Musée de Cluny

The story

The museum grew from the medieval collection of Alexandre du Sommerard, bought by the State after his death, and opened in 1843 as France's first museum devoted to the art of the Middle Ages. Its home combines the remains of first-century Gallo-Roman baths with the Hôtel des abbés de Cluny, raised in the late 15th century for Jacques d'Amboise. One bath room keeps its vaulting intact and often hosts temporary exhibitions. A redesigned chronological route runs from late Antiquity to the end of the 15th century, through sculpture, ivories, enamels, goldwork and stained glass. Standouts include glass from Sainte-Chapelle, statue heads from Notre-Dame, the intricate Golden Rose and the epitaph of Nicolas Flamel. The Lady and the Unicorn cycle allegorises the five senses before a sixth panel inscribed À mon seul désir.