The Carnavalet Museum was built in the 16th century as a Marais mansion. It has been expanded and converted into a museum to house part of the city’s municipal art collection. Today it claims to be the oldest museum in Paris. Over 100 rooms contain works that focus on the history of Paris and its inhabitants.

The museum contains furnished rooms from different periods.

If you have ever wondered how different Paris places previously looked, this is the museum to visit. Two of the initial galleries contain a number of iconic shop signs from and scale models of the 16th-century city that vividly demonstrate the stifling atmosphere of a growing city. Six- and seven-story shared-wall buildings were built all the way out to streets that were too narrow to accommodate more than two horses at a time.

The museum showcases architectural elements from a number of old Parisian mansions.

Most of the galleries contain portraits and other representations of the homes, lives, and people (especially the rich and famous people) of the 16th through early 20th centuries.