history museums or locations
 

I am going to london and paris february friday 15th-the 21rst. Any history museum or historic locations that any one of you guys recommend in those locations?

Do you have good guidebooks for these cities? They will provide extensive coverage of your options. You might consider getting the Rough Guide or Lonely Planet, or consult them in your local library.

Yes i do. My aunt bought me a lot.

Yes, hundreds. Read those guide books.

Short lists:

London - Tower of London, Hampton court palace, British museum, Westminster abbey, St Paul's cathedral, museum of London, Windsor Castle . . . And MANY more

Paris- Versailles, the Louvre, Notre Dame, the Cluny, Concierge . . . And MANY more.

Both cities are extremely historic. You only have 7 days, which is not a lot of time, so the best thing to do is to identify the sights that you are most interested in. The lists you will get here are the same as the ones in your guide books but the guide books will give descriptions of the sights so you can choose what appeals to you.

London: Cabinet War Rooms, Ceremony of the Keys, Westminster Abbey

Paris: Ste-Chapelle, Pere Lachaise cemetery, Invalides, Sewers

What period history interest you the most?

<i>Yes i do. My aunt bought me a lot.</i>

Then read them. If you decide not to then get a ball, throw it - it will hit history in London.

Imperial War Museum, London

Museum of the City of London

Musée Carnavalet, museum of the history of Paris

These cities ARE history. Unlike the US where in many places older buildings are constantly being torn down in favor of newer ones there are many areas that have historic buildings (in London despite the great Fire and the Blitz) and you can see living history just by touring many older neighborhoods.

For instance the Pont Neuf (new bridge) in Paris was built in 1607. (Now it is the oldest bridge in paris - but when built all the other bridges were older) Don't miss walking across it.

There is a "Destinations" tab at the top oof this page. Check out London and Paris. You will get lots of ideas. But, as the posters above have said, use your guidebooks. Only you can decide what things appeal.

I wouldn't call the Cluny a "history museum." It's an art museum. The Louvre isn't a history museum, either. There are actually history museums, not just museums that have various periods of art.

There is a new fantastic one in Meaux, which you can easily get to on the RER from Paris, it's a suburb. It's dedicated to WWI. I loved it, it was superbly done. IN Paris, the French Archives are what I'd call a history museum. It's interesting, but I'd say not a top notch attraction. http://www.archives-nationales.culture.gouv.fr/

They do bill that as the French history museum.
http://www.museums-of-paris.com/musee_fr.php?code=311


Of course they bill the Carnavalet museum as a museum about the history of Paris, and it's about the only one they specifically call a history museum that is not military-related in Paris. It's not really nearly as good as the City of London history museum (or Prague, either). For some odd reason, Paris doesn't have a really top notch city history museum IMO.

There is the one devoted to Judaism, it is good (Musee de l'Histoire de Judaisme).

Another one which is very good is the one near gare Montparnasse devoted to the French Resistance and the LIberation of Paris.

en.parisinfo.com/paris-museum-monument/71086/Mémorial-du-général-Leclerc-de-Hauteclocque-et-de-la-Libération-de-Paris-Musée-Jean-Moulin

In London, go to the Tower of London and the Royal War Museum. This is the time to be thinking about WWI. The Tower has an AMAZING art installation of ceramic poppies, one for every Brit dead. I tear up just thinking about it. And the War Museum has excellent displays.

In Paris, make sure you go the the War museum attached to Les Invalides.

These are both glorious places, two of my favorites, everyone's favorites. But take advantage of the moment. Consider taking a train from Paris to Meaux and visiting the new "Museum of the Great War" (opened 2012). And while you are at it you can tour a brie cheese factory. (I love Meaux--it's really a surprisingly lovely little town.)

So spend some time googling "WWI" and related topics and attach the results to your guidebooks.

Best, Ellen

Guided tours of historic sites can offer a wealth of information if the guide is well-versed.

Our guide on a tour of St. Paul's Cathedral was a little girl during World War II and had all kinds of memories of the war years she shared, along with the history of the church and city.

I loved the Musée de l'Armée in Paris. Among other things, this is where I learned that it was actually DeGaulle who won the war. :)

Christina: the OP also asked re historic 'locations' . . . Not just museums. So the louvre ain't historic in your view??

I just wonder about the OP's user name. Wouldn't a history geek already know about historic sites in london and Paris? And punctuation?

I had similar thoughts. History is about reading and research and OP has admitted to having " a lot" of guidebooks. My suggestion would be to read them then come back to this forum for more detailed information.

"The Tower has an AMAZING art installation of ceramic poppies, one for every Brit dead."

The poppies are gone now, sent off to the people that bought them.

His trip is 6 days long for the two cities. Drive by history lesson. Do you think this might be a leg pulling especially with an aunt buying the guide books!!