Places to discover

Institut du monde arabe
Arab-Muslim civilisation is showcased at the centre of timeless Paris in this superb glass and steel building, designed by Jean Nouvel and Architecture Studio, and built in 1987. Behind the mobile moucharabiyah screens that regulate the amount of sunlight entering the building, tradition and modern technology work together to set the tone. An ultra-modern oriental gentleness reigns over the museum, exhibition rooms, auditorium, library and media library for young people, language centre, bookshop, restaurant and literary café. One can also enjoy temporary exhibitions, mint tea and concerts, dance and cinema, conferences, sugar-covered shortbread crescents, art workshops and more.
Collections of the “l’IMA” The museum’s collections are displayed over three floors around a patio and showcase the very essence of Arab-Muslim art, from ancient history to the 20th century and from the far reaches of central Asia to the shores of the Atlantic. Phoenician amphora and Yemenite perfume burners bear witness to the pre-Islamic era before the flourishing dynasties of Damascus and Baghdad, and the blossoming of science. And finally, explore the treasures of the golden age: glass, metal, ceramics,wood encrusted with ivory, shell, pewter, and mother of pearl, and the ideal, sacred world of carpets.
1, rue des Fossés-Saint-Bernard (5th). M° Jussieu. Tél. : 01 40 51 38 38. Voice response service : 01 40 51 38 11. Daily: 10am-6pm, except Mon.
€6 – RR: €4. Under 12s: free.
www.imarabe.org


Musée du Moyen Âge – Thermes et hôtel de Cluny
Since 1843, the Musée National du Moyen Âge has encompassed two architectural marvels: the Gallo- Roman baths, dating from the end of the 2nd century BC, and the Hôtel des Abbés de Cluny, built in the 15th century. The main building and the wings of the hôtel reveal the layout of subsequent centuries, but, in the exuberant interlacing of the curves of the façade, the Middle Ages is resplendent… and even more so inside. Sculpture, gold and silver plate, ceramics, tapestry, furniture, and everyday objects provide a unique picture of medieval art and society. Between the little chapel sculpted with foliage and the secular sanctuary dedicated to the La Dame à la Licorne (The Lady with the Unicorn) tapestries, there is an extensive collection of golden crowns, Byzantine ivory, daggers and coats of chain mail. Of the ancient Gallo-Roman baths, one can see the remains of the tepid baths and the caldarium, a kind of sauna. However, the best conserved part is the frigidarium. Here one was sprayed with cold water after passing through the steam baths. See also the impressive fifteen-metre-high vaults and the remains of the sculpted pillars of tritons that pay tribute to the corporation of Nautes (Gallic boatmen).
6, place Paul-Painlevé (5th). M° Cluny-la-Sorbonne. Tél. : 01 53 73 78 16. Daily: 9.15am-5.45pm, except Tue, 1 Jan, 1 May and 25 Dec. €7.50, under 18s and 1st Sun of month: free. www.musee-moyenage.fr

Medieval garden
Since 2000, the museum’s gardens, of medieval inspiration, prolong the journey in the Unicorn Forest. Take a walk through the ménagier (a kitchen garden for pot plants), observe the medicinal plants, and admire the inner courtyard dotted with flowers, the Heavenly Garden and the Garden of Love.


Muséum national d’histoire naturelle
This has been one of the favourite walks of Parisians… since 1640! It was in this year that the Jardin Royal des Plantes Médicinales (Royal Medicinal Plants Garden), created by Louis XIII in 1633, became the first public garden in Paris. Under the influence of Buffon and the Jussieu botanist brothers, the garden was enlarged and an emphasis placed on research. Renamed Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle in 1793, exhibition galleries were added in the 19th and 20th centuries. The Natural History Museum is set within over 23 hectares of plants and trees and harmoniously combines the natural sciences with candy floss and sweets kiosks. But what exactly is there to do here?_57, rue Cuvier (5th). *M° Jussieu. Tél. : 01 40 79 56 01.
www.mnhn.fr*

Jardin des plantes
Wander peacefully among the statues, lime trees from Russia, the olive trees from Bohemia, and twenty or so trees over one hundred years old. The oldest – a Cedar of Lebanon – was planted in 1734. Climb to the belvedere, at the top of a little hill named Labyrinthe, for a romantic embrace or to embrace the view. You’ll pass school children out on the trail of dinosaurs or here to learn about gardening. Explore the hot houses, the educational vegetable garden, the Alpine garden, and the rose, iris, rock and peony gardens.
*Free admission, every day of the year. Cabinet d’histoire du Jardin des plantes. From Wed to Mon: 10am-5pm. _€3 – RR: €1.

Galeries de paléontologie et d’anatomie comparée
Dans un bâtiment 1900 tout en poutrelles et consoles métalliques, on apprend l’alphabet des vertébrés et des invertébrés dans l’atmosphère d’un cabinet de curiosités. On salue au passage le squelette du rhinocéros de Louis XV et des centaines de stars fossilisées : dinosaures, mammouths, baleine australe géante...
Du mer au lun : 10h à 17h. Sam, dim et jours fériés, 1er mai : fermé. Du 1er avr au 30 sept : 10h à 18h. 6 € - TR : 4 €. - 4 ans : gratuit.
Galerie de minéralogie et de géologie
et d’anatomie comparée In a building dating back to 1900 with metallic beams and cantilevers, one learns the alphabet of vertebrates and invertebrates. Admire the skeleton of Louis XV’s rhinoceros and hundreds of fossilised exhibits, including dinosaurs, mammoths, etc.
Wed to Mon: 10am-5pm. Sat, Sun and public hols, 1 May: closed. From 1 Apr to 30 Sept: 10am-6pm. €6 – RR: €4. Under 4s: free.

Ménagerie
This little zoo is home to Sichuan takins, Seychelles turtles and almost one thousand mammals, birds and reptiles in an English-style landscape with footbridges and small pavilions. One can picnic here and lean – though not too far – over the bear pit. Don’t miss the monkey house, wild-cat house – major architectural feats from the 1930s – or the white storks and black-crowned cranes, under the finely netted dome of the great aviary, which dates from 1888.
Daily, Winter: 9am-5pm. From 7 Feb: 9am-5.30pm. Sun and public hols: 9am-6.30pm. €7 – RR: €5. Under 4s: free.


Arènes de Lutèce
In the 1st and 2nd centuries BC, this amphitheatre held up to 15,000 people, who came to see plays, comedies, gladiator combats and wild beasts fighting. Together with the forum and the baths, the amphitheatre constituted the centre of the Gallo- Roman city. Rediscovered in 1869, while building rue Monge, the restored amphitheatre has been reopened, offering its stone terracing and stage to the city – impromptu football matches take place here after school, as well as games of pétanque and just general lazing around in the sun.




Rue Mouffetard and place de la Contrescarpe
A saunter down the gentle slope of montagne Sainte-Geneviève along rue Mouffetard is a delightful experience and full of picture-postcard views of Paris. In the small paved place de la Contrescarpe, restaurant and café terraces encircle the ‘village’ fountain. The Pomme de Pin store, still visible at No. 1, is a reminder that the area was once filled with cabarets. It is here that the rue Mouffetard, once the only road leading from Lutèce (Paris) to Rome, starts to trace its medieval line; today it is the place to pause for an affordable bite to eat in the lively pubs and cafés. But good food is making its mark again, and under many a sloping façade you’ll find window displays of traditional breads and cakes, stalls of charcuterie, and mounds of fruit and vegetables, leading to the small and colourful market that stretches from the bottom of the street to the Saint-Médard church bell tower.


Abbaye royale du Val-de-Grâce
Anne of Austria, the young queen abandoned by her husband Louis XIII, vowed to “build a magnificent temple to God if he sent her a son”. Her wish was granted with the birth of the future Louis XIV, in 1638, after over twenty years of marriage. She had to wait another seventeen years to see the beginning of the building work, which was completed after her death, in 1669. Magnificently preserved thanks to the military hospital established here since 1796, the royal abbey of Val-de-Grâce is a unique gem of 17th century religious architecture
Rue Saint-Jacques (cour d’entrée de l’église) (5th). RER Port-Royal. Tue, Wed, Sat and Sun: 12-noon-5pm. €4.60 – RR: €2.30.