Carnavalet Museum in Paris.
The French capital wants to recover its 'normal' life and yes, we are also talking about culture. What better than to do it by reopening the doors of four of its beautiful museums, eager to receive visitors again. It has been years of works, reorganization and restoration, but it has been very worth it, we guarantee it. Go planning your visit.
HOTEL DE LA MARINE, 2 place de la Concorde, 75008
After three years of closure, the Hôtel de la Marine opens to the public, erected in the mid-18th century by the King's first architect, Ange-Jacques Gabriel, supported by Soufflot.
Lying in the magnificent place de la Concorde, the beautiful and emblematic building witnessed great events, initially as a Furniture Storage of the Crown until 1789, institution created by Louis XIV and Colbert, and later for two hundred years as the seat of the Ministry of the Navy.
Today, It is part of the Center des Monuments Nationaux, revealing itself as a museum of high heritage value. At its entrance, its renovated patios stand out, the cour d'honneur illuminated by hundreds of lights and the cour de l'Intendant, covered in an original and imposing 330 m² pyramidal glass window imagined by the British architect Hugh Dutton.
Room of Madame de Ville D'Avray, in the Hôtel de la Marine museum.
In its sumptuous rooms d'apparat and appartements extolled by the best craftsmen of the time, The meticulous and reliable restorations of its murals, tapestries, moldings, fireplaces or parquet from the 18th and 19th centuries are impressive. In addition, with the help of its rich archives, they have recovered original furniture and They have respected as much as possible the atmosphere and the lighting effect of yesteryear.
Its delicate decorations they are a reflection of les arts décoratifs, les arts de la table and the art de recevoir of the Age of Enlightenment, as presented in the staging of a festive oyster banquet which suggests the painting Le Déjeuner d'huîtres by Jean-François de Troy.
Salon des amiraux and salon d'honneur, 'Hôtel de la Marine, Paris.
The visit is accompanied by modern digital devices, such as its innovative helmets that allow immersive mediation. And in autumn the elegant palais will present the exceptional private collection to the public for the first time of art of the Al Thani family, composed of 6,000 pieces.
For your part gourmets will extend their tour in his future Mimosa restaurant by chef Jean-François Piège decorated by the Dorothée Delaye agency and in Alain Ducasse's Café Lapérouse, adorned by Cordelia de Castellane.
Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature.
MUSEUM OF CHASSIS AND NATURE, 62 rue des Archives, 75003
This amazing musée-maison, located in the majestic hôtels particuliers de Guénégaud and de Mongelas in the quartier de le Marais, which closed in 2019 with the aim of carrying out an extension, will open the curtain on July 3, coinciding with the European Night of Museums.
The intimate and cozy atmosphere of the mansion invites flâner. As a novelty, it has been equipped with a bookstore, a larger pedagogical workshop and a cafe in the courtyard. Its first and historic floor plan has been enriched with the acquisition of new pieces, continuing its allure as a house for the hunter, for the esthete who values the animal, the beautiful hunting dog or the beautiful prey.
And under the attic They have built a 250 m² space, in which the relationship between man and nature is evoked. Your route begins with a diorama, conceived from stuffed animals that represent fauna, poetically placed in front of paintings by contemporary artist François Malingrëy.
Darwin Room, in the Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature.
Its halls strut their uniqueness, in which a Derain, or a Rubens intermingle with contemporary pieces, trophies or collections of weapons that challenge man in his relationship with the animal world. Thus, the visitor comes across the reflection of the philosopher Gilles Deleuze, the cabin of the ranger Aldo Leopold, a pioneer in the protection of the environment in the United States, the cabinet de curiosités that evokes Darwin in an ironic way or a collection of papier mâché floral models from the beginning of the 20th century. Also on the occasion of its imminent reopening, Damien Deroubaix will inaugurate a series of contemporary art exhibitions.
Wendel Room, at the Carnavalet Museum in Paris.
CARNIVAL MUSEUM, 23 rue de Sévigné, 75003
After more than four years of closure, the oldest museum in the capital, born in 1880 under the leadership of the prefect of the Seine Haussmann, opens its doors, after a major reform both architectural and museographic.
Located in the heart of the Le Marais district, exposes the history of Paris in an interesting journey through time, which includes its memory in two parts, from Prehistory to the 18th century and from the French Revolution to the present day, extending into two sumptuous mansions, the Hôtel Carnavalet and the Peletier de Saint-Fargeau.
As a result of its renewal, already perceived since its entry, have created a continuous chronological tour of its unique collection, of which more than 3,800 works of its total of 625,000 treasures (preserved in the reserve), including paintings, sculptures, furniture, decorative art objects, prints, posters, photographs, medals or coins... they have been restored one by one and rethought in a new scenery.
Portrait of Juliette Récamier, by François Gérard.
Also discover the playful labels created for children, the gardens, the embellished facades of the cour des Drapiers, and the period rooms, reconstructions of historical sets such as the bedroom of the great Marcel Proust or the reproduction of Fouquet jewelery by Alfons Mucha.
For its inaugural temporary exhibition, the musée Carnavalet partners with the Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson to exhibit Henri Cartier-Bresson, Revoir Paris, a complete vision of the city through clichés, some unpublished, of the great French photographer of the 20th century.
On summer days you can enjoy the newly opened and sublime ephemeral terrace of its new restaurant Les Jardins d'Olympe, specializing in vegetable cuisine, by chef Chloé Charles.
Facade of the Maison Victor Hugo.
HOUSE OF VICTOR HUGO, 6 place des Vosges, 75004
After almost two years of work, the house where the famous writer lived from 1832 to 1848, before his exile to l'île de Guernsey, welcomes visitors after a face wash.
situated in the arcades of the place des Vosges, specifically in the beautiful hôtel de Rohan-Guémené, this beautiful house-museum of 283 m² allows you to get up close to the intimacy of the writer and poet through his writings, furniture, objects and works of art.
Bedroom of what was the house of the writer Victor Hugo.
In the different rooms of what was his home his taste and dedication to decoration is appreciated thanks to the environments designed to measure by himself; a pleasant climate where he wrote several of his major works like Lucrèce Borgia, Les Burgraves, Ruy Blas or Les Chants du crépuscule.
To improve the visitor experience, the tour of his free permanent collections has benefited from explanatory touch tablets. Likewise boasts of his new interior patio, a romantic garden inspired by the rue Plumet in his work Les Miserables, where you can relax in its Maison Mulot tea room.