Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
MUSEUM
MUSÉE DE LA MONNAIE DE PARIS
Due to have reopened after extensive renovations by the time you're reading this, the Parisi-
an Mint Museum traces the history of French coinage from antiquity onwards, with displays
that help to bring to life this otherwise niche subject. It's housed in the 18th-century royal
mint, the Monnaie de Paris, which is still used by the Ministry of Finance to produce com-
memorative medals and coins.
The overhaul of this sumptuous neoclassical building with one of the longest facades on
the Seine will incorporate interior streets, the restoration of an aristocratic town house built
by Jules Hardouin Mansart in 1690, and triple-Michelin-starred chef Guy Savoy's flagship
restaurant as well as his casual courtyard brasserie, the Métal café.
HISTORIC BUILDING
INSTITUT DE FRANCE
The French Institute, created in 1795, brought together five of France's academies of arts
(French Academy), founded in 1635 by Cardinal Richelieu. Its 40 members, known as the
Immortels (Immortals), have the Herculean (some say impossible) task of safeguarding the
purity of the French language.
The domed building housing the institute, across the Seine from the Louvre's eastern end,
is a masterpiece of French neoclassical architecture.
LIBRARY
BIBLIOTHÈQUE MAZARINE
admission pass free; 10am-6pm Mon-Fri; Mabillon or Pont Neuf)
Within the
Institut de France
, the Mazarine Library is France's oldest public library, founded
in 1643. You can visit the bust-lined, late-17th-century reading room or consult the library's
collection of 500,000 volumes, using a pass valid for five consecutive days obtained by
providing ID.
