Fodor's Expert Review Cité de l'Architecture et du Patrimoine
The greatest gems of French architecture are represented at the City of Architecture and Heritage, which occupies the east wing of the Palais de Chaillot. The former French Monuments Museum covers French architecture from the middle ages to the present and contains some 350 plaster-cast reproductions spread out over 86,000 square feet. Although this is a collection comprised entirely of copies, these are no ordinary ones: they include partial facades from some of the most important Gothic churches, a gallery of frescoes and windows (among them a stained-glass stunner from the famous Chartres cathedral), plus an assembly of gargoyles practically leaping off the back wall of the soaring first-floor gallery. Video monitors allow a 360-degree view of some of the grandest cathedrals. The upper-floor gallery has been devoted to architecture since 1851, with a life-size replica of a postwar apartment in Marseille designed by the urban-planning pioneer Le Corbusier. It's well worth picking up... READ MORE
The greatest gems of French architecture are represented at the City of Architecture and Heritage, which occupies the east wing of the Palais de Chaillot. The former French Monuments Museum covers French architecture from the middle ages to the present and contains some 350 plaster-cast reproductions spread out over 86,000 square feet. Although this is a collection comprised entirely of copies, these are no ordinary ones: they include partial facades from some of the most important Gothic churches, a gallery of frescoes and windows (among them a stained-glass stunner from the famous Chartres cathedral), plus an assembly of gargoyles practically leaping off the back wall of the soaring first-floor gallery. Video monitors allow a 360-degree view of some of the grandest cathedrals. The upper-floor gallery has been devoted to architecture since 1851, with a life-size replica of a postwar apartment in Marseille designed by the urban-planning pioneer Le Corbusier. It's well worth picking up the free English audiovisual guide. When you're ready for a break, the museum's small café offers a great view of the Eiffel Tower.
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