This museum, that presents the History of Paris and the development of the city, will probably give you an ambiguous feeling. First the imposing one to have gone through the great times of the light city in the gorgeous mansion housing the museum ; then the frustrating one to note at the leaving that you went here with hopes and go back with many questions.
But do not think by that we don’t recommend you to visit this museum. On the contrary! Settled in the heart of the Marais neighborhood, in a very well-preserved building, the permanent collections of Carnavalet invite you (for free) to skim through the ages of Paris. You will discover the ideological and revolutionari wars, the huge building sites, the historical figures, or just the daily life of Parisians in a city in constant bustle, all thanks to paintings, sculptures, and period furniture.
We just regret that the museum do not call on much more educational tools like scale models or videos in order to help the visitor realize the magnitude of changes that has known Paris since the prehistory age. This tiny detail means that, unfortunately, this pleasant museum will be hardly understood by children.
Lastly, note that the building and the garden are really worth seeing and could be the only reason to go to Carnavalet Museum so that each rooms and architectural details are magnificent.