The Musée Carnavalet – Histoire de Paris is the city’s own museum, and one of the most enjoyable in Paris. It occupies two joined mansions on Rue de Sévigné: the Hôtel Carnavalet, begun in the mid-16th century and remodelled by François Mansart in the 1660s, where Madame de Sévigné lived and wrote many of her famous letters, and the neighbouring Hôtel Le Peletier de Saint-Fargeau.
After a four-year renovation it reopened in 2021 with a clearer route through the city’s history, from the Neolithic canoes found at Bercy to the present day. Its permanent collections are free, which makes it one of the best-value visits in the city.
Top things to do at Musée Carnavalet
The old shop signs
The opening rooms are hung with the painted and wrought-iron signs that once marked Paris’s shops and inns — a golden sun, a giant boot, a cockerel — a delightful introduction to the city’s street life.
The Revolution rooms
Carnavalet has one of the richest Revolution collections anywhere: models of the Bastille carved from its own stones, portraits, revolutionary objects and memorabilia of the royal family’s imprisonment.
Belle Époque interiors
Whole interiors have been rebuilt inside the museum, including Alphonse Mucha’s Art Nouveau jewellery shop for Georges Fouquet and the ballroom of the Hôtel de Wendel. Don’t miss Marcel Proust’s bedroom, with his cork-lined bed and furniture.
The formal gardens
The box-hedge parterres in the courtyards are free to enter and one of the quietest spots in the Marais.
How to get to Musée Carnavalet
- Entrance at 23 Rue de Sévigné, about five minutes’ walk from the Place des Vosges.
- Métro: Saint-Paul (line 1) or Chemin Vert (line 8), each around five minutes away.
Insider tips
- Usually open Tuesday to Sunday, closed on Mondays and some public holidays — check the Paris Musées website before you go.
- Temporary exhibitions are paid and can have queues; the permanent collection rarely does.
- The museum has a café in the garden courtyard in good weather.
- Allow at least two hours: it is much bigger than it looks from the street.
Best tours & tickets for Musée Carnavalet
These top-rated experiences pair well with a visit to Musée Carnavalet:
Sightseeing pass from €110 Paris Museum Pass: 2, 4 or 6 Days
One pass for more than 50 museums and monuments in and around Paris, including the Musée Picasso in the Marais, the Louvre, the Musée d’Orsay, Sainte-Chapelle, the Arc de Triomphe and Versailles. It pays off if you visit three or four paid sights a day; note that many museums still require a free time-slot booking.
- The Louvre, Orsay, Musée Picasso, Sainte-Chapelle and more
- Versailles and the Arc de Triomphe included
- Still book time slots where required
Walking tour from €33 Paris: Le Marais District Walking Tour with Small Tastings
A friendly two-hour walk that mixes the history of the Marais — royal squares, aristocratic mansions, the Revolution and the district’s rebirth — with small tastings along the way. A good middle ground between a pure history walk and a full food tour.
- History, architecture and local life
- Small tastings along the way
- Relaxed two-hour format
