Can we talk about dinosaurs here?
Well not exactly dinosaurs… but if you love Paris… and all things French like me… you will see where I am going
Let me explain.
For the longest, longest time I have been wanting to go to the Natural History Museum in the Jardin des Plantes in Paris.
I have read about this museum and was intrigued to visit… not for the dinosaurs, fossils or rare species but for the decor.
Not your regular stop if you are interested in interiors.
The Natural History Museum in the Jardin des Plantes should be.
This wasn’t my first visit to the Jardins des Plantes but the museum has always eluded me… wrong day or monumental queues.
Now, I understand why people queue for admission… the building is extraodinary and inside… inside it’s fabulous.
Original everything… paint, woodwork, ironwork, architraving, the glass windows… the cabinetry is poetry in motion.
It’s another world… yet at the same time the cavernous room feels as if it could be part of a Steven Spielberg movie set.
As children and teachers familiarised themseves with prehistoric facts… I fell in love with the ornate ironwork and floral stair mouldings.
It’s not that I wasn’t impressed with all those bones.. it’s just that they don’t speak to me like the decor did.
There are three floors of what I am sure are very important specimens… but I was transfixed by my surroundings, especially the ceilng and the balcony details.
I am seriously hoping that the French bureaucracy never decide to “restore” or “remodel” this national treasure.
It may be old fashioned and missing the mod cons but it is so refreshing to be in a museum that isn’t all polished glass and sharp edges.
The faded colours of the room combined with the creamy white of the skeletons was a dream palette.
I will agree it was an unusual destination to find inspiration.
I could see past the hundreds of femurs and vertebrae and focus on the collection and it’s arrangement… the artistry and skill in the placement.
There was a harmony of size and shape that filled the room.
The design of the pedestals that held each and every animal was masterful… They were tightly packed and yet they owned the space and were perfectly visible for all to see.
The cabinets that lined either side of the room were the same… beautfully proportioned and arranged within.
The Natural History Museum is one of those attractions that is probably not first on a Parisian wishlist.
The museum doesn’t have the cachet of the Eiffel Tower or the famous names of the Louvre.
But…
If you have seen all the regular sites and are looking for a visual treat then this is for you.
There is the added bonus of Jardin des Plantes… a superb garden to discover.
The Natural History Museum and Jardin des Plantes
57 Rue Cuvier
75005 Paris, France
+33 1 40 79 56 01
