Paris revamps museum showcasing royalty and revolutionaries

At a time when coronavirus still has international travel on hold, the French Carnavalet museum is all set to open after four years of renovations.

Let's take a look at the treasures that will be on display:

 

The Carnavalet museum has since long been a hit among tourists. Popular for its rich collection, introducing Paris and the city's tumultuous past, the museum is due to reopen after four years of renovations.

Next week onwards, Paris history treasures spanning thousands of years will get a fresh airing in the city, with pistols from the French revolution showcased alongside a shoe thought to have been lost in flight by guillotined queen Marie Antoinette.

The museum underwent a 58 million euros ($71 million) revamp which includes an extension of the exhibition space, including by opening up underground vaults.

The museum will now house 625,000 works, many brought out of storage for the first time. This includes paintings, toiletry cases and tea sets used by Napoleon, early photos of the Eiffel Tower, and gold coins from the 2nd century B.C.

 

Star attractions include a canoe from the Neolothic age and 12th century gargoyle from Notre-Dame cathedral.

Visitors can also wander through a reconstruction of writer Marcel Proust's bedroom, with his real furniture and his coat on display.

The Carnavalet museum building, in the Marais district, dates back to the 16th century and became a museum in 1880.

 

After remaining under lock and key since last October due to the Coronavirus pandemic, which forced some exhibits to close early, many museums in France have begun to reopen From May 19.