Musée Carnavalet, History museum in Marais district, France
The Musée Carnavalet is a history and art museum in the 3rd arrondissement, housed in two neighboring townhouses from the 16th and 17th centuries. The collections hold around 600,000 objects tracing the city's development from the Neolithic period to the present, displayed across more than a hundred exhibition rooms.
The city council acquired Hôtel Carnavalet in 1866 following Baron Haussmann's initiative to document the history of the rapidly modernizing capital. The second building, Hôtel Le Peletier de Saint-Fargeau, was added in 1989 to accommodate the growing collections.
The name comes from the Breton noble family Kernevenoy, who lived in one of the two townhouses during the 16th century. Visitors can walk through original interiors from different centuries, including complete salons and rooms moved here from demolished Parisian houses.
The museum opens Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and is fully accessible to wheelchair users. Entry to the permanent collection is free, while special exhibitions may require separate admission.
A wooden dugout canoe dating from 4600 BC ranks among the oldest exhibits and was found within the Paris city limits. The museum also preserves the original shop sign from the former Bijouterie Fouquet, whose Art Nouveau interior was designed by Alphonse Mucha.
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