The History of Paris Carnavalet Museum

Only ten minutes walk from the Hotel du Jeu de Paume (850m) is a treasure.

The Carnavalet Museum is the oldest museum in the City of Paris, located in the heart of the Marais, it opened its doors to the public in 1880 in the Hôtel des Ligneris dit Carnavalet.
This mansion is one of the oldest in Paris, it was in the middle of the 16th century for Jacques des Ligneris, president of the Paris parliament. Sold in 1578 to Françoise de la Baume, wife of the knight Kernevenoy nicknamed “Monsieur de Carnavalet” it is from there that the name of this hotel was deformed to become the Carnavalet hotel.
Subsequently two new wings were created by the architect François Mansart, in which the writer Madame de Sévigné would settle from 1677 to 1694.
In 1866, on the proposal of the prefect Haussmann, the hotel was bought by the city of Paris to make it the Museum of the history of the capital.
Since 1880 the extension of the museum is remarkable with the annexation of the hotel Le Peletier de Saint - Fargeau in 1989 and more recently in 2016 the closure to the public for renovations carried out by the chief architect of Historic Monuments François Chatillon, it must be said that since 1846 this site has been part of the Historic Monuments and since 1965 of the Plan for the Protection and Development of the Marais.
It is in this magnificent setting that we discover the history of Paris through 625,000 works from prehistory to the present day. It is mainly through donations that the collections have been enriched, but also through archaeological excavations. The exhibited works belong to all art bodies: paintings, sculptures, models, signs, drawings, engravings, posters, medals and coins, objects of history and memory, photographs, woodwork, decorations and pieces of furniture. is a wide selection available to us.

CARNAVALET Museum
23, rue de Sévigné
75003 Paris
Tel: 01 44 59 58 58

The permanent collections are free, open access, without reservation.
The museum is open Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Closing of the ticket offices at 5.15 p.m., 5.55 p.m. for the sales counters.
Rooms close at 5:45 p.m.