PARIS, FRANCE - SEPTEMBER 16, 2013: Detail from the Arts et Metiers metro station in Paris at September 15 2013.Station was redesigned in 1994 in a reminiscent of science fiction works of Jules Verne.; Shutterstock ID 407355013; Your name (First / Last): Lauren Gillmore; GL account no.: 56530; Netsuite department name: Online-Design; Full Product or Project name including edition: 65050/ Online Design /LaurenGillmore/POI

Shutterstock / Goran Bogicevic

Musée des Arts et Métiers

Le Marais, Ménilmontant & Belleville


The Arts and Crafts Museum, dating to 1794 and Europe's oldest science and technology museum, is a must for families – or anyone with an interest in how things tick or work. Housed inside the sublime 18th-century priory of St-Martin des Champs, some 2400 instruments, machines and working models from the 18th to 20th centuries are displayed across three floors. In the priory's attached church is Foucault’s original pendulum, introduced to the world at the Universal Exhibition in Paris in 1855.

Louis Blériot’s monoplane from 1909 is also here. Guided tours are in French only but the excellent English audioguides (€5) – one for adults and another aimed at children aged seven to 12 years – more than compensates.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Le Marais, Ménilmontant & Belleville attractions

1. Porte St-Martin

0.23 MILES

Commemorating victories by Louis XIV’s armies, this triumphal arch was – like the Porte St-Denis – built in the late 17th century, replacing gates in the…

2. Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson

0.28 MILES

Founded by renowned French humanist photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908–2004) and his portrait-photographer wife Martine Franck (1938–2012), this…

3. Porte St-Denis

0.31 MILES

Along with the Porte St-Martin, this triumphal arch was built in the late 17th century to commemorate a victory by Louis XIV’s armies. At the time of its…

4. Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature

0.32 MILES

Collections at the Hunting and Nature Museum, inside the delightful Hôtel de Guénégaud (1651), include paintings, sculptures and objets d’art related to…

6. Atelier Brancusi

0.34 MILES

Northwest of the main building of the Centre Pompidou, this reconstruction of the studio of Romanian-born sculptor Constantin Brancusi (1876–1957),…

7. Tour Jean sans Peur

0.36 MILES

This 29m-high Gothic tower was built during the Hundred Years' War by the Duke of Bourgogne so that he could take refuge from his enemies – such as the…

8. Musée des Archives Nationales

0.36 MILES

France's National Archives and small museum are set in a stunning pair of hôtels particuliers (mansions) amid beautiful gardens. Dating from the early…