City of Architecture and Heritage

Cite de l'Architecture et du Patrimoine

City of Architecture and Heritage Hours and Admissions

Arrondissement: 16eme

Metro: Trocadero

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The City of Architecture and Heritage, the Cite de l'Architecture et du Patrimoine, explores the history of French architecture beginning from the 1100s to modern times.

Included are examples from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, Baroque and Rococo styles are represented as well as 20th century constructions.

Located in the Palais de Chaillot on the Place du Trocadero, it opened in September of 2007 after more than ten years of development.

The City of Architecture and Heritage is a collaboration of the Museum of French Monuments and the French Institute of Architecture and is one the largest architectural museums in the world.

Basically, everything in here is a reproduction, except for some original documents. This museum exhibits representations of French architecture consisting of plaster replications, reproductions of frescoes and paintings, reconstructions and models.

The permanent collection is presented in three major galleries:

• The Gallery of Moldings

• The Gallery of Wall Paintings and Window Panels

• The Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Architecture

The Gallery of Moldings

This collection began with the Museum of Comparative Sculpture created by Viollet le Duc, renovator of the Cathedral of Notre Dame and Sainte Chapelle during the 1850s. The Gallery of Moldings chronologically presents castings of facades, gargoyles, pillars and arches of civic and religious constructions from the 1100s -1700s.

The Gallery of Wall Paintings and Window Panels

This collection was part of the Museum of French Monuments, organized by Paul Deschamps. From 1937-1962, copies were made of French murals from the 12th-16th centuries. This collection is displayed chronologically and thematically.

The Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Architecture

This gallery is displayed chronologically, covers 150 years of architecture and begins with the year 1851. The focus here is design and construction and the place of architecture in society. Included is a full scale reproduction of an apartment from the Cité Radieuse, the Radiant City, in Marseille, designed by Le Corbusier, built in 1952.

Temporary exhibits are also presented in the City of Architecture and Heritage. Workshops and classes are offered. Conferences, symposiums and lectures take place in a auditorium seating over 270 people. Films are presented in the famous Cinematheque theatre, a hold-over from the cinema museums which used to be located here. A library of 45,000 books relating to architecture, one of the largest such libraries in Europe, is available. This museum is an active place of learning and training.

City of Architecture and Heritage Museum Hours and Admissions

The City of Architecture and Heritage is open everyday from 11 a.m.-7 p.m. and until 9 p.m. on Thursday.

It is closed on Tuesday and on May 1, August 15 and December 25.

Admissions to the permanent exhibits are:

8 euros for adults, 5 euros for those between 18-25 years old, free for those under 18 years old.

Admission is free for everybody on the first Sunday of the month.

Combination tickets for the permanent and temporary exhibits are 10 euros and 7 euros, depending on the age of the person.

Admissions to one temporary exhibit is 5 euros and 3 euros.

Admissions to two temporary exhibits is 8 euros and 5 euros.

Admission is free to the temporary exhibits for those under 12 years of age.

A café is available which offers a great view of the Eiffel Tower.

For further information, visit the City of Architecture and Heritage website.

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