THE GUIDE MUSEUMS 2016


Musée de la Toile de Jouy, just outside Paris, yet a world away


hollandaise and tomate. The house he was born in, in the Alpes-Maritimes village of Villeneuve-Loubet, has been transformed into a museum by the Fondation Auguste Escoffi er, displaying everything from kitchen utensils and restaurant tables to menus and artworks. fondation-escoffi er.org/le_musee


La Coupole 62570 Wizernes


Evil Nazis once lurked beneath the huge concrete structure known as La Coupole. It was from here, near Saint-Omer, in Nord-Pas-de-Calais, that the Germans planned to launch their V2 rockets towards London. Fortunately the Allies bombed it so extensively that none ever fl ew. Nowadays La Coupole is a World War II museum with a 3D planetarium and lots of tunnels and bunkers. www.lacoupole-france.co.uk


Musée de la Grande Guerre 77100 Meaux


This Brutalist building in the town of Meaux, not far east of Paris, isn’t pretty, and the subject matter inside (the First World War) can be depressing, but this is a very important museum nonetheless. It offers a deep analysis of the Great War and the various combatants. “A


144 ❘ FRANCE TODAY Aug/Sept 2016


museum of history and society to help learn of past hardships, better understand present-day society and build tomorrow’s world,” the directors state. www.museedelagrandeguerre.eu


Musée de la Toile de Jouy 78350 Jouy-en-Josas Toile-de-Jouy is a style of decorative fabric that has become famous all over the world. It all stems from the village of Jouy-en-Josas, southwest of Paris, where it was originally developed by Christophe-Philippe Oberkampf (the chap after whom the Métro station in east Paris is named). This museum celebrates Oberkampf’s fi ne work – and his tremendous contribution to the economy of the entire city of Paris – displaying his textiles, fabrics and printing equipment, all in its original 18th-century setting. The venue for the museum is the wonderfully beautiful Château de l’Églantine. www.museedelatoiledejouy.fr


Musée Grévin 75009 Paris This is France’s equivalent of Madame Tussaud’s. Musée Grévin is a huge waxworks museum on Paris’s Boulevard Montmartre, and home to various goodies and baddies


© Laurent Gueneau - 2015 MAI


IMAGE © MUSÉE DE LA TOILE DE JOUY


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15