Not only is Paris' Le Marais neighborhood chock full of historical, 17th-century palaces, chic fashion and accessory boutiques, and some of the best food shops in the city, it also has 10 museums ranging from Victor Hugo’s apartment to the magnificent Picasso. To help you explore the area, we have highlighted three of our favorite off-the-beaten-track museums we are sure you will want to visit.
Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature
Two former palaces from the 1600s in the upper Marais have been joined to become a fascinating museum about hunting and nature. The maze of rooms on three floors at the Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature ("Museum of Hunting and Nature") contains 17th- and 18th-century oil paintings with portraits of animals and animal hunts, ceramics, sculptures, tapestries, photographs and videos. One room has handsome antique rifles and guns, some with mother of pearl decoration.
Temporary art installations by contemporary artists are incorporated into the permanent collection. The current exhibition (until November 5, 2024), "La Chair du Monde" by artist and sculptor Tamara Kostianovsky, is a series of 30 sculptures created with upcycled textiles and clothing fabrics.
Visit www.chassenature.org.
Maison Européenne de la Photographie
Just around the corner from the Parish Church of Saint-Paul of Saint-Louis and metro is the premiere photography museum of Paris (and in Europe). Opened in 1996, Maison Européenne de la Photographie is laid out on three floors of a former 18th-century private home and specializes in photography from the 1950s until the present. An impressive group of international photographers have had their work shown at the museum, including William Klein, Pierre et Gilles, Nan Goldin, Robert Frank, Sebastio Salgado and Irving Penn. The museum library has over 40,000 volumes and periodicals, as well as 700 films, making it the largest photography reference library in Europe. There’s also an outdoor café, bookshop with an extensive collection of photography books, journals and magazines, and an auditorium that screens films and has lectures.
Visit www.mep-fr.org.
Musée Cognacq-Jay
Ernest Cognacq, born in 1839, went from being a traveling salesman to owning one of the most successful department stores in Paris, La Samaritaine. As his fortunes grew, he and his wife Marie-Louise Jay, became serious collectors of 18th-century art, furniture, tapestries, objets, carpets, crystal and fine china. When Ernest died in 1928, he bequeathed a major part of his art and furniture collection to the city of Paris. In 1990, they moved the collection to a former mansion from 1575 in the Marais.
Today, the museum not only houses the stunning collection on three floors, it also hosts temporary exhibitions relating to 18th-century arts. At the present time, there’s a fabulous temporary exhibition, "Luxe de Poche," which displays a collection of 260 small, 18th-century objects. The collection includes snuff boxes, pill boxes, cigarette cases, perfume atomizers and flasks. Many of the objects were made by hand with exquisite finishes of porcelain, enamel, gold leafing and mother of pearl. The museum has a lovely outdoor café in the inner cobblestone courtyard.
Visit www.museecognacqjay.paris.
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