risab

I wondered if folks out there thought touring the Conciergerie was an interesting experience. We loved the exterior of the building on our last trip but didn't have time to do a tour. Our daughter, age 15, just read Tale of Two Cities and has been studying the French Revolution so we thought it might be interesting to see...? Any thoughts?

Pausanias

I found it very interesting. The medieval hall is well preserved -- doesn't take much imagination to bring it to life. There is an exhibit on Marie Antoinette, who was confined there before her execution. Some historical inaccuracy has been noted -- I can't recall if it's the location, or the furnishings, or whatever -- but the effect on me was to arouse a poignant sense of the barbarity and futility of the death penalty.

BlueSwimmer

It was on the Carte Musee, so it was "free" and easy to walk right into. I loved the interior architecture and the sense of history it evoked, and it didn't take long to tour. I think it is worth doing if you are in the area to see Notre Dame anyway.

Christina

yes, I found it very interesting to see. I am very interested in architectural history, for one thing, and that building is the oldest open public building in Paris, I believe. It is also interesting for the history of what happened in there, of course.

StCirq

It's been my daughter's favorite site to visit in Paris since she was 13 (now 18) - but she was a marie Antoinette buff. Anyway, a lot of people dismiss is, but I always find it very moving.

BabsB

Sometimes they have interesting exhibits in the main hall. Check out their web site to see if anything is going on while you are there. Last July we saw an exhibit of "then and now" old international travel paintings with a photograph of how the location looks now. It was very interesting.

risab

Thank you for the input. We've put it on our "visit list" for our upcoming April trip.

Ian

Good. We found it worth a visit. In the Salle des Gardes you will find the most amazing wall plaque of Medusa . . .

Ian

francophile03

It was very interesting to me. I liked the Marie Antoinette display even though it was not the queen's actual cell. I think that as long as you're in Paris you should visit it at least once.