Musée National du Moyen-Âge General History
Medieval Artifacts
Paris,
75005
France
+33 1 5373 7816 
http://www.musee-moyenage.fr
contact.musee-moyenage@culture..
Transport Options:
Train Available: Cluny-La Sorbonne
Overview
It is located near the famous Sorbonne University and is one of the best examples of 15th-century architecture. The museum showcases armor, chests, ivories, mirrors and hangings which were gathered by Alexandre du Sommerard to portray the Medieval ages and the Renaissance. There is a whole room depicting the most amazing pieces of art from the 16th Century, such as Dutch tapestries full of flowers and birds, a woman spinning while a cat plays with the end of the thread and a pretty woman in her bath, overflowing into a duck pond. But the best exhibit is that of The Lady with the Unicorn tapestry, which features six inscrutable scenes of a beautiful woman flanked by a lion and a unicorn.Open Hours
Mo from 09:15 AM to 05:45 PM, We to Su from 09:15 AM to 05:45 PMUpcoming Events Near Musée National du Moyen-Âge
- Antiquité et Haut Moyen Âge | 2009-12-31, 00:00:00
- Tapestries, Cloths and Embroidery | 2009-12-31, 00:00:00
The museum is worth visiting just to see the buildings. One-half 15th-century estate, one-half Roman baths, this museum has amazing tapestries, paintings, and the original heads of the Kings on the facade of Notre Dame (yes, the ones on Notre Dame today are replicas!) Don't miss the first-floor room full of back-lit stained-glass, which you can see closer than you could ever hope to in a church. The second-floor room of reliquaries is fabulous as well. Where else could you see something built to hold Christ's umbilical cord, or a Pope's ring? Tip for families with kids (or adults) who are Harry Potter fans: Near the top of the stairs leading up to the Unicorn tapestries, Nicholas Flamel's tombstone (which he designed himself before he died) is displayed on the wall. Anyone who has read the first Harry Potter book will love it!
La dame et la licorne tapestries are not to be missed. As important and enriching as visiting the Eiffel Tower. And so quiet, as a museum ought to be.
The Natioal Museum of the Modern Age at the Hotel de Cluny was a wonderful find. It was just off the Rue St. Michel, but uncrowded even at the height of the tourist season. The building itself is medieval with a crypt and a Roman bathhouse still under a archaelogical excavation. Even more exiting is the exhibition of the Girl and the Unicorn tapestry,famous for its design and the fact that its five sections are still in tact.
