Carnavalet Museum visitor guide

Visit Carnavalet Museum, Paris

The Carnavalet Museum is on Rue de Sévigné in the 3rd arrondissement of Paris, not far from the north-west corner of the Place des Vosges and in the Marais district.

Discover the Carnavalet Museum

France This Way review: the Carnavalet Museum has numerous interesting exhibits that tell the history of Paris, and is a fascinating museum to visit if you want to better understand the city

traditional shop signs in Museum Carnavalet

The museum is situated in two very impressive mansions, with two courtyards, so be sure to take a few minutes to look at the building before you enter the museum, in particular the many sculpted elements and the doors and windows.

The buildings were originally called Hotel Carnavalet and Hotel Le Peletier de Saint Fargeau (hotel was the name given to an important town house, rather than a place for travellers to stay). The properties were built in the 16th century, and modified in the 17th century, but are otherwise largely unchanged since that period.

It was in 1866 that the town of Paris bought the properties to convert them into a museum dedicated to the city. This was in part because the 19th century was a time of great change in Paris, including the replacement of the historic centre with the boulevards of Haussmann buildings that we see today, and for which Paris is famous.

One of the first exhibits you see after you enter is a room full of old shop signs, which is an interesting start to your visit. Soon after you are reach a new exhibit dedicated to the terrible Charlie Hebdo terrorist attacks of 2015 in which 17 people died, which is a stark reminder that the history of Paris includes much joy but also a great deal of pain and suffering.

The museum visit that follows is full of endless surprises, historical events that you have forgotten or never knew happened, and insights into many of these that presents them in a new light - overall it is one of our favourite museums in Paris.

One of the most interesting features of the museum is the many rooms that have been recreated from various places and times across the history of France, which are very effective at recreating what life might have looked like in earlier centuries.

There is also a large amount of coverage dedicated to the French Revolution, the period of history for which France is best known by most visitors, and is very informative. Likewise there is a good coverage of the Napoleonic period

Among other artefacts from this period you can see the Declaration of Human Rights and and an explanation of the many symbols, such as the Phrygian bonnet, associated with this period, and the story of the Bastille and its subsequent demolition.

traditional shop entrance in Museum Carnavalet

Visiting Museum Carnavalet

It is free to visit the Museum Carnavalet.

The closest metro station to Carnavalet Museum is the Chemin Vert station on line 8 of the metro.

There is a cafe in one of the museum courtyards, which is a very pleasant way to finish your visit.

There are so many interesting things to see that a visit will take at least two or three hours, and that does not include the hour you will spend trying to work out where you are and where you have been, because the route to explore the museum is not always clear!

Attractions nearby

The principal sites of interest very close to the Carnavalet museum include the Place des Vosges, one of the most beautiful squares in Paris, and the Hotel de Sully. You can visit the Maison Victor Hugo in the corner of the Place des Vosges, established in the apartments where Victor Hugo lived in the 19th century.

You can find more travel ideas in the Paris region guide.

To make travel arrangements to visit Carnavalet Museum see HERE