MUSEUMS 2019 THE GUIDE


The marvellous and the macabre meet at Lyon’s Musée Miniature et Cinéma. Here, it seems the ‘Do Not Feed The Exhibits After Midnight’ sign has been wilfully ignored


is one of the darker scenes of Les Misérables, Jean Valjean is compelled to carry an injured Marius to safety through the sewers of Paris… And yet today we descend gladly into this fosse. What wonder is modernity! (Currently closed for renovation, due to reopen in early 2020.) www.parisinfo.com


Musée des Mille et Une Racines Cornimont, Vosges


Some of us never grow up – and that’s okay. If you still dream of fauns and fairies, look no further than Normandy’s quirky 1001 Tree Roots Museum. Late local artist Michel Maurice spent much of his life wandering the forests of Vosges, unearthing loose roots and transforming them into little tokens of flora and fauna; and this permanent exhibition is a touching tribute


to his work. The whole family will be enthralled by the curious carved wooden faces peering out from the foliage. And kids under 10 get in for free! www.1001racines.fr


Musée des Vampires Les Lilas, Île-de-France


Fan(g)s of all things Dracula- related will adore this small cabinet of curiosities tucked away in Paris’s eastern suburbs. Privately run out of the curator’s own home, this macabre museum invites guests (by appointment only, we should point out) to marvel at Jacques Sirgent’s collection of blood- sucker paraphernalia, from antique literature and movie posters to a mummified cat and vampire protection kit from the 1800s. Bolstered by Sirgent’s seemingly inexhaustible knowledge of the shadowy


netherworld, a short spell here is truly unforgettable – and not for the faint of heart. artclips.free.fr/musee_des_ vampires/MuseeVampires1


Musée Miniature et Cinéma Lyon, Rhône


Proof that good things come in small packages, this quirky museum features shrunken- down scenes that could have been plucked from real life, from classrooms to kitchens, libraries to barbershops. This fantastical miniature world is the brainchild of miniaturist artist Dan Ohlmann and features the work of several of his contemporaries, with all items lovingly created in minute detail. Also here are props from modern cinema, such as the Queen from the Alien franchise and the killer doll Chucky from the Child’s Play series. museeminiatureetcinema.fr


Naïa Museum Rochefort-en-Terre, Morbihan Welcome to Brittany’s sci-fi sanctum. Quite frankly, fans of Giger’s alien and all things otherworldly couldn’t ask for a better setting. Morbihan is itself steeped in myth – notably tales surrounding its megalithic standing stones and Brocéliande forest – but it was a local witch from the early 20th century that gave the Naïa Museum its name. Herein lies all manner of space-related and fantasy works by modern artists with wild imaginations, ranging from sculptures to fine art and digital paintings. A new escape game will test your mettle, and running until March 2020, a temporary installation entitled ‘Tomorrow Revealed’ ponders mankind’s future and our place among the stars. www.naiamuseum.com FT


Aug/Sep 2019 FRANCE TODAY ❘ 155


IMAGE © YANN CARADEC


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