Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
TOP SIGHT
MUSÉE NATIONAL DU MOYEN ÂGE
The National Museum of the Middle Ages holds a series of sublime treasures,
from medieval statuary, stained glass and objets d'art to its celebrated series
of tapestries, The Lady and the Unicorn. Throw in the extant architecture - an
ornate 15th-century mansion (the Hôtel de Cluny), and the much older frigid-
arium (cold room) of an enormous Roman-era bathhouse - and you have one
of Paris' top small museums.
Initially the residential quarters of the Cluny Abbots, the
Hôtel de Cluny
today holds
some fascinating relics, not least of which is an entire room (No 8) dedicated to statuary
from Notre Dame's facade, removed during the Revolution and later used to support the
foundations of a private mansion.
The museum's northwestern corner is where you'll find the remains of the Gallo-Roman
bathhouse
, built around AD 200. Look for the display of the fragment of mosaic
Love
Riding a Dolphin,
as well as a gorgeous marble bathtub from Rome. Outside the museum,
remnants of the other rooms - a
palaestra
(exercise room),
tepidarium
(warm bath) and
caldarium
(hot bath) - are visible.
Upstairs on the 1st floor (room 13) are the unicorn tapestries, representing the five senses
and an enigmatic sixth, perhaps the heart. It's believed that they were originally commis-
sioned around 1500 by the Le Viste family in Paris. Discovered in 1814 in the Chateau de
Boussac, they were acquired by the museum in 1882 and have since provided inspiration to
many, from Prosper Mérimée and George Sand to, most recently, Tracy Chevalier.
Small
gardens
to the museum's northeast, including the Jardin Céleste (Celestial Garden)
and the Jardin d'Amour (Garden of Love), are planted with flowers, herbs and shrubs that
appear in works hanging throughout the museum.
