Episode Details
Back to EpisodesThe day I had Paris's best museum to myself (and risked missing my son's birth)
Description
C is for Carnavalet. Or should that be Kernevenoy??
In this episode, we dive into one of Paris's most overlooked treasures - the Carnavalet Museum, the only museum in the world dedicated entirely to the history of Paris. I share, for the first time, the story of visiting the newly renovated museum before it opened to the public - completely alone - while waiting for the birth of his first son. Plus: the strange story behind the museum's bizarre name, and the remarkable woman history forgot.
The Carnavalet Museum: 23 rue de Sévigné (also entered from 16 rue des Francs-Bourgeois), 75003
Open Tuesday to Sunday, 10am–6pm. Closed Mondays. Permanent collection is free. Metro: Saint-Paul (line 1) Official website: carnavalet.paris.fr
Mentioned in this episode:
- The €56 million renovation that closed the museum for four and a half years before reopening in May 2021
- Françoise de La Baume — the twice-widowed aristocrat who actually owned the building and whose husband's unpronounceable Breton name gave the museum its peculiar title
- Marcel Proust's cork-lined bedroom, Napoleon's death mask, and a 6,000-year-old canoe pulled from the Seine
The music is from Pres Maxson.
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