National Archives Museum

A great discovery in Le Marais

I’m walking quietly in the Marais when all of a sudden I start feelings drops of rain on my head. I tell myself that I will continue walking… what a mistake! I found myself soaked and in an imminent need for a shelter. So here I am at the hotels de Soubise et de Rohan, the place which contains the National Archives museum. I am all dripping and with time to kill so I just have to enjoy the moment. At first, I’m skeptical: can you get more boring than a museum on pieces of paper? But what a discovery! I am walking around this magnificent building in the typical 18th century style: moldings, Versailles parquet floors, mirrors… It’s truly exceptional. And little by little I begin to become interested in the place and the museum exhibition which is quite fascinating.

There you can discover remarkable pieces of history such as Marie-Antoinette’s last letter and other papers we did not even know existed but which nevertheless make sense in this place. The retrospective on the history of writing is very enriching and I had the chance to see the history of the right to abortion through pieces of archives like this speech by Simone Veil to the National Assembly or the law which enshrines freedom of access to abortion in the French Constitution – the day after its signature. So if you want to see something that changes, run to the National Archives museum, you won’t regret it.

PS: the gardens are super nice.