Bordeaux and Palmiers

When most people think of Parisian museums, the places that pop into their heads are usually art-based: the Louvre, the Musée d’Orsay, the Rodin Museum. Even I used to think like that… until I visited the Palais de la Découverte.

The Palais is located on the right bank, just across the river from Invalides and at the eastern end of the Champs-Elysées (opposite the Arc de Triomphe). If you’ve taken the Bateaux-Mouches along the Seine, you’ve probably seen the building that houses it, with its huge glass ceiling. The building itself is quite impressive, and I had been quite content to look just at the architecture from the outside. I didn’t know what I was missing.

Maybe going to a science museum is not the first thing you think of when you consider a visit to Paris: the city of Lights, of art, of cinema. But the science museum in Paris is just as impressive as others I’ve visited in San Francisco (the Exploratorium) and New York (the Museum of Natural History).

I went to the Palais as part of a physics class, so my visit was centered on these exhibits. However, the Palais has demonstrations and shows concerning all branches of science, and while I can’t vouch for any of them specifically, I recommend that you go see them (and let me know how they are!)

As for the experiments I saw… I absolutely loved the one on “liquid air.” The presentations are geared towards children, but they’re highly entertaining for adults too, and the fact that the presenters are speaking to a younger audience means that even us second-language French speakers have a good chance of understanding what’s going on.

Oh… did I not mention the only downside? Yes, unlike the rest of the tourist attractions in Paris, the presentations are done solely in French. However, it’s a great way to practice your language skills, and even if you can’t understand what the presenters are saying, the visuals often speak for themselves (like in the static electricity presentation).

All in all, it’s a very worthwhile visit, and I definitely recommend it as a step outside the ordinary Paris tourist fare. You’re far more likely to be visiting the exhibits with French families, which I find to be a relief sometimes… it’s easy to forget that Paris is a living, breathing city with actual locals living their lives here. I like to see what the average French family does on a Saturday afternoon, and if you’re a Parisian, a visit to the Palais de la Découverte is definitely a possibility.

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