alphonse Mucha. My one criticism is that the layout, sprawling through an old, grand mansion, is rather muddled. My friends and I got separated, and I kept circling back, unsure if I'd been in various rooms before. My mother thought she'd seen everything yet only after we'd left realized that she'd missed out on the Mucha room, to her disappointment. But the comprehensive collection largely makes up for such confusion. It's a smaller museum that's worth a visit. read more

Musée Carnavalet covers history of Paris with focus on various French revolutions and constitutions with story-telling, artifacts, architecture, and paintings. Tip I: While museum is free, audio headset is 5€. Very clear audio with headset offered. Highly recommend this for non-French speakers. One audio message per room. Tip II: Allow 90 mins. Small Gripe: About 1/4 of museum was off limits for reasons unexplained, perhaps modernization. Oddity: when coat room is full...it's full. They won't improvise and take more, so turn people away. So we waited 5 mins until another visitor turned in their chip. About 15 walk from Châtelet-Les Halles Train/Metro Station. Many eateries in area. Pâtisseries too to die for. read more

We had the strangest experience imaginable when we went here. We found the entrance, there were lots of people by the front gate. There were two big guys, similar to linebackers or bouncers, and they were speaking French and we don't so we did not understand. But they were turning everyone away. When it was our turn they said something and we did not get it, but it was clear that we could not get into this free museum and the guy was pointing down the street. So off we went. We checked our guide book for hours and days, and everything checked out. So we ended up walking around the entire building looking for somewhere to enter. We found the exit and asked where the entrance was, and the person spoke English and told us to go where we had previously been denied. So we went. We approached the two bouncers again and they looked at us and the wife said "museum" and he pointed inside and let us enter. It was beyond strange. Anyway, once inside, it is a pretty good museum. Having just spent 5 weeks in England and seeing countless palaces and museums I was a bit jaded, but it was pretty interesting. We spent about 30-40 minutes there and it was enough. Tip: the entrance is free but you need a free ticket which they give you inside. No one ever checks to see that you have a ticket however. There are other parts of the museum that are pay-only but when we went they were just closed. It's an interesting side trip but hardly a must-see in my opinion, but then again as I said I am a bit filled up with museums. read more

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One of the finest museums in Paris. The Carnavalet focusses on the history of the city itself and has a magnificent display of artifacts, furnishings and paintings from the foundations of the French capital through to the present day. The room sets from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries are particularly good as are the rooms devoted to the French Revolution, where you will find loads of paintings and relics pertaining to Marie Antoinette and the royal family. The hôtel itself used to be lived in by the famous writer of letters Madame de Sevigné and is a beautiful example of a seventeenth century private hotel. Really worth a visit as is all of the Marais district. read more

Musée Carnavalet - Museums Near Me - Paris, 75

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Quite disappointing. This museum's sole focus is the history of Paris. It started two hundred years ago, and is a large museum with extensive collections. Yet other than one room addressing Roman occupation two thousand years ago, you'd think the history of Paris started about the same time they opened the museum. There was nothing filling the gap from about the third century A.D. to the sixteenth century. How about the eight thousand years before the Romans arrived? How about the thousand years of Christian rule after the Romans? Someone built Le Louvre and Notre-Dame in the 12th century - Shouldn't there be something about who did that and when and why and how? The flow of the place is almost as bad as the gaps in history. read more

It's a museum in Paris and not America so it's old (1500-1700s) and like buildings that were around longer than the history of the US it will most likely be under constant refurbishment. Also the Parisians believe in access to their civic institutions especially museums so unless your visiting a traveling exhibit or lecture, entry is free. If your interested in the history of Paris and how people lived - this is a must for your to do list. If you only care about impressing your social circle by taking pictures of yourself in front of the Mona Lisa the by all means skip this place. Also since the caretakers of this museum are concerned about making these exhibits available for years to come you won't find all exhibits open at the same time - they will tell you even in English which ones are open - some of the volunteers are from different countries. Note - most of the descriptions are not in English but remember this is France and not America - France does have an official language. I didn't really find this an issue since everything is well presented. read more

Musée Carnavalet - Museums Near Me - Paris, 75

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A must visit for any visitor to Paris. All sorts of antique signs, artifacts, paintings, decor etc that tells a romantic ( and sometimes a little seedy ) story of days past about the Citè. I went on a Sunday and admission was free. You are allowed to take non-flash photography inside and there is a lot to see. Highly recommended !!! read more

If you're interested in the history of Paris, this is probably worth hitting up -- though it's a quirky, poorly curated space, it does have its share of interesting gems (including a really odd but kind of cool gallery filled with old signs). It can be hard to follow the historical narrative the museum is presenting (if they are presenting one at all?) and the mansion is a bit run-down (I suspect it's nicer in summer when one can enjoy the courtyard) but hey, it's free, and if you have an hour to spend roaming around, the Carnavalet isn't a bad place to do it. (As an aside, I have never seen filthier bathrooms than at the Carnavelet- plan accordingly). read more

Nice and free! It's a beautiful place. I love the intimacy of this museum. read more

Musée Carnavalet - View from second floor of the garden. - Museums Near Me - Paris, 75

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It's been totally renovated and reopened in 2020. It's still free, but in the time of Covid you need to reserve entry in advance on their website. The exhibits on the French Revolution, Paris Commune, and 20th-Century Paris are the best, but they are near the end of the recommended museum tour. I suggest ignoring that plan and going straight to the top level to see the best exhibits first. They even have Gertrude Stein's desk from her famous 1920s Paris apartment. read more

A municipal museum in Marais, dedicated to the history of Paris. Small, intimate and historic, Carnavalet lets you wander through various rooms recreated in styles from the 17th to 20th century. Good if you like interior decoration and looking furniture. Also neat were the recreations of various famous Parisians like Proust. The other pieces (art, artifacts), were interesting to look at but would have benefited greatly from English translations of the descriptions. Ugh, friggin' anglophones. Also, it's free. 19/30 read more

It's a free museum about the history of Paris. I suppose it's worthwhile if you're into history or interested in learning about Paris in one spot. However, we thought there were better things to do in Paris with our time, especially since we had the Paris Museum Pass and were only in Paris for a few days. Unless you're very interested in learning about Paris and its history, or spending some leisurely time at a free museum, we would recommend skipping this one. We stayed only for a short while before moving on to our next attraction. read more

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This is an excellent free museum near the Marais district. The museum highlights the history of Paris, and it's actually quite large. I ended up spending about 90 minutes in the museum just wandering through various portions of it. There's even a pretty nice garden if you are visiting during the warmer months. I wouldn't label it as a "must visit" place, but I would recommend it for history buffs and francophiles. read more

Visited it for the Voyage en Capitale exhibit focusing on the history of travel and luggage of the Louis Vuitton house. The lighting and signage were exquisite, the exhibit well laid-out, and the staff at the miniature bookshop at the end of the exhibit incredibly helpful and courteous. It was an absolute joy to visit this museum and to see such a well-organised exhibition. (especially as i could contrast it with a recently-experienced painful one at the British Museum) I was very impressed during my visit, and look forward to seeing the permanent exhibition on a future visit. read more

Its Free and in Paris with the Euro almost at parity with the pound it's got to help for at least one cultural day out. Its the history of Paris told through the language of interior decor. Rooms are recreated in the style of the period. Its big it's quite interesting and it's in the Marais so you can shop and revel to your hearts content. read more

Good for a quick stroll if you are in the area - our apartment was close to this, so that's the only reason we dropped by.

This free (and huge) museum is in the Marais and showcases a nice collection of historical items centered around Paris. It is especially helpful for those that are familiar with the streets & landmarks of Paris, as many historical paintings are presented and it helps to know what it looks like today vs. back then. read more

Caravalet contains a hodge podge of art ranging from china to oil paintings and that might be part of my problem. This old building has wings and floors and they are all stuffed with art. If there was any rhyme or reason to it all it escaped me. The lighting is also uneven from room to room making it very difficult to view the art at times. But then, it is free admission! read more

It took me until my 5th visit to Paris to get to this musee. I should have gone sooner! A perfectly sized musee featuring the history of Paris. Yes, it's free and you can get through it in about an hour and a half. Good for kids, too. read more

An interesting walk through the history of Paris (bonus: admission and bag check are free, too, if you want it), but kind of difficult to make sense of since things appear to be placed randomly. Also, either the audio guide was confusing and did not refer to items in the same area in order, or we were punching in numbers to a different audio guide that we weren't aware existed. Nevertheless, you learn some fun trivia like how streets were often named for the biggest sign on them. Staff are friendly. While waiting for my husband to check our bag into a locker (it requires a 1 or 2 Euro coin, but you get it back when you grab your stuff), one of the staff saw me looking at a painting by the entrance. He told me that it was of that very museum, though the statue had been moved to an adjacent courtyard than the one depicted. The people were wearing clothes from a different era (maybe the early 1900's or something?), and it was fun imagining them walking around right where we were. read more

This museum IS the place to go if you want to relate to Paris. This is the third time I have been there, and I will never be tired of it. You will be able to see a variety of paintings representing not only kings, queens, and emperors... but also clichés of everyday life in those times. It's a really calm and wonderful place. Not like all the other museums. read more

A great display with oodles of Parisian history. Get the "audiogeed",it will make a world of difference. The collection goes into some detail about the confusing years between the revolution and the 19th century - guaranteed to enlighten. Marvelous rooms on offer. Prepare to take it in 3 hours or so. read more