Cité de l'architecture et du patrimoine

The Cité de l'architecture et du patrimoine occupies the Palais de Chaillot on the Trocadéro hill, directly across the Seine from the Eiffel Tower. The building, redesigned for the 1937 International Exposition, houses one of the most ambitious architecture museums in the world, with galleries spanning French architectural history from the Romanesque period to the present day. Its celebrated collection includes full-scale plaster casts of cathedral portals and column capitals, monumental fresco reproductions from medieval churches, and a permanent display devoted to modern and contemporary architecture.

The museum traces its origins to Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, the nineteenth-century architect and restorer who first conceived a systematic record of French architectural heritage. Today the Cité de l'architecture et du patrimoine serves as both a scholarly institution and a public cultural centre, drawing visitors who come as much for the panoramic views from its terrace as for the depth of its permanent collection. Skip-the-line tickets are available, allowing direct entry without queuing at the door.