Carnavalet Museum

Carnavalet Museum

Bear in mind a visit to the Musée Carnavalet (at 23 and 29 rue de Sévigné in the 4th arrondissement ~ closed Mondays); this is the former residence of Madame de Sévigné and now a museum entirely devoted to the history of the city of Paris. Give yourself lots of time, as there's much to see: Proust's bedroom reconstructed, paintings, French history detailed by period (different floors depict different periods), old store signs and entire storefronts and rooms preserved from now demolished buildings.

And, if you are in the neighborhood, continue on towards the Place des Vosges and stop into the Victor Hugo Museum (formerly his house).

ALSO worth a side trip is the newly (fall 2003) opened Maison Baccarat. It is somewhat to see the Baccarat crystal collection (the firm's museum dedicated to their crystal work) all set in this old mansion by designer Philippe Starck, but my curiosity revolved more around the setting: located at 11 place des Etats-Unis in the 16th arrondissement, this is the former hotel particulier owned by the infamous Marie Laure de Noailles, a grand patroness of the arts and a first supporter of the works of Dali, Bunuel, and Cocteau. This private mansion had always been closed to the public, but is now open as this new museum. Tel: 01-40-22-11-00. Museum is open Mondays - Sundays from 10AM until 7PM.

Before you visit Paris (or even once you are there) you might want to read through the anthology I have edited:

A Place in the World Called Paris
Paperback, Chronicle Books
Edited Steven Barclay
Foreword by Susan Sontag
Illustrations by Miles Hyman

The book is out of print, but still available on Amazon Marketplace.

The description reads:
Paris--with its subtle moods, elegant charm, and sensual allure--inspires writers and visitors like no other city. A Place in the World Called Paris, now in a beautiful paperback edition, collects the twentieth century's most distinguished authors writing on the unique facets of the City of Light. This anthology of more than 170 short excerpts from fiction, poetry, essays, and memoirs presents fresh and unexpected views of Paris: Franz Kafka on riding the Metro; Truman Capote on visiting Colette in her apartment in the Palais-Royal; Jane Kramer on Parisian style; Claude Debussy on the Luxembourg Gardens; E.B. White on the Liberation; and Maya Angelou on Paris nightlife. With an evocative foreword by Susan Sontag, and atmospheric charcoal drawings by Miles Hyman, this is a treasured volume for anyone who remembers Paris, from literature, or from their own walks along the Seine.