FALL SALE: Save up to $1,058 on our trips! Limited spots. Book Now.

Weird, Offbeat, & Surprising Museums In Paris

Courtesy of Deyrolle
Courtesy of Deyrolle | © Marc Dantan

You’ve taken a selfie with the Mona Lisa in the Louvre, wept at the beauty of Monet in L’Orangerie, and looked out at Paris through the giant clock at Musée d’Orsay. But as you now traipse round the Pompidou Centre for the fourth time this season, you feel completely incurious. For those who have already seen the masterpieces and want something more startling, here is a taste of what lies off the tourist track in Paris.

Station Arrêt Facultatif

Market, Store

Marché aux Puces de Saint-Ouen
© Clara Giaud/Flickr
At a first glance through this otherwise unassuming doorway, it looks as if a fight broke out at the famous antiques market, Marché aux Puces de St Ouen: old postcards, photo frames, and ancient books are scattered across the floor, with jewelry and antique trinkets dripping from every surface.

Some would call it a mess, but this is in fact a gallery/brocante (second-hand store). Anne-Marie, the owner, is an accomplished artist, having designed for numerous fashion houses, including Chanel. In 2008 she decided to do something different, and opened the Station, where rather than the usual blank space, artists could display their work amongst her collection of knick-knacks.

It was to be an exciting collaboration between artist and venue owner. Alas the project has had little interest, so Marie displays her own works of art. It’s an odd space, but those who show an interest will always be quietly welcomed.

Pagoda Paris

Few tourists have encountered this bizarre building, but those who do will not forget it. Located surprisingly near the Champs-Élysées, but away from the regular tourist foot-fall, it looks comically out of place among the Haussmannian streets.

Right in the heart of Paris, sandwiched between the light sandstone of the adjoining buildings is a bright red Pagoda. When Mr. Ching Tsai Loo, a famed collector of Chinese and Asian art and antiques, bought the building in 1925, there was nothing extraordinary about it.

However, with the help of architect Fernand Bloch, Mr. Loo created a Pagoda in which to house his collection. Ownership has since changed, as have the collections, but the Pagoda is really a museum in itself, its luxury interior changing theme with every room.

48 Rue de Courcelles, 75008 Paris, France, +33 1 45 61 06 93

Pagoda

Musée des Arts Forains

Museum

Musée des Arts Forains
© Laika Ak/Wiki Commons
So you know that scene in Midnight in Paris (2011), when there’s a big party at what appears to be a carnival? You can go there. For those who have not yet seen Woody Allen’s homage to the City of Lights, just imagine stepping back into the gilded glamour of the Belle Époque, with vintage carousels and gardens with chandeliers.

If you visit Musée des Arts Forains, in the Bercy neighborhood, you can do just that. Located in converted wine cellars, Jean-Paul Favand has brought together his extraordinary collection of fairground rides, music-hall objects and anything of the phantasmagorical.

The museum can be hired for private functions, or individuals can book a guided tours. And yes, you can ride and play with some of the objects.

Musée des Automates et de la Magie

Museum

Musée des Automates et de la Magie
© Jean- Pierre Dalbéra/Wiki Commons
A good one for small kids and big kids alike, the museum of magic gives you a wide view of the art of magic from the 18th century up to the present. It is, however, one particular wing of the museum that fascinates, and if we’re being honest, leaves us a little terrified: automatons; devilment; genius; or extravagant clockwork?

The museum houses over a hundred automatons, with every single one still in working order, waiting for you to play with them. It was the period from 1860 to 1910 that was known as the Golden Age of Automata, and Paris, like with many other art forms, was its cultural hub. The museum is based in a 16th-century cellar in the Marais.

But the scariest thing of all? The cellar lies underneath what was once the home of the sadist and potentially mad Marquis de Sade.

Deyrolle

Museum, Shop

Taxidermist Deyrolle has been in business since 1831
© Marc Dantan
Remember that other party scene in Midnight in Paris (2011), with all those stuffed animals? You can visit it, too! In fact, the inhabitants of this museum have starred in quite a few films over the years.

So if you mourn the dying art of taxidermy (and let’s face it, who doesn’t?), Deyrolle is the museum for you. A family business since 1831, it has changed hands several times since, and was restored to its former glory under current owner, Louis Albert de Broglie. He emphasizes that the museum still has an educational value, taking great care to re-source old charts of different insects and birds.

He also emphasizes that no animal was killed to be mounted; all died of illness or old age. So as much as you want your dog to feature in that next blockbuster – you’re going to have to find another way.

About the author

Clare McVay is a freelance writer, full- time dreamer, and professional coffee hunter (she can smell a fresh cappuccino at one hundred paces). Now graduated from the University of Glasgow with a degree in French and English Language, she plans on devoting more time to exploring new places, expanding her blog Chic and Cheese, and trying more cakes. With experience as a tour guide in both Paris and Glasgow, she enjoys showing strangers what her favourite cities have to offer. Although flitting between places, Paris will always hold the dearest part of her heart, after capturing it at the tender age of thirteen. No matter where she is in the world, and in life, the cobbled streets of Montmartre, the Quais by the Seine, and the ancient Latin Quarter are always calling.

Culture Trip Fall Sale

Save up to $1,058 on our unique small-group trips! Limited spots.

toast-message-image
close-ad
Edit article